Hi,

I've test that msg.exe with windows vista and it is working.

I have done in this way:

Used run (Win+R) and write "cmd", then I typed msg.exe - all ommands showed up.

I'm trying to find the same function, please respond

Vista editions other than the Home editions include a new command, MSG.EXE. Type MSG /? in a command prompt to get the syntax. Try sending yourself a message: MSG "username" "BOO!". You can add the /TIME switch to make the message auto-close after a number of seconds. I think you'll find that MSG is a good replacement for NET SEND. And it doesn't even require the other system to be running the Messenger service
Use a third party LAN messenger maybe a good choice to replace net send command.
Check out the comparison between net send command line and LAN messenger.
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ok... so i typed a message to my self

msg "josh" "test"

and cmd reply was

'msg' is not recognised as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.

did i do somthing wrong?
plz respond thx

Also, can we send messages using IP addresses?? in msg help there s no option for that.

Hi All after much trying and re trying i got it right to send windows 7 to windows 7

using the following command

msg /server:pcname username message

server stays as is. pcname is the name of the pc you are sending to. user name is the name the user is logged in under on that PC. message is obviously the msg u want to send.

you will also need to change a setting on the receiving computer by using regedit.

the following registry key must be activated (as described by Consoles above):

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server

Name : AllowRemoteRPC

Type : REG_DWORD

Value : 1 (the dafault is '0')

+1 for msg.exe as free replacement for netsend but from our experience of our network (XP + 7) we didn't solve the problem with it... (we are trying several third party lan messenger such as winsent, cezeo and dmessage...)

can anyone tell me how to send messages to an ip address in the internet using this msg.exe command. i am using windows 7

When using Windows XP and previous operating systems one could easily send messages from one computer to another by using the "Net Send" command from the command prompt. Typing a command like this:


Net send raj "Please contact help desk immediately!"
Would result in the computer searching for the location where the user Daniel has last logged on, or in case of a computer, where the computer called Daniel is listed, and would send that message to that user or computer. You should note that this method of sending messages was made available by the Messenger service running on the target machine. Without it, there could be no messages transmitted to that computer.

Note: Windows XP SP1 (or was it SP2? I can't remember right now) disabled the Messenger service by default. So does Windows Server 2003 SP1.

Long story made short, when using Windows Vista or 7 one might go looking for the "Net send" in Vista and wonder where it went. There is NO "Net send" command in Vista… However, there is a solution. You can use MSG.EXE instead.


Click on the Start button, type CMD in the search box and press Enter.

Next, test MSG.EXE by typing the following command:

(Toggle Plain Text)

C:'Windows'system32>msg /?
Send a message to a user. 

MSG {username | sessionname | sessionid | @filename | *}
 [/SERVER:servername] [/TIME:seconds] [/V] [/W] [message] 

 username Identifies the specified username.
 sessionname The name of the session.
 sessionid The ID of the session.
 @filename Identifies a file containing a list of usernames,sessionnames, and sessionids to send the message to.
 * Send message to all sessions on specified server.
 /SERVER:servername server to contact (default is current).
 /TIME:seconds Time delay to wait for receiver to acknowledge msg.
 /V Display information about actions being performed.
 /W Wait for response from user, useful with /V.
 message Message to send. If none specified, prompts for it or reads from stdin.

C:'Windows'system32>msg /? Send a message to a user. MSG {username | sessionname | sessionid | @filename | *} [/SERVER:servername] [/TIME:seconds] [/V] [/W] [message] username Identifies the specified username. sessionname The name of the session. sessionid The ID of the session. @filename Identifies a file containing a list of usernames,sessionnames, and sessionids to send the message to. * Send message to all sessions on specified server. /SERVER:servername server to contact (default is current). /TIME:seconds Time delay to wait for receiver to acknowledge msg. /V Display information about actions being performed. /W Wait for response from user, useful with /V. message Message to send. If none specified, prompts for it or reads from stdin.

Running a command like this one:


C:'msg /server:rajserver raj "Please contact help desk immediately!"
Will result in a message being sent to the rajserver computer, to raj's session.

Cool.