Clients/AOL Instant Messenger/How to move
If you've been on another AIM server/network other than NINA and then you attempt to sign on to NINA with the same screenname, you may have noticed that your buddy list appears to vanish and/or be empty and you cannot add buddies or groups. This is an issue with the AIM client itself, however there is a fix for it.
Follow these instructions, but be careful they require deleting files and registry entries so pay attention to what you're supposed to be doing.
First remove your cached user information:
- Close out AIM completely. You must be sure it isn't in the system tray, and for good measure check your Task Manager to be sure aim.exe is not running
- Go to Start -> Run (Windows Key + R) and enter: %AppData%\Aim and press enter.
- A folder will open and there may be a sub-directory there with random letters, go inside that, find the folder with your screenname and delete it.
Second remove the client's knowledge about your user:
- Go to Start -> Run (Windows Key + R) and enter: regedit
- Find HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\America Online\AOL Instant Messenger (TM)\CurrentVersion\Users
- In that folder, look for your screenname and then delete it
Alternatively, if your screenname is unique enough you can also go to Edit -> Find... and search for your screenname, just keep hitting the F3 key until you find it. If this is too confusing, just try to find the path manually as explained in the steps above.
Third open up AIM again and sign on to NINA:
After you've completed the steps above, you should be able to open AIM and sign on NINA again with your screenname. It should then automatically create your default groups and you should be good to go.
If you run into any issues with this tutorial or find differences which are specific to your version of Windows or your AIM client, let me know on Discord @tonyshowoff.