Skype has experienced a major crash today, and right now no one knows what is going on. Problems are being reported on Twitter by many users. The general feeling from users is that Microsoft are at fault, even though the partnership with Skype has only been recently announced.

Reports of the software shutting down with a Windows error message are being highlighted and hundreds of angry messages are being posted on discussion forums, with many unable to login or even start up Skype at all.

People have been posting comments such as “Major worldwide Skype crash, thanks Microsoft!” and “Microsoft suck, I knew this would happen””.

This isn't the first time that Skype has experience major issues of crashing or login problems, but the latest problem will undoubtedly be associated with Microsoft's takeover. Skype are leaving Asterisk behind as the contract with Digium, the company behind Asterik has been cancelled.

The heartbeat page, at time of press shows that all the services are ok, however a status update has just posted a quick fix:

[UPDATED] Problems signing into Skype and making calls for a small number of users

A small number of you may have had problems signing in to Skype. This predominantly affects people using Skype for Windows. We have identified the problem and will issue a fix in the next few hours.
In the meantime, you can follow the steps below to fix the problem manually.
Windows
Click Start, type run and press Enter. (On Windows XP: Click Start and then Run.)
Type the following and click OK.
%appdata%\skype
Locate and delete the file shared.xml.

If you cannot find this file:
Click Start, type run and press Enter. (On Windows XP: Click Start and then Run.)
Type the following and click OK.
control folders
In the View tab, ensure that Show hidden files and folders is enabled.
Repeat steps 1-3.

Restart Skype.
Mac

Open Finder and locate the following folder:

~/Library/Application Support/Skype
Delete the file shared.xml.
Restart Skype.

Please note that the ~ sign means your home folder. You can find your home folder by opening Finder and selecting Go > Home from the menu bar or pressing Command (Apple), Shift and H keys at the same time.
Linux

Go to the following folder:
/home/YourLinuxUserName/.Skype
Delete the file shared.xml.
Restart Skype.

Remember: The Skype folder is a hidden folder – please check Show hidden files in your file browser to view and access it.

Kitguru says: Microsoft to blame? We wouldn't think so.

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