Serious Issue: Skype Stopped Working

Skype version 5.3.0.111 suddenly stopped working on Windows 7, Mac and Linux. Few are getting message “Skype has stopped working”. For me it was bit confusing because it worked few hours ago, but now not working.

Skype has already been notified regarding this issue and they updated a manual fix to solve the problem. Here are those for different platform as per Skype’s Peter Parkes:

Windows

1. Click Start, type run and press Enter. (On Windows XP: Click Start and then Run.)
2. Type the following and click OK.

%appdata%\skype

3. Locate and delete the file shared.xml.
4. If you cannot find this file:
   1. Click Start, type run and press Enter. (On Windows XP: Click Start and then Run.)
   2. Type the following and click OK.

   control folders

   3. In the View tab, ensure that Show hidden files and folders is enabled.
   4. Repeat steps 1-3.
5. Restart Skype.

Mac

1. Open Finder and locate the following folder:

~/Library/Application Support/Skype

2. Delete the file shared.xml.
3. 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

1. Go to the following folder:

/home/YourLinuxUserName/.Skype

2. Delete the file shared.xml.
3. Restart Skype.

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