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From Outlook Express to Windows 7



 
 
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  #1  
Old March 26th 14, 10:32 PM posted to alt.windows7.general
P Bentley
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1
Default From Outlook Express to Windows 7

Since Microsoft is stopping support for windows XP, novice wishes to save
what he can from my current 'outlook express' (especially folders and their
contents if possible) and transfer to a windows 7 system which he will
install on the same computer.

I have access to another lap top if its easier to temporarily store files on
there. Also I have the emails in outlook.com from which I can access my
emails if necessary.

So is it possible to transfer folders and their contents *simply* from
outlook express to somewhere for 'easy' recovery please? Thanks.


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  #2  
Old March 26th 14, 10:48 PM posted to alt.windows7.general
Bruce Hagen[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 985
Default From Outlook Express to Windows 7

"P Bentley" wrote in message
...
Since Microsoft is stopping support for windows XP, novice wishes to save
what he can from my current 'outlook express' (especially folders and
their contents if possible) and transfer to a windows 7 system which he
will install on the same computer.

I have access to another lap top if its easier to temporarily store files
on there. Also I have the emails in outlook.com from which I can access my
emails if necessary.

So is it possible to transfer folders and their contents *simply* from
outlook express to somewhere for 'easy' recovery please? Thanks.



Unless bundled by the manufacturer, Windows 7 does not come with any e-mail
client so you'll have to download one.

Top 11 Free Email Programs for Windows
http://email.about.com/od/windowsema...email_prog.htm


These are the instructions for Windows Live Mail.


Transferring data from Outlook Express to Windows Live Mail:

For Messages:

In Outlook Express, compact you folders first.

Click on Outlook Express at the top of the folder tree so no folders are
open. Then: File | Work Offline (or double click Working Online in the
Status Bar). File | Folder | Compact all folders. Don't touch anything until
the compacting is completed.

Compact Your OE Folders:
http://www.insideoe.com/files/maintain.htm#compact


Copy the *ENTIRE* OE message store folder to a flash drive. (Folders.dbx
must be included). Place this on the Desktop or other location on the
machine using WLMail.

V-2009: Open WLMail and: File | Import | Messages | Microsoft Outlook
Express 6 and point to where you saved it.

V-2011/2012: Menu Button | Import Messages | Microsoft Outlook Express 6 and
point to where you saved it.

OE Message Store Location:

In OE: Tools | Options | Maintenance | Store Folder will reveal the location
of your Outlook Express files. Write the location down and navigate to it in
Windows Explorer or, copy and paste it into Start | Run.

In WinXP the OE user files (DBX and WAB) are by default marked as hidden. To
view these files in Windows Explorer, you must enable Show Hidden Files and
Folders under Start | Control Panel | Folder Options Icon | View, or in
Windows Explorer | Tools | Folder Options | View.

Note: If any DBX file is over 300MB, go back into OE and move some of the
messages from the related folder to a new user created folder and compact
again to get the file size down.

For Addresses:

Open the Address Book in OE and File | Export | Address Book (wab) and save
it to the Desktop. Copy to a flash drive. Place this on the Desktop or other
location on the machine using WLMail.

For WLMail 2009: Open the Contacts list in WLMail, (Go | Contacts on the
Menu Bar), and File | Import | Windows Address Book (wab) and point to where
you saved it.

For WLMail 2011/2012: Switch to the contacts window (click the address book
icon at the foot of the folder pane, (or press Ctrl-3). Click the Import
button, select Windows Address Book (wab) and point to where you saved it.

Note: If you use a CD or DVD instead of a flash drive, after placing on the
new machine you must remove the Read Only attribute in Properties before you
import.

For Account Settings:

In OE: Tools | Accounts, select the account and export it to the Desktop.
This will be a .iaf file. Copy it to the new machine's Desktop.

For WLMail 2009: Tools | Accounts and import the settings from the location
you saved them.

For WLMail 2011: Menu Button | Options | E-Mail Accounts and import the
settings from the location you saved them.

Account settings may not import into WLMail 2012. If not, you will have to
do it manually.
--

~Bruce








  #3  
Old March 26th 14, 10:54 PM posted to alt.windows7.general
Ken Blake[_4_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 3,318
Default From Outlook Express to Windows 7

On Wed, 26 Mar 2014 21:32:57 -0000, "P Bentley"
wrote:

Since Microsoft is stopping support for windows XP, novice wishes to save
what he can from my current 'outlook express' (especially folders and their
contents if possible) and transfer to a windows 7 system which he will
install on the same computer.

I have access to another lap top if its easier to temporarily store files on
there. Also I have the emails in outlook.com from which I can access my
emails if necessary.

So is it possible to transfer folders and their contents *simply* from
outlook express to somewhere for 'easy' recovery please? Thanks.




I don't know enough about Outlook Express to answer your question, but
let me make three points:

1. You've said nothing about what e-mail program he plans to use on
Windows 7, and how to do what he wants depends at least in part on
what he uses. In my view, you should not simply use whatever comes
with an operating system, but rather should choose the one you like
best. There are several choices, from Microsoft and from other
companies, and free and for sale.

2. You say that he plans to install Windows 7 on the same computer.
But you and he should both be aware that it's likely that his XP-era
machine will be way underpowered to run Windows 7 with acceptable
performance. He will need several hardware upgrades, and its likely
that they will be expensive enough that he would be much better off
simply buying a new computer.

3. Moving from XP to Windows 7 is moving from an operating system
three generations old to one that's one generation old (soon to be two
generations old). To me that makes very little sense. He should move
to the current version, Windows 8, not an old one. If he's already
decided that he doesn't like Windows 8, it's probable that he doesn't
understand what it is, and that the modern/metro interface is entirely
optional; he doesn't have to use it at all.

  #4  
Old March 26th 14, 10:59 PM posted to alt.windows7.general
Don Phillipson[_4_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,185
Default From Outlook Express to Windows 7

"P Bentley" wrote in message
...

Since Microsoft is stopping support for windows XP, novice wishes to save
what he can from my current 'outlook express' (especially folders and
their contents if possible) and transfer to a windows 7 system which he
will install on the same computer.

I have access to another lap top if its easier to temporarily store files
on there. Also I have the emails in outlook.com from which I can access my
emails if necessary.

So is it possible to transfer folders and their contents *simply* from
outlook express to somewhere for 'easy' recovery please? Thanks.


Outlook Express stores each folder in a DBX file that can be copied
elsewhe but their contents can be viewed only in OE. Outlook.com
can collect and bundle folder contents and permit them to be viewed.

Most Win7 distribution packages are preset to download and instal
MS's MAIL.EXE, which is unable to import DBX files and is condemned
by most people as much inferior to OE. Mozilla Thunderbird may be
a practical alternative for Win7 -- but your novice friend should be told
that nothing prevents his continuing to use WinXP and OE, so long
as he is confident in his malware protection. This can go on indefinitely
(or until he is obliged to replace some hardware and finds new
hardware requires Win7 or higher.)
--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)


  #5  
Old March 26th 14, 11:15 PM posted to alt.windows7.general
Mike Easter
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,064
Default From Outlook Express to Windows 7

P Bentley wrote:
Since Microsoft is stopping support for windows XP, novice wishes to save
what he can from my current 'outlook express' (especially folders and their
contents if possible) and transfer to a windows 7 system which he will
install on the same computer.


From the tenor of the following paragraphs, I assume the 3rd person
'novice/he' above is also the 1st person 'I' below.

I have access to another lap top if its easier to temporarily store files on
there. Also I have the emails in outlook.com from which I can access my
emails if necessary.

So is it possible to transfer folders and their contents *simply* from
outlook express to somewhere for 'easy' recovery please? Thanks.


You, presumably the novice he, are posting here with OE which means that
you are accustomed to using the same email/newsagent program, of which
Win7 has neither by default.

One close approximation to a same email/newsagent which will work in
Win7 (and XP) is Thunderbird. The current v. of WindowsLiveMail WLM is
not an acceptable newsagent to use as you are using OE here, but Tb is.

One strategy to migrate from OE to Tb is to install Tb on the XP machine
which invites importation of the OE stores

http://kb.mozillazine.org/Import_from_Outlook_Express There are two
simple ways to migrate from Outlook Express to Thunderbird: ... select
the "Outlook Express" option to import your mail, address books, and
settings.

Now you have an XP with a Tb profile. That strategy can
also/alternatively be employed with a Portable Thunderbird.

The next part of the strategy would be to move the Tb profile to the
Win7 http://kb.mozillazine.org/Moving_your_profile_folder This article
describes how to move a profile for your Mozilla application, if you
want to do the following: - Configure another operating system account
to use the same profile.


--
Mike Easter
  #6  
Old March 27th 14, 12:21 AM posted to alt.windows7.general
VanguardLH[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 10,881
Default From Outlook Express to Windows 7

P Bentley wrote:

Since Microsoft is stopping support for windows XP, novice wishes to
save what he can from my current 'outlook express' (especially
folders and their contents if possible) and transfer to a windows 7
system which he will install on the same computer.

I have access to another lap top if its easier to temporarily store
files on there. Also I have the emails in outlook.com from which I
can access my emails if necessary.

So is it possible to transfer folders and their contents *simply*
from outlook express to somewhere for 'easy' recovery please?
Thanks.


Save what he can? And what is it that he wants to save? E-mail?
Newsgroups? Or both?

If he only needs to transfer e-mail from one e-mail client to another
(whether on the same host using the same OS or to a different OS on a
different host) then check if he is using IMAP to access his e-mail
account(s). If so, just make sure all the e-mails are in IMAP folders
and not in any local storage folders in OE. All he has to do is define
the IMAP accounts in the new/second e-mail client to have it connect to
the same accounts and all the e-mails will already be there. IMAP
synchronizes the client to the server so both have a copy of the e-mail.

For contacts, export them from the WAB (Windows Address Book) to save
them at .vcf files (aka vCards). Select a contact and use the File -
Export menu (in WAB, not in OE) to export as VCF. For a few contacts
this method is okay but tiresome if you have dozens of hundreds of
contacts in the WAB. There is payware to convert WAB to vCards but you
never mentioned if you have a budget to do the migration or conversion.

Win7 has no address book but instead a folder where you can save the
contacts, which is %userprofile%\Contacts. Export from WAB under WinXP,
copy to the Contacts folder on Win7, and import or drag into whatever
e-mail program you end up using on Win7. You can also just copy the
..wab file to Win7 since some e-mail programs will import from a .wab
file, like WLM (Windows Live Mail), Thunderbird, and Outlook.

Alternatively, and if he is using an edition of Windows 7 that includes
XP Mode (which requires 2 downloads from Microsoft) then use that since
it comes with IE6 which has OE bundled with it. You didn't way which
edition he has of Windows 7. The Home editions don't support XP Mode.
I have the Home & Student edition and, as I recall, I could install
part of XP Mode which gave me Windows VirtualPC which gave me the
Windows XP virtual machine. You use WPC like you did the old Virtual PC
2007 where apps run inside a window for the VM guest, so all I lost were
the integration features (where the app looks like it is natively
running inside the host OS). It was an experiment and I didn't need it
so it's no longer on my Win7 Home&Student host. If the Windows XP on
his old host is *not* an OEM version (i.e., retail full or retail
upgrade) then he can transfer that license to the VM running on his Win7
host, so you could use any VMM (Virtual Machine Manager), like VirtualPC
2007, VMWare Player, or VirtualBox in which to install WinXP as the
guest OS to have OE there. If XP Mode or a VMM is used to bring OE over
from another host, you just copy the files from the XP host to the 7
host. I'm sure you can do your own online search on "migrate outlook
express" to get a list of folder and files to copy over.

Does he also use OE for newsgroups? If so, see if he will consider
using separate programs for e-mail and Usenet. Sending personal or
sensitive information to Usenet instead of via e-mail can not only be
embarrasing but disasterous. No point in discussing newsgroups if he
doesn't do Usenet.
  #7  
Old March 27th 14, 10:14 AM posted to alt.windows7.general
...winston[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,861
Default From Outlook Express to Windows 7

Don Phillipson wrote, On 3/26/2014 5:59 PM:
"P Bentley" wrote in message
...

Since Microsoft is stopping support for windows XP, novice wishes to save
what he can from my current 'outlook express' (especially folders and
their contents if possible) and transfer to a windows 7 system which he
will install on the same computer.

I have access to another lap top if its easier to temporarily store files
on there. Also I have the emails in outlook.com from which I can access my
emails if necessary.

So is it possible to transfer folders and their contents *simply* from
outlook express to somewhere for 'easy' recovery please? Thanks.


Outlook Express stores each folder in a DBX file that can be copied
elsewhe but their contents can be viewed only in OE. Outlook.com
can collect and bundle folder contents and permit them to be viewed.

Most Win7 distribution packages are preset to download and instal
MS's MAIL.EXE, which is unable to import DBX files and is condemned
by most people as much inferior to OE. Mozilla Thunderbird may be
a practical alternative for Win7 -- but your novice friend should be told
that nothing prevents his continuing to use WinXP and OE, so long
as he is confident in his malware protection. This can go on indefinitely
(or until he is obliged to replace some hardware and finds new
hardware requires Win7 or higher.)


No such thing as MS's Mail.exe

All MSFT email clients (Windows Live Mail and Outlook are capable of
migrating OE data.
WLM can migrate installed on the same machine (as OE) or stand-alone
when the OE message store (entire folder structure) is accessible on
another machine
Outlook migrates only when installed on the same machine. OE only
exports to Outlook when Outlook is installed on the same machine as OE.


--
...winston
msft mvp consumer apps
  #8  
Old March 27th 14, 10:20 AM posted to alt.windows7.general
...winston[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,861
Default From Outlook Express to Windows 7

VanguardLH wrote, On 3/26/2014 7:21 PM:

For contacts, export them from the WAB (Windows Address Book) to save
them at .vcf files (aka vCards). Select a contact and use the File -
Export menu (in WAB, not in OE) to export as VCF. For a few contacts
this method is okay but tiresome if you have dozens of hundreds of
contacts in the WAB. There is payware to convert WAB to vCards but you
never mentioned if you have a budget to do the migration or conversion.

Win7 has no address book but instead a folder where you can save the
contacts, which is %userprofile%\Contacts. Export from WAB under WinXP,
copy to the Contacts folder on Win7, and import or drag into whatever
e-mail program you end up using on Win7. You can also just copy the
.wab file to Win7 since some e-mail programs will import from a .wab
file, like WLM (Windows Live Mail), Thunderbird, and Outlook.


Easier way..
Navigate to %userprofile%\Contacts, click Import, select OE Address
book, and browse/select the *.wab file.

If necessary to import into another email program (e.g. WLM or Outlook
just use that programs import function)

Also, %userprofile%\Contacts on Win7 is capable of exporting all
contacts to VCF files...both WLM and Outlook can select all vcf's to import.

A few other 3rd party programs provide the same ability to import from
%userprofile%\Contacts or vcf.

--
...winston
msft mvp consumer apps
  #9  
Old March 27th 14, 09:23 PM posted to alt.windows7.general
VanguardLH[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 10,881
Default From Outlook Express to Windows 7

winston wrote:

VanguardLH wrote:

For contacts, export them from the WAB (Windows Address Book) to save
them at .vcf files (aka vCards). Select a contact and use the File -
Export menu (in WAB, not in OE) to export as VCF.

Win7 has no address book but instead a folder where you can save the
contacts, which is %userprofile%\Contacts. Export from WAB under WinXP,
copy to the Contacts folder on Win7, and import or drag into whatever
e-mail program you end up using on Win7. You can also just copy the
.wab file to Win7 since some e-mail programs will import from a .wab
file, like WLM (Windows Live Mail), Thunderbird, and Outlook.


Easier way..
Navigate to %userprofile%\Contacts, click Import, select OE Address
book, and browse/select the *.wab file.


Ah, yes, much easier. Copy over the .wab file and just import from it.

I only did the migration once to put in Contact and then to drag the
..vcf files into a new e-mail client. I'm pretty sure back then I was
using Windows Explorer top copy into the Contacts folder and wasn't in
the folder itself and is which I don't recall seeing the Import, Export,
and other toolbar functions show up there. Luckily I only maintain
about 2 dozen contacts so the individual .vcf export was doable. After
dragging the .vcf files into the new e-mail client, the .vcf files in
the Contact folder never get used anymore so I could delete them now,
especially since they won't automatically sync with the contacts within
the e-mail client.
  #10  
Old March 28th 14, 07:31 AM posted to alt.windows7.general
...winston[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,861
Default From Outlook Express to Windows 7

VanguardLH wrote, On 3/27/2014 4:23 PM:
winston wrote:

VanguardLH wrote:

For contacts, export them from the WAB (Windows Address Book) to save
them at .vcf files (aka vCards). Select a contact and use the File -
Export menu (in WAB, not in OE) to export as VCF.

Win7 has no address book but instead a folder where you can save the
contacts, which is %userprofile%\Contacts. Export from WAB under WinXP,
copy to the Contacts folder on Win7, and import or drag into whatever
e-mail program you end up using on Win7. You can also just copy the
.wab file to Win7 since some e-mail programs will import from a .wab
file, like WLM (Windows Live Mail), Thunderbird, and Outlook.


Easier way..
Navigate to %userprofile%\Contacts, click Import, select OE Address
book, and browse/select the *.wab file.


Ah, yes, much easier. Copy over the .wab file and just import from it.

I only did the migration once to put in Contact and then to drag the
.vcf files into a new e-mail client. I'm pretty sure back then I was
using Windows Explorer top copy into the Contacts folder and wasn't in
the folder itself and is which I don't recall seeing the Import, Export,
and other toolbar functions show up there. Luckily I only maintain
about 2 dozen contacts so the individual .vcf export was doable. After
dragging the .vcf files into the new e-mail client, the .vcf files in
the Contact folder never get used anymore so I could delete them now,
especially since they won't automatically sync with the contacts within
the e-mail client.


I consistently recommend that folks who use WLM (and don't sync contacts
to the web UI via MSFT account sign-on) to export their contacts (for
backup purposes) to vcf files in a subfolder under userprofile\Contacts.
Exporting to VCF (as opposed to CSV) exports more information than
WLM's limit contstrained CSV export (e.g. only one email address can be
exported - personal, work, or other)...VCF exports all of them.

If they need to import them later in WLM...its just a matter of choosing
the vcf import option, navigate to the subfolder containing the vcf
files, select one, then Control A to select the rest, then OK etc. to
import all in one single process.

Likewise, use of vcf is better for importing when moving from WLM to
Outlook.

--
...winston
msft mvp consumer apps
  #11  
Old March 28th 14, 07:42 AM posted to alt.windows7.general
...winston[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,861
Default From Outlook Express to Windows 7

....winston wrote, On 3/28/2014 2:31 AM:
I'm pretty sure back then I was
using Windows Explorer top copy into the Contacts folder and wasn't in
the folder itself and is which I don't recall seeing the Import, Export,
and other toolbar functions show up there.


p.s. Fyi...I have seen (on Vista and Win7) reports that the Import and
Export options don't appear on that folder's toolbar until one actually
created a single contact in that folder using the 'New Contact' option
on the same toolbar.

--
...winston
msft mvp consumer apps
  #12  
Old March 29th 14, 05:13 AM posted to alt.windows7.general
Char Jackson
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 10,449
Default From Outlook Express to Windows 7

On Wed, 26 Mar 2014 14:54:20 -0700, Ken Blake wrote:

3. Moving from XP to Windows 7 is moving from an operating system
three generations old to one that's one generation old (soon to be two
generations old). To me that makes very little sense. He should move
to the current version, Windows 8, not an old one. If he's already
decided that he doesn't like Windows 8, it's probable that he doesn't
understand what it is, and that the modern/metro interface is entirely
optional; he doesn't have to use it at all.


When it's someone I care about, I recommend Windows 7. Otherwise, I
reluctantly recommend Win 8.1. Paul has documented unacceptable behavior of
Task Manager in Win 8/8.1, but that bit of poor behavior really only
scratches the surface. For numerous reasons, each of them small by
themselves but not insignificant on the whole, Win 7 is 'better' than Win 8.

--

Char Jackson
  #13  
Old March 29th 14, 07:46 AM posted to alt.windows7.general
...winston[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,861
Default From Outlook Express to Windows 7

Char Jackson wrote, On 3/29/2014 12:13 AM:
On Wed, 26 Mar 2014 14:54:20 -0700, Ken Blake wrote:

3. Moving from XP to Windows 7 is moving from an operating system
three generations old to one that's one generation old (soon to be two
generations old). To me that makes very little sense. He should move
to the current version, Windows 8, not an old one. If he's already
decided that he doesn't like Windows 8, it's probable that he doesn't
understand what it is, and that the modern/metro interface is entirely
optional; he doesn't have to use it at all.


When it's someone I care about, I recommend Windows 7. Otherwise, I
reluctantly recommend Win 8.1. Paul has documented unacceptable behavior of
Task Manager in Win 8/8.1, but that bit of poor behavior really only
scratches the surface. For numerous reasons, each of them small by
themselves but not insignificant on the whole, Win 7 is 'better' than Win 8.


Msft, afaics, is perfectly comfortable with early o/s users (XP, Vista)
to move to Win7...as long as its available:
- distribution of retail packaged media has already ceased for all
versions
- OEM's pc providers can still install based on supply from existing
licensing contracts (Note: End of pre-installed for W7 Home Basic, Home
Premium and Ultimate ends in Oct 2014; The end date for W7 Pro is
undetermined - 1 yr notice will be provided once that date is determined)
- Resellers (Amazon, Tiger Direct, and other sources) continue to
market existing supplies of retail and OEM versions. That pipeline will
eventually dry up.


--
...winston
msft mvp consumer apps
  #14  
Old April 7th 14, 07:55 AM posted to alt.windows7.general
BillW50
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 5,556
Default From Outlook Express to Windows 7

In ,
P Bentley typed:
Since Microsoft is stopping support for windows XP, novice wishes to
save what he can from my current 'outlook express' (especially
folders and their contents if possible) and transfer to a windows 7
system which he will install on the same computer.

I have access to another lap top if its easier to temporarily store
files on there. Also I have the emails in outlook.com from which I
can access my emails if necessary.

So is it possible to transfer folders and their contents *simply* from
outlook express to somewhere for 'easy' recovery please? Thanks.


Are you looking for a viewer? Like MiTeC MailView?
http://www.pcworld.com/article/26077..._eas ier.html

--
Bill
Gateway M465e ('06 era) - OE-QuoteFix v1.19.2
Centrino Core2 Duo T5600 1.83GHz - 4GB - Windows XP SP2


 




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