How to get Window Mail contents into Outlook

I recently did a fresh install of Windows 7 on my previously Vista machine.

I'd been using Windows Mail on Vista. I backed up the Windows Mail app and my mail store in hopes of using the Windows Mail on Win 7 workarounds I'd read here.
That didn't work.

I did install MS Office 2007 and Outlook. I'm currently using Outlook on Win7 for all the new mail, but I'd like to be able to access the mail from Windows Mail, as it has a couple years of customer Tech Support history.

Right now, I have the Windows Mail set up on a Vista VM so I can look at my old mail, but I'd like to import this mail into my new Outlook installation on Windows 7.

Any ideas on how best to do this? Or any other ways to access my old mail from the new machine?

I don't use Windows Mail myself, but I found this forum reply via a google search - it seems to apply to Vista, but may work with Windows 7..

- anyway, it's worth a try:

"A little late, but I've found a tip on some other Vista community that works.
In Windows Mail messages are stored as .eml files.
Deep in the structure (under: users - apps data - Microsoft Mail) you see the folder structure of Windows Mail, and for each folder there is a subdirectory containing all .eml messages.
What you can do is copy those folders and .eml files onto e.g. a USB stick, or on your target computer.
Then open Outlook Express and Windows Explorer on that other machine, find the copied .eml files, select them in Windows Explorer and drag the into the wanted folder of Outlook Express.
It works.

The same with your contacts.
Export them in Windows Mail as Vcards, e.g. to your USB stick. Find them in Windows Explorer on the target machine, and while having Outlook Express open, drag them into the list of contact persons there.
It works too."

- I've copied it over as it appeared in the other forum (- spelling and grammar errors included..!!)
- let me know if this provides you with a solution..

- cheers!