Outlook express dilema

I'm helping my older mother upgrade her computer and I'm a Win 7 fan. Love it. However, in moving her docs and email files over to this new computer I realize that outlook express is no longer available. Prior to shutting down her old system, I've exported her adress book and copied the outlook express data folder. I'm resigned to the fact that outlook express is gone. Their outlook data contains over 4 years of important emails, records, pictures, vital correspondence. Approximately 1.5 GB of important stuff they want to have as easily accessible data. My question is this: For the millions of people that have used outlook express, is their email data now useless. Is there a solution to this? Do they need to buy outlook? will Outlook express easily export to Outlook 2010? I'm looking for an alternative program that can use thier address book and 1.5 GB of email data. Help. Thanks in advance. By the way sorry if I posted this in the wrong forum. I looked for an subject appropriate forum and this one that seemed the best.

Mike

richc46 said:

Use Windows Live Mail. It should be able to import the mail.
Windows Live Mail

I was under the impression that Windows Live Mail is an "online" base system. Due to the size of thier data file wouldn't it have to store all the data locally? Currently the email is pop3 from yahoo.

Mike

Personally and this is my 2cents but I was in the same boat and so here is my advice.

First of all and I don't mean to be offensive but windows live mail stinks, I tried it an it just does, especially in comparison to Outlook Express. If you love it fine but when I went to use it after using express for so many years I was extremely disappointed.

Personally I went over to Thunderbird and I like it a lot. Plus its free, easy to download and much more simpler I think for someone to use for mail then Outlook.

So ncimike3, from what you've stated I think I understand that you have exported all the old data but then have wiped out the old OS? Or maybe you haven't?

If you haven't perhaps what you can do it is this, put Thunderbird on the old machine to which you then can import everything from Express into and then install Thunderbird on to Win7 an just copy over all the folders.

I won't go into all the process on how to do this exactly as it sounds like your kinda savvy on this stuff enough for me not to, as well it would make this long, but if you need help you can visit some of the support sites for TBird if you need to but it just really is a matter of copying the right folders.

This may still need some management but given the size of things that you described, it still may be the easiest thing to do.

Then if you have wiped out the old system, I supposed there is always the option to import them to some other Express machine and do what I described or you might also consider installing the Virtual XP thing that you can download for free from Microsoft which will then run a Virtual version of XP on your 7 machine an then import those files into that Express and then do what I just described above.

It's kinda nice to have the VXP on there anyways as you never know when you might need it so this might help you in other ways too.

For more on how to setup the VXP, check out the Virtualization section of this forum. Basically its pretty easy though as you just download three files from MS and run them.

Hope some of that was helpful.

ncimike3 said:

richc46 said:

Use Windows Live Mail. It should be able to import the mail.
Windows Live Mail

I was under the impression that Windows Live Mail is an "online" base system. Due to the size of thier data file wouldn't it have to store all the data locally? Currently the email is pop3 from yahoo.

This thread discusses the differences between WLM (the desktop client) and Hotmail, aka Windows Live Hotmail, (the web based app on Mocrosoft servers):
Thank you responders: New Folders Returned (posts 5&7)

Petey7 said:

... Are they saved to the computer?

Yes. To the folder you imported from on the media they were stored on and to the corresponding folder on the new system. You can also view them in Windows Explorer but you may have to adjust view settings to first show hidden files and protected OS files.