WLive Mail 2011 lost my Contacts

I just installed the 2011 version of Windows Live Mail, and have lost all my Contacts. How do I bring my Contacts into WLM 2011?

David Salmon

dsalmon said:

I just installed the 2011 version of Windows Live Mail, and have lost all my Contacts. How do I bring my Contacts into WLM 2011?

David Salmon

Contacts from what previous mail client?

I upgraded from Windows Live Mail [2010] to Windows Live Mail 2011.

To be more specific, I was running Windows 7 Pro before and after, and Windows Live Mail before and after. I have a Contacts folder saved under c:\users\David with my previous contacts. Under c:\David\App Data\Local\Microsoft\Windows Live Mail I have no contacts.edb, but do have an edb.chk file dated about the time of the upgrade that says it contacts recovered file fragments: two or three contacts. Under c:\David ... Microsoft\Windows Live Contacts I have three long code entries, all dated pre-upgrade, with DBStore\Backup\New under each, and each with a contacts.edb. Moving that file to the Windows Live Mail file does not restore the contacts. There is no way to import Contacts from within WLM 2011 that I can find. I have tried both signing on and not signing on: no contacts either way.

How can I restore my Contacts?

Thank you.

If you were signed in previously (hence using your "signed-in" contact list) they should still be on the website at contacts.live.com. If they are then all you need to do is go to the location in Windows Explorer where 2011 keeps its database (probably still at c:\David\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Live Contacts...you can check the location via WLM options). With WLM closed open Windows Explorer and delete the entire folder called "Windows Live Contacts". When you reopen WLM it will automagically create a brand new clean contacts folder and when you sign in the list on the website will populate the new database.

If OTOH you were not signed-in (hence using your "not-signed-in" contacts) you will have to import them by navigating to the original "Windows Live Contacts" folder that you saved.

BTW, I wonder if the reason your contacts are missing is that your sign-in status is simply different from what it was when you were previously using your contacts. That's probably the first thing you should verify.

I have never used the online features of WLM. I get the same results whether signed in or not. I removed the WLM Contacts folder and restarted WLM: it did not recreate the WLM Contacts folder, but it did recreate the fragmented edb.chk in WLM along with a somewhat truncated version of my email files.

How does one import contacts from the WLM Contacts folder?

I suppose I shall have to remove WLM and reinstall, hoping for a better outcome than when I first installed it. I lost quite a number of archived emails: headers were shown, but no content.

Thanks for your suggestions,

David

The "Windows Live Mail" folder is separate from the "Windows Live Contacts" folder. Since you're having problems with both, perhaps a complete reinstall is called for. I personally have not chosen to upgrade yet from 2009 to 2011 version of WLM. However I would not expect to loose my contacts in an upgrade. Do you have a contact list saved from Outlook Express or Windows Mail that you could start with again? The WLM Contacts Import Wizard can import from the OE format (.WAB file) or the "Current Windows User" which corresponds to the Contacts folder in Windows Explorer under your username. If neither of those options are useful and all you have is a saved copy of your old "Windows Live Contacts" folder, I'd try dragging and dropping the the contents of that folder into the newly created "Windows Live Contacts" folder that comes with the new install. (Do this in Windows Explorer with WLM closed.) Windows will ask if you want to replace "bla bla bla" with "bla bla bla" or "do you want to merge..." just keep saying "yes" and "try again" and "move and replace" for the various dialogs. Eventually your old folder will have emptied its contents into the new folder. And when you reopen WLM (w/o signing in) your old "not-signed in" contact list will have replaced the previously created emply one that came from the new install.

The thing that makes this so complicated is the fact that you are avoiding the use of Microsoft's "contacts.live.com" wesite by never signing in. If OTOH you always signed in then you will always be using the "signed-in" contacts list, which remains on the website as a synchronized backup so there would be no need to ever back up or restore contacts...WLM would repopulate the (signed-in) contacts list every time you open the program with what was last left at the website.