Import Email Account Settings with Outlook 2003 after Wind 7 reinstall


  1. Posts : 72
    Windows 7
       #1

    Import Email Account Settings with Outlook 2003 after Wind 7 reinstall


    I am trying to import my email accounts & settings to the way they were before I did a custom install of Windows 7. For the life of me, I can't figure this out. I tried to follow tutorials and nothing seems to work.

    My situation is different also because I have 8 POP email accounts. Do I have to enter the email account information back in or can moving the .pst files do this?
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  2. Posts : 1,476
       #2

    Did you use Outlook 2003's built-in feature to Export before? Or, did you just copy the .pst file to a safe place while reinstalling Windows?
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  3. Posts : 72
    Windows 7
    Thread Starter
       #3

    I just copied the .pst file.

    I tried to go to:

    Import > Import Internet Mail Account Settings

    But a window pops up and just says "No Internet accounts were found to import."
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  4. Posts : 1,476
       #4

    Yeah, it only works if you Export the .pst file using the built-in feature in Outlook.

    I used to just copy the .pst file and then copy it into the new folder after I'm all done reinstalling Windows and Outlook, but I only use the built-in export and import feature now. So, my memory is very fuzzy on the details of how it all worked. Here's what I think I used to have to do, but I don't feel confident about the accuracy of my memory:

    1. Copy .pst file to safe place
    2. Format and start over (kind of like what you did, I assume)
    3. Install Outlook
    4. Close Outlook if it's open
    5. Copy .pst file to the new AppData folder for Outlook (it should have the exact same path if you're using the same Windows user name again). For example, mine is always C:\Users\Tim\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook
    6. Open Outlook...

    So after step 6 above is where my memory is fuzzy. I remember having a problem and I remember that was surprisingly easy to fix. I think I had two of every folder at this point due to having two "Personal Folders" (so, two Inbox folders, two Sent Items, etc.), so I think what I had to do was literally select all of my e-mails and move them. I think I had to do this for each folder and then I think I deleted the newly-emptied folders from all of the moving. I believe that the Outlook-generated Personal Folders can't be deleted, but the ones I ended up with due to copying my old .pst file in could be. That is, if I remember correctly.

    I think everything else was restored too, including the contacts - but I also remember losing all of my contacts once too, so I don't know about this. However, the .pst file contains everything, so maybe I'm not remembering correctly regarding losing all of my contacts. I don't know.

    So, regarding your 8 POP accounts. I usually had 3 different POP accounts, but I don't know if they were restored by doing it all this way. I think I had to recreate all of them, but I'm not entirely sure. Therefore, don't be surprised if you have to recreate all of them.

    HOWEVER, now that I've typed all that out, I think I remember having better success by actually first deleting the new (and empty) "Outlook.pst" file that was generated after installing, opening, and closing Outlook. Then I'd copy my old .pst file in. I think I might have found that this worked better or something than just trying to do a "Copy and Replace". I'm not quite sure. I mean, I think that this resulted in not having two "Personal Folders" and therefore no longer having duplicates of every folder. I'm having difficulty remembering.

    So if you have to do this again in the future, then I recommend doing two things:

    First thing:

    1. Choose File > "Import and Export..."
    2. Choose Export to a file (you can double-click it to simultaneously select it and go to the next part of the wizard)
    3. Choose Personal Folder File (.pst) (you can double-click this too)
    4. Select Personal Folders in order to make sure all of your folders are going to be exported
    5. Enable "Include subfolders"
    6. Click Next
    7. Click the "Browse..." button to choose a safe place for the exported .pst file (such as the same place where you copied your current .pst file to)
    8. Leave the option selected named "Replace duplicates with items exported"
    9. Click Finish
    10. Click OK on the new dialog box that appears. It offers you the chance to set the encryption setting and you can even protect this exported file with a password. I never mess with these settings because I have no need to.
    11. After clicking OK, you get to watch it export absolutely everything that is inside of "Personal Folders". It doesn't exclude anything at all even though you will notice that you don't get to see it export a few things. The reason you don't see some of the folders go by is it happens way too quickly to see it. For example, I never see "Contacts" go by because I have just a dozen or so and therefore it's just a microscopic folder in comparison to my Inbox and Sent Items. I think that if I had hundreds and hundreds of contacts, then I'd actually see it spend time exporting that folder just like it does with my Inbox and Sent Items and other folders that have hundreds and hundreds of items.



    Second thing:

    1. Open Windows Easy Transfer
    2. Click Next
    3. Click An external hard disk or USB flash drive (you will be able to choose any drive you want, such as a secondary internal drive)
    4. Click This is my old computer
    5. You'll see your account and you'll also see "Shared Items" (I don't use any shared folders so I always deselect it)
    6. Click Customize underneath your account.
    7. You can customize this however you want here (Windows Easy Transfer works very well believe it or not), but the main thing to make absolutely sure of is that you have Program Settings selected. I discovered that saving the Program Settings actually saves absolutely all of Outlook's settings (all Microsoft Office programs, actually)
    8. You can hover your mouse over the blue "Information" icon for Program Settings in order to see what programs are included so that you will also know which ones will not be.
    9. If you click "Advanced", then you get to customize which folders are saved and which are not.
    10. After you're all done setting it up the way you want, click Next
    11. It offers you the chance to protect it with a password, but this is optional.
    12. Click Save
    13. Choose a location for the Easy Transfer File and click Save



    Now when you are finished installing the new installation of Windows, you can use the Import feature in Outlook and when you're all done with that you can then open Windows Easy Transfer to finish the transfer to this new installation of Windows (you'll select "This is my new computer").

    I always do it this way now and it works 100% perfectly and it's practically effortless.

    I feel it's necessary at this point to explain how to Import in Outlook from an Exported .pst file (when it's exported as described above):

    1. Select Personal Folders. This is critical because otherwise you will Import everything into your Inbox or whichever folder you're currently looking at.
    2. File > Import and Export...
    3. Choose Import from another program or file (double-click it or just click it once and then click Next)
    4. Scroll down and choose Personal Folder File (.pst) (double-click, or select and click Next)
    5. Click the "Browse..." button
    6. Locate your exported .pst file and double-click it. Or, select it and then click Open
    7. Click Next
    8. Choose Import items into the current folder
    9. Look to the left in the folder pane to make sure you have "Personal Folders" selected. This is the "current folder".
    10. If you're all set, then click Next
    11. You'll get to watch it import and then you'll be good to go after this.


    You should be good to go now.
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  5. Posts : 72
    Windows 7
    Thread Starter
       #5

    thanks. I just re did eveything. It didn't really matter since I had a IMAP account. The only thing I had to redo was the signature files and rules which wasn't that big of a deal. Thansk for your help.
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  6. Posts : 1,476
       #6

    ericwoo said:
    thanks. I just re did eveything. It didn't really matter since I had a IMAP account. The only thing I had to redo was the signature files and rules which wasn't that big of a deal. Thansk for your help.
    That reminds me: there's an Export and Import feature in the Rules Wizard too!

    Anyway, you're welcome! It looks to me like everything is ok now! :)
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  7. Posts : 7
    Win 7x64
       #7

    You’re talking of mail settings I presume as Office 2003 had an option to save settings as well as POP .pst etc. but not any later releases. I know I'm running Office 2010 Pro Plus, which has all the bells and whistles but not that! I'm about to reinstall it this weekend and I know there is 'talk' of a third party application, but so far I cannot locate it and I'd like to save all of my additions to Dictionary.
    Cheers BC
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