Windows Mail

How to Reinstate Windows Mail in Windows 7​

   Warning

Microsoft no longer supports Windows Mail, aka WinMail. It's recommended you use another well known supported email client. This Tutorial is for Advanced users who importantly have the Technical Ability to make the changes, have backups of everything including your OS, and to be your own tech support for WinMail going forward. If you decide to complete this tutorial you accept the fact that you are using WinMail as-is. It might be necessary to uninstall other email clients to resolve any WinMail conflicts in some environments. Understand it's likely that new OS updates from Microsoft will break WinMail's operation, and to fix make it necessary to rerun the tutorial again to reinstate it. With those things in mind, this tutorial was written so that you can rerun it without affecting WinMail user data.
Please see this Errata (Bug List) post before you install, to be aware of the current information about known issues using WinMail within Windows 7, these issues are programmatic and in most cases cannot be resolved by this tutorial, and will never be fixed.

Having said all of that disclaimer, if you have the technical ability, and can put up with the annoying minor byproduct bugs, then like so many of us still enjoy using WinMail on Windows 7 ...ymmv!

   Tip

As of January, 2025, the instructions given here supersede all other instructions given in forthcoming older posts. Realize some of the posts that follow are over 16 years old, and many of the link pointers within have become mislinked over time, many of the files or information within them is outdated, incomplete, or superseded with more accurate information - and so be careful. However you can always be sure that the latest info from all research is incorporated into this tutorial post, and its downloads are the latest available. This post is continuously kept up-to-date, and so..
...Always refer to this Tutorial post for the very latest updated information

This is the 4th iteration of the Windows 7, WinMail tutorial.

The process of this tutorial Will Not work to reinstate WinMail on Windows 8/10 !
Windows 8/10 users please go Here

Start here

1. Download tutorial package TutReWinMail.zip
   
   Download
   
   
2. Extract the TutReWinMail.zip into your user Downloads folder
   • Note: Be sure once extracted this is the address of the ''TutReWinMail'' folder:
   • C:\Users\username\Downloads\TutReWinMail... ... (if it's not there please put it there)
3. Navigate to your user Downloads\TutReWinMail folder to be sure the above is correct.
   • (..if you need more verbose install instructions to follow, download this WinMail Local Tutorial.zip)
   • Advanced Users can proceed below:

     ---

     (..log in for Full Access, being able to get support, remove ads, like, and even to post, etc..)

Advanced Users: ..use this easy excellent overview of the steps in the local tutorial:

• Open an Administrator Command Prompt. (screenshot showing in Administrator mode)
• copy/paste this line into the command prompt: cd %USERPROFILE%\Downloads\TutReWinMail\
• Your command prompt must now be showing you are at That Same Folder Address ..which contains the tutorial files that the batch file in the next step executes programs and copies files specifically from that folder address - if it's not there the batch file will fail since it cannot find what it needs!
• Next type in either winmail32 or win64mail <matching OS bit, to interactively process These Next Steps
• If you've finished to the bottom as shown in last screenshot, restart your machine (sets registry)
• Create a shortcut from WinMail.exe to your Desktop
• Open WinMail - it may prompt you one (or both) of These Two Notices ..click yes, and okay.
• They now should be already set, but you can manually check/set at any time These Default Settings
• That's pretty much all there is to it, and from here you setup the rest of the Windows Mail client (aka: WinMail) as normal within its various tab menus for Accounts, Options, Layout, etc, etc, to suit your individual needs.
• Lastly, but should be the First thing you do, is to Create A WinMail Backup (new version) ..Go to this next link and when you get there scroll down to the heading: Backup/Restore Procedures for further instructions.

   Information

See How to open an elevated Administrator Command Prompt
Important: The exact text provided by the tutorial must be entered into the Administrator Command Prompt.
Hint: to avoid typos, copy/paste the entire line containing the command into the Command Prompt window.
Also see: How to Enable Copy to Clipboard from the Windows 7 Command Prompt

---

Every effort has been made to make this a step-by-step process, however, it is beyond the scope of a single tutorial to provide information on every command or concept. Search the Main Tutorial Section if you need greater detail on a concept or command presented in this tutorial.

Good luck, and long live WinMail

   Note

Made possible by members:
Mark (aka Mr GRiM) - provided the original tutorial
Poppa Bear - continued Mark's work within the 2nd version
endeavor - provided continuous feedback, changes, invaluable testing instrumental to tutorial operations
EKManitis - propose the batch code that made operations easier
Slartybart - updated, tested, and consolidated all of the above into the 3rd version
endeavor - reviewed, updated, tested, and incorporated all of the above into this 4th version
...and also a special thanks to All the other members who presented discovery for this project

Related Tutorials

---

• How to Backup/Restore Messages in Windows Mail (Vista version)
  
• Windows Calendar - Import into Windows 7
• Vista Windows Sidebar - Reinstate on Windows 7
• Windows Live Mail - Import Windows Mail Messages
• Windows Live Mail - Import Windows 7 and Vista Contacts

 

[RKelly5327]

SlartyBart, thank you for that link to the "scales". I didn't know you could do anything like that. I was only too happy to follow through with your suggestion. Thanks again.

 

[Slartybart]

SlartyBart, thank you for that link to the "scales". I didn't know you could do anything like that. I was only too happy to follow through with your suggestion. Thanks again.

You're welcome RKelly - PA folks are good folks, eh wot!

Bill
.

 

[endeavor]

Yep solved the problem for me with the duplicates. But now unbelievably I am back to having the "Windows has stopped Working" problem but after fading and freezing it restarts after a minute so I think I will remove IE11 again

Hey kewl1, I hope you or roncerr didn't misunderstand about why I just put a Search link there, Certainly not because I didn't want to give you a specific answer or link while knowing what the results of the link I gave were, but my aim was that since WinMail at this point is used by fewer and fewer people as time goes on, I like to enable the ones that actually do use it to get to know enough about it so that then they too can turn around and be of help to others like we do. And so then finding a problem on ones own is empowering no matter the subject, and I just wanted to pass that empowering on is all, I hope that was okay here, my intention was good.

Anyway, glad you have the duplicate emails solved. I also hope your email store is in order which is important since all your account information is contained within. That folder:
C:\Users\-yourcomputername-\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Mail
.. is very important in WinMail's case for a dozen reasons, and a backup of that very folder can prove to be uniquely helpful in another dozen situations.

I'm not sure why now your client is crashing now, I don't know the specifics of what you actually did. It can't be the same thing unless you used System Restore again and went back to the wrong point, etc, changing the outcome around again.

~~~~~~~~

Also to Bill for your very supportive post thank you, and Everyone that followed through with it thank you very much for your support, the appreciation given makes it worth it, and you bet I reciprocated it as well.

 

[grits]

endeavor, may I ask what you mean by "I also hope your email store is in order"? And, I'm sure this is a dumb question: until I get an external drive for keeping back ups, would just making a back up folder just for WM do me any good in case of problem with WM. I do realize that it wouldn't help if my whole HDD gives me fits.

Thanks for all you do for all of us that are hooked on WinMail.

 

[endeavor]

Hello my dear grits,

It was in response to kewl1 with what he was doing, and if he was dragging and dropping (copying) mail folders as he said within windows from one OS to another in that store folder, all of which if not done to and from an identical setup and always from the main OS first, may affect adversely the WinMail store folder and what actually shows up in WinMail's GUI itself, as well may totally mess up his Account info which could be why he was having an issue.
Store Folder is just the nick-name I call it, someone else may call it different, but again it's the folder in Windows located at:
C:\Users\-yourcomputername-\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Mail
It contains all your WinMail GUI folder structure, i.e., your inbox, outbox, etc ...and every mail-box that's within the WinMail's GUI itself, even within WinMail when you create a new named folder and any subfolders to it which you keep certain categories stored or diverted into, also if you have newsgroups setup like I do, and so for instance in total my WinMail GUI has nearly 50 separate mail/news folders/subfolders. And so my point in saying the email Store Folder, it is that Windows folder which houses All the mail folders and their structure, that show up within WinMail's GUI.
Also, it stores all your Account(s) info, etc, in the form of these types of files
"account{00ABFB94-230C-4163-A707-DD4AC521BCCA}.oeaccount"
..will all be different numbers of course that's just an example, are all contained within that Store Folder too. (That folder is one of the reasons why I like WinMail, but very well may be the reason another tech person dislikes it; but all OT to this tutorial)
It's important (to me anyway) because I have many different OS setups, point is, with that store folder when I'm setting up a new OS where WinMail is Always setup identical in each, and so one of the first things I do is zip that folder from my main OS, and replace that into the new OS I'm setting up, and presto, All the complicated WinMail GUI folder structures, all their emails, and 90% of the Account setup is done for me automatically just by doing that, then the usual is the rest of the email setup. (I'm sure I left a few little things out by typing off the top so don't quote follow. Also realize in perspective the average person doesn't know where or what this folder is, or really care, and so this information is more for advanced users and so don't try this unless you are exactly sure what you are doing, and above all have a backup first)

And so yes grits if your email message store is that critical to you, it could prove valuable to backup that folder if you don't have partition imaging to retrieve it, but if you use a system Restore Point will catch it; otherwise I personally would periodically right click on and zip that folder, and copy/keep it elsewhere for backup, yes.


.

 

[Donz]

How to re-load Windows Mail?

Hi All,

I have been using the original method of installing WM on 7.

Several months ago, After my computer would come out of sleep mode WM would time out when trying to check for mail.
I would just have to X out and re-open WM and it would work fine.

I'm considering a re-load of WM via the batch file.

Should I restore the original msoe .dll and re-boot before running the batch file. (Or what)

Any suggestions?

Thanks

Don

 

[endeavor]

Hi All,

I have been using the original method of installing WM on 7.

Several months ago, After my computer would come out of sleep mode WM would time out when trying to check for mail.
I would just have to X out and re-open WM and it would work fine.

I'm considering a re-load of WM via the batch file.

Should I restore the original msoe .dll and re-boot before running the batch file. (Or what)

Any suggestions?

Thanks

Don

Hi Donz,

If you are using the new Tutorial method (which is recommended since it has important updates since the original method) but it also runs the new bat file, and so no you don't need to do anything with the current msoe...dll except run the Tutorial process which will automatically replace the msoe...dll with the correct one irregardless.

 

[Donz]

Thanks, I'll give it a try.

Will it save my messages in my Inbox etc. Or do I have to do an export/import for messages?

 

[endeavor]

Thanks, I'll give it a try.

Will it save my messages in my Inbox etc. Or do I have to do an export/import for messages?

After you download the zip on page 1, and as you follow the "TutReWinMail\ReWinMail_tutorial.html" from steps 1 through 7...
If you just do exactly what it says and you already have WinMail installed, it does not touch your message store in any way, the outcome only swaps out to the latest dll, and adds the latest version of registry entries.

While it will be a good thing to get the latest Tutorial run with what it offers, but I don't think it will solve your Sleep...WM hang problem, but it will not hurt it either; that problem may lie elsewhere.
Why leave WM open when you walk away in the first place, just close it before you leave your computer long enough for it to Sleep.

 

[grits]

Hi endeavor, I'm sure I'm reading your above post wrong but need to ask anyway ( you know me,always stupid questions). Is there something new in tut that I should update to be more secure?
The reason I ask is that I've read a post some time back where the poster said that either a Windows Update or Scannow messed up his/her WM. (sorry, CRS)
I quite often see a post concerning WM in some other thread & when I do, I will post that they should come here but they usually don't. Their loss, .

 

[endeavor]

iirc grits you have run the latest already so you are fine; Donz said he used an older one, how older I do not know.

As far as your question about sfc /scannow with WM, if you used the newer files then there are No Problems using it anymore since previously a necessary registry entry was added to the WinMailEdit.reg which circumvents that particular System File Checker problem of the past where where SFC would restore the original msoe...dll causing WM to fail, but not anymore; if it does then you don't have the latest files.

 

[grits]

Thanks.

 

[grits]

Sorry to be wasting space but this has been driving me nuts so went back to find posts only to end up more embarrassed 'cuz I'd forgotten about the Feb. Update.

 

[billg226]

WinMail Tutorial

Where can I find the "latest & greatest" Win Mail tutorial? Will it work in Windows 8 as well?
Thanks,
Bill

BTW, I used the very 1st Win Mail Tut for my Windows 7 desktop about 3 years ago (I think, lol) and it has worked flawlessly.

 

[Donz]

Where can I find the "latest & greatest" Win Mail tutorial? Will it work in Windows 8 as well?
Thanks,
Bill

BTW, I used the very 1st Win Mail Tut for my Windows 7 desktop about 3 years ago (I think, lol) and it has worked flawlessly.

Don't know about Windows 8

Click:
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/5481-windows-mail.html

 

[endeavor]

Sorry to be wasting space but this has been driving me nuts so went back to find posts only to end up more embarrassed 'cuz I'd forgotten about the Feb. Update.

Hi Grits,

First of all anyone saying that SFC will break WinMail does not have the latest understanding of this project is all, and so obviously does not have nor have run the latest setup, because again and again that SFC issue has been fixed in the later versions and so using a later and/or the current Tutorial, SFC Will Not bother WinMail anymore because of a simple registry change made to fix that very problem. Tested and Proven a hundred times and discussed in this thread previously.
(actually using the very original Tutorials WinMailEdit.reg and running SFC did not break WinMail very much anyway, it just simply reverted the one msoe..dll causing WM not to work and in hindsight was never a big deal, but simply rerunning the latest Tutorial automatically puts the correct msoe..dll back in place anyway and ALSO it importantly prevents SFC from bothering WM going forward... simple as that)

I have not ever needed to run SRUT on any of my current setups. I could test if needed to see what it would do to WinMail, nothing that could not be easily fixed I am sure.

Certainly IE11 & and latest updates for it including the KB you mention is a Plus for Win7 users, and so with IE11 fully updated does not affect WinMail anymore. Tested and as this WinMail thread previously discusses and proves in detail.

As far as I can see Kayooh, at that time, just needed to run the current Tutorial on top of what he had to fix his WinMail operation, it would of taken just a few minutes to fix his WinMail problem. However I do not know what 'else' he has now done in the meantime to further dismantle WinMail.

 

[endeavor]

Where can I find the "latest & greatest" Win Mail tutorial? Will it work in Windows 8 as well?
Thanks,
Bill

You can find information about WinMail on Windows 8 over at our sister Windows Eight forum at this Link

Realize though Windows Mail is not supported on Windows 8 let alone Windows 7

 

[kewl1]

All is Fine now

Hi endeavor and all,

everything seems to be working fine now. I don't believe that I am spamming everyone with duplicates anymore. The only problem I have now is that my inbox and sent folders are full of thousands of duplicates as a result of probably dragging too may files I guess from the old computer in an effort not to miss anything. I have been trying to find a free program that can remove duplicates from Windows mail but so far no luck.
Have a great weekend,

 

[endeavor]

Hi endeavor and all,

everything seems to be working fine now. I don't believe that I am spamming everyone with duplicates anymore. The only problem I have now is that my inbox and sent folders are full of thousands of duplicates as a result of probably dragging too may files I guess from the old computer in an effort not to miss anything. I have been trying to find a free program that can remove duplicates from Windows mail but so far no luck.
Have a great weekend,

There will be no program to do what you want unfortunately since iirc when you copy/drag/drop the emails from the other computers WM message store folders to the target computer, iirc, I seem to remember that when WM opens identifies and renames all 'non-target' computer emails with different random numbers, and if you already had identical email bodies then you'll end up with a mess to sort, iow, so you can't use a program to search for duplicate filenames since they all have different names...it would be nice if you could. I don't have your situation in front of me or I could see and determine which way to proceed depending. You may do it via a program, finding duplicates specifically by searching Modified dates (not creation dates) since Modified dates 'may' mostlikely have remained the same, but you must be careful of what you delete.
I would suggest to do it visually/manually and so if you go into each suspected message store folder located at:
C:\Users\Win7\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Mail\Local Folders
..of inbox, outbox, etc.. and sort each folder columns by the date "Modified" (not creation dates) and you will see all the duplicates in that way of column date duplicates, and all the ones with exact matches you could delete. But be careful what you delete being only email files, of which if you only stay in the right folders that should not be a problem... iow, you don't want to delete account files, etc.

If all that sounds too complicated surly, then you possibly could do it within WinMail itself with it open as you laboriously identity each duplicate email visually and delete them within WinMail itself.

If I had your computer in front of me I could see/determine what/which way you did what you did and what it ended up with, and then figure out a best plan to proceed to get rid of the duplicates.

Anyway you should stop dragging and dropping in that particular way to solve the problem going forward.
When you copy a WM message store from one machine to another new machine you're setting up, you always do it with the target machine being empty of emails. From there, if you want to make an always current backup of that new message store folder for safe keeping if needed. Not ever combining it with some of the old same store, that way you stay clear of making duplicates when you need to start fresh again.


Nice to see your kewl1, and take good care.

 

[RKelly5327]

Speaking of dll files (msoe)- I've been wondering if one of my dll files is bad, missing in action, or what. Ever since I fixed this laptop up to run W. M. it has not emptied the Deleted Items folder upon exit, nor will it maintain the setting to do so via the Maintainance option under the Advanced tab. I tick the box for it, click Apply, click OK, and when I go back it's gone. I set up W. M. for a friend of mine the other day on a Win 7 machine and noticed on that machine that when the Advanced tab is open, there were several options listed in the big Settings box. Also, on hers, when W.M. is closed, it does empty the Deleted Items folder. On this one the Settings box is just one big empty box. There are no options listed at all in the Settings box. That got me thinking that maybe one of my dll files is bad. It has never emptied the Deleted items folder, no matter what you do, unless you do it manually and tell it do. I copied the dll files that I had used on hers and thought maybe I'd go through the W.M. folder and replace the dll files one at a time to see if I could get the options in the Settings box to show up, AND to get it to automatically empty the Deleted Items folder upon exit.
One thing I wondered- why is there a folder for W.M. in both Program Files and Program Files (x86)?? If I do replace the dll files, I'm planning on replacing them in both folders, the same corresponding ones, and see what happens.
Any ideas?
Have a good and blessed Sunday!
RK