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and many of the link pointers within have become mislinked over time, many of the files or information within them is outdated, incomplete, or superseded with more accurate information - and so be careful.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:

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     (..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

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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

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• 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

 

[endeavor]

Finished.

For me it's not finished because the encoding crashing issue, on your setup, you did not resolve it yet. I spent time on your request! Anyway, certainly it's only a problem on your end, and is fixable, but it's up to you, and no problem if you want to stop, then case closed, or as you say, finished.


About your friends computer

I put his account on my computer and it works fine.

You realize that it's going through your computer setup, and through your isp channels to his destinations right, and if it works fine from that, so then the problem lies within his own setup, or his online connections and/or his destinations setups.

Any thoughts?

None more than that which is self-explanatory in my statement above.
You are going to have to tediously/methodically isolate the problem along the way, it could be anywhere within a dozen of those reasons.

 

[Donz]

Intermittently connecting to Comcast email server to receive

Friends,
I have a friend with Win7/64 who has been using WM for several years with no problem.
About 2 months ago he started to not receive emails along with an error message after clicking Send/Receive. A few days later he would receive about 100+ emails normally. Next day or two, nothing. Sending was OK. We verified all the usual port settings that Comcast uses for Pop3 and everything was fine. (995 & 465).
When it was working normally, I clicked Send/Receive a dozen times and it worked fine with no errors. Now about 2 months later, he still has the problem. Intermittently connecting to Comcast email server to receive.

Internet connection is otherwise OK.
Websites open normally
Gmail and T-Bird work normally to same email address
I put his account on my computer and it works fine.
Sorry I don't have a copy of error message. (I'll get it)
He has 2 email addresses and both react the same.

Any thoughts? Maybe a total reload of WM?
Thanks,Don

 

[endeavor]

As I said in my last reply to your same post that you've re-posted again anew, it's working on your computer so realize that it's going through your computer setup, and through your isp channels to his destinations right, and if it works fine from that, so then the problem lies within his own setup or his online connections and/or his destinations setups.

I noticed you mentioned he receives 100 emails at a time, and that begs the question, How many emails does he have in either his WinMail inbox? ..or his Comcast inbox? I've said this other times I've seen WinMail fuss a bit when with too many emails in its inbox (or even in its news accounts) ..so if he has many thousands of emails in there, or maybe even on his online account, possibly causing it to hang/defect somehow - adjust that. For instance see this online post with that same error number 0X800CCCOF (although with Live Mail) ..at this link: Here
Scroll down to the answer from: Mick_from_Cov answer on Sept 25, 2016

Maybe a total reload of WM?

If the problem is with his 'online' account inbox being overloaded then no, fix it at that source instead. But if it's because of his local WinMail inbox being overloaded, etc, then clearing it out just might.
Again you're having to get creatively persistent to find the problem and resolve it.
There are so many suggestions from A to Z though, consider them all... sources: Here

 

[Mike Lynch]

Yes, it makes sense.

Keep up the good work.

 

[ps24u]

@endeavor I wish to solve a small cosmetic bug on WinMail on Win7 32Bit: some progess bars are empty.
The "check new mail" progress bar works:

But the "Find message" and "Compact database" (cleanup) do not !?


On a hunch I tried putting "ComCtl32.dll" from Vista SP1 in my C:\Program Files\Windows Mail\ folder hoping it'd help, but no change..
Any idea of ways to fix this ?

 

[endeavor]

@endeavor I wish to solve a small cosmetic bug on WinMail on Win7 32Bit: some progress bars are empty.
The "check new mail" progress bar works:
But the "Find message" and "Compact database" (cleanup) do not !?
Any idea of ways to fix this ?

Hello ps24u,

I like it when members post screenshots and show good detail of their issues, nice work.

I checked my Win7 installation just now, and sure enough the progress bars you mention are how it is on mine too, so we have that confirmed.

In order to confirm the original functioning of this though, of course I need to check Vista for its operation, since I've found in the past there are few things that don't fully present on Vista either.
Booting Vista up just now (you know I always loved Vista and how it looks when I boot her up, I've a soft spot for that OS)

Anyway, guess what, we have 50/50 with these functions. On Vista when doing a Find for things in messages, the progress bar does Not show any green in its bar progressing at all - it's always blank.
However for the Compacting progress bar, it does work and does show the green bar moving with its progress.

ps24u, while I applaud your tenacity and desire for perfection for these minor things, there is no way I will spend the time to track this down to fix it, it's such a minor, minor, and overall unimportant issue; but yes I understand and can appreciate why you want it to work.

Please just be happy we have what we have, and working as good as it is, Okay!
Understand that when (if) the day comes for You to reinstate WinMail onto Win8, Win10, or Win11 using that tutorial over there ...well, just know that it only gets much harder from here (Win7), by far!

Be happy with what you have..

Thanks for your post, and have a great year!

 

[ps24u]

Thanks for testing and confirming the "Compacting" progress bar at least is supposed to work (does on Vista).
I believe it's a version mismatch of ComCtl32.dll between Vista & Win7 that's responsible but have not enough knowledge to go futher.
Not gonna lose sleep over this but if a win32 guru looks into it I'll be glad!