I am not clear on Microsoft's instructions moving Outlook Express messages to Outlook 2010 onto a new Window 7 machine. I have located the STORE and copied the STORE folder to the desktop of the Windows 7 new computer. The instructions indicate that you should start Outlook Express on the new machine but I am not clear on how that takes place.

Can I just copy the Outlook Express folder in the PROGRAMS\OUTLOOK folder from the XP machine to the Windows 7 machine and expect it to open Outlook Express on the Windows 7 machine?

From the opened Outlook Express I am to locate the STORE that I copied ( in this caet to the Desktop) and Outlook Express on the Windows 7 machine know where to find the STORE. From there the instructions have me use the Import wizard and I assume it converts the message to Outlook 2010 format 

Any clarification on this process would be appreciated.

Hi,

Thank you for using Outlook IT Pro Discussions forum. 

It seems that you were following the steps in this article:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook-help/import-your-messages-or-account-from-outlook-express-to-outlook-HA001094387.aspx

The current problem is that Outlook Express is included in Windows XP, but not Windows 7. So, to do this, we can follow the steps below:

First, we need to first install Windows Live on the Windows 7 computer to have Windows Mail installed on the computer. If you have not installed Windows Live Mail on Windows 7, please download Windows Live Essentials from the link below and install it first.

http://windows.microsoft.com/windows-7-email-calendar-photo-video-programs

Second, follow the steps in this link to import messages into Windows Mail from Outlook Express:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Import-messages-into-Windows-Mail-from-Outlook-Express

Note: The steps in the link above are for Windows XP and Windows Vista, we can also use the steps in Windows XP and Windows 7.

Third, try to import the message from Windows Live Mail to Outlook 2010:

In Outlook 2010, click File > Open > Import > Import Internet Mail and Addresses > Outlook Express…. or Windows Mail.

Please take your time to try the suggestions and let me know the results at your earliest convenience. If anything is unclear or if there is anything I can do for you, please feel free to let me know.

Best Regards,

Sally Tang

TechNet Subscriber Support in forum

If you have any feedback on our support, please contact tngfb@microsoft.com  

Teresa,

This seemed to do the trick!  Thanks much.  The only thing I can add is that the menu bar was hidden when I installed Windows Live Mail from the link above.  Need to turn that on before you see the 'File' option.

Now the next item I'm tryting to tackle is how to change the default Outlook 2010 account that automatically was set up on the initial transfer from an IMAP account to a POP3 account.  Nothing on the internet shows me how to do this.  You can go the other way but not IMAP to POP3.  Do I have to wipe my IMAP account and start from scratch?

Thanks again!

Hi MikeN-WI,

You will need to create a new profile for your POP account.

Hi NZate,

It sounds like you do not have Outlook installed on the machine?  If you have it on the machine try setting up your Outlook profile and then try exporting.

Hi RChaffee,

Make sure that Outlook is set as your default mail client.  To do this in Outlook 2010 follow these steps:

1. Open Outlook
2. Click on File > Options
3. On the General options > Start up Options > check "Make Outlook the default program form E-mail, Contacts, and Calendar
4. Once you have done this, test the export from Windows Live Mail.

Thanks Teresa.

As I posted, Outlook is already set as my default email.  I checked several times.  I still cannot get the Live Mail export to work.  I am trying to use Outlook 64 bit and import my email messages from the old computer's Outlook Express 6.0.

I copied the entire folder into an Outlook Express folder in Documents, but the Outlook Import Wizard did not find them.  I found this string and followed the instructions to import them first to Windows Live Mail, but the Live Mail Export crashes each time with the error message about MAPI.

Regards,

RChaffee

Hi RChaffee,

Thank you for the information.  I was able to reproduce this issue when exporting to Outlook 2010 if Outlook 2010 is 64 bit. This works fine if Outlook 2010 is 32 bit.

I have filed a bug to the Product Group and hopefully this will be considered in a future update. 

Unfortunately the only workaround that I am aware of at this time would be to uninstall Outlook 2010 64 bit and install the 32 bit version. 

I have had the same trouble.  After trying to go to Microsoft for support for my brand new computer, I was essentially told I would have to pay for contacting Microsoft.  I then went to Best Buy to have the Geek Squad look at it.  They said it cannot be done.  I have searched online to find the same directions and problems mentioned above.  Eventually, I found software that I had to purchase for $70 that converted all my Outlook Express DBX files to PST files.  Everything worked extremely well after use of the software.  I wish I did not have to go that route, but that is how I got my mail moved.

Now, I am trying to move my contacts.  None of the processes I have found are working.  Again, one goes to the Import function of Outlook 2010, but there is no choice regarding which file to import.  I have all the information from my old computer with Outlook Express on an external hard drive that is searchable by the new computer.  I still need to move the address folder.  Can anyone tell me how to do this?  Any help at all would be appreciated as nothing I am trying is working.  Thank you.

Hi RChaffee,

Thank you for the information.  I was able to reproduce this issue when exporting to Outlook 2010 if Outlook 2010 is 64 bit. This works fine if Outlook 2010 is 32 bit.

I have filed a bug to the Product Group and hopefully this will be considered in a future update. 

Unfortunately the only workaround that I am aware of at this time would be to uninstall Outlook 2010 64 bit and install the 32 bit version. 

Hi John,

There is currently no resolution to the 64 bit version of Outlook.  Yes, if you uninstall your 64 Bit Office, then you can install the 32 Bit.

I am a support tech at a software company who has to get on remotely to customers pcs to do my job.

While I am not sure if this might address the problem whereby Outlook is 'unable to see, or otherwise access' the *.dbx files - I have seen similar support issues where customers call me to say the software I support is 'unable to see, or otherwise' access certain files on the computer.

Case in point, if one installs SQL server 2005 express to a win 7 computer (regardless if 32-bit or 64-bit), when the install is run as admin (eg, right-click the sqlserver exe installer file, then 'Run As (true) Admin' - its possible that some of the files you installed as true admin, are not able to be properly accessed by the very app you just installed!!!

In most cases, finding the files in question and changing permissions so 'everyone' has full control - fixes this problem.  Again, no guarantees this is the problem here with Outlook - but Ive seen this similar problem over and over again.  In my opinion its a bug in Windows 7.

Sincerely,

Greg Aiken

Second, follow the steps in this link to import messages into Windows Mail from Outlook Express:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Import-messages-into-Windows-Mail-from-Outlook-Express

 

Note: The steps in the link above are for Windows XP and Windows Vista, we can also use the steps in Windows XP and Windows 7.

In the ~year since Sally's post, has Microsoft created instructions specifically for Windows Live Mail and Win 7?  I realize that Sally said these Vista instructions apply to 7, but it's somewhat disconcerting to follow instructions for Windows Mail and Vista when you're using Windows LIVE Mail and 7.

http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/convert_oe.asp says "When you export from Windows Live Mail to Outlook, the message headers are missing."

Is that true?  So if we follow the OE-to-WLM-to-Outlook instructions above, we'll lose all the To, From, Date, and Subject fields???  If true, yikes.  Say it ain't so.

Yep.  Terrible design.  I run into this everytime I have to migrate someone's system.  Having to jump through hoops to get a migration between the old basic client, and the new suite should not be necessary.  Whoever is responsible for this must never use their own products.

 Frankly, it shouldn't be necessary for this thread to exist. Outlook 2010 should be able to import a bunch of .dbx files and a .wab and Bob's your uncle.

I just want to inform everyone that I SUCCESSFULLY TRANSFERRED ALL MY CONTACS FROM OUTLOOK EXPRESS ON ONE MACHINE (running Windows XP), TO OUTLOOK 2010 (64bit) ON ANOTHER RUNNING WINDOWS 7 (professional).

This was done by exporting the contacts to a USB memory stick in WAB format (mark all you contacts in OE and go file(I believe it is)->Export->Address book (WAB)), then exporting them to Windows Contacs on the other machine (this part you'll have to think about a bit yourselves as I don't remember exactly how I did it, but it's done largely as I just described). From there it was possible to import them all at once as described in this link: http://www.msoutlook.info/question/382 .

I really hope noone's ever going to struggle with this stupid problem again.

Hello David,

1. THANK YOU FOR YOUR POST. When I read the $70 dollar software converter a light went off. I installed Outlook 2000 on the machines that have OE and it immediately imported email and address books into a PST file that does import into Outlook 64 bit. I mean who wants to uninstall Outlook 64 and install Outlook 32 just to be able to import into Window Live Mail and export to some store that only 32 bit versions can import. Makes my head spin.

2. I have in the past exported the OE Address Book into a CSV file. Outlook can then import the CSV file.  If it is a complicated OE address Book (groups etc.) it can get nasty but a simple address book exports and imports fine.  The browse function is even available in Outlook 2010 for CSV files so when you  select import a file and designate csv you can browse to it. I hope that helps you as much as you helped me.

3. A grumble to one of the other posters: Just because OE is an old program does not make it okay that MS left out a way to browse for an OE store. OE is their product and lots of people still use it. It was just lazy programming or bad quality control that let Outlook 2010 slide without a browse function for OE when it is there for other file types. Sorry I grumbled on your dime but I am too lazy to post twice. :)

Good Hunting,

Sam

Hi sam,

Your idea is not bad but how do you deal with "received" dates that are now displayed as the date of the import?

(of course within the messages the dates are still the original ones)

Thank you for any suggestions. This thing is more of a challenge to me than I ever thought possible for something I had deemed pedestrian!

Frank

Hi MikeN-WI,

 

You will need to create a new profile for your POP account.

Has this issue been sorted yet. 

I have been trying to help a friend open her outlook express emails on her new PC which is windows 7 - the steps described above are far too technical for her to manage and she lives too far away for me to go and help.

Surely Microsoft have come up with an easy solution for non technically minded people

Hi Guys, after many hours of trying and using the advice from this forum which only worked up to a point, I finally managed to get it all working 100% and I would like to share this with you.

I am using XP Outlook Express and also have Office 2010 installed which comes with Microsoft Outlook. I have never used Outlook as I was quite happy with OE.

I partitioned my hard drive and installed Windows 7 and Office 2010 on the partition.

I then went back to my XP partition and opened Outlook for the very first time, went through the procedure but did not create an account. Just wanted to get the programs interface to open. XP detected that I had Outlook open and asked if I wanted to move the information across and I said yes as this would create the .PST file without paying for any software to do the converting from .dbx to .PST  The emails were moved across and all my folders were now visible in Outlook.

The next step was to find the .pst file which had just been created and it was in "My Documents" in the "Outlook" Folder.

I then coppied the .pst file which was about 2.5GB onto a flash drive and restarted my pc in the Windows 7 partition. Opened up Outlook located the Store Folder where Outlook keeps the messages and pasted the .pst file.

Next step was to go to File - Open - Import/Export - From a File - select .pst and this lets you browse to where the .pst was pasted, and after this it took about 15 minutes, I could see all the folders appearing it the list.

Hope this helps. It sure did for me.

Hello EK:  I am trying something very similar, but it's not working.  I built a new W7U machine, and am trying to transfer OE messages from the old XP machine.  I installed Outlook on the XP, just to get the dbx into a pst file.  Saved latter to thumb.  I am confused by your sentence here,

"I then coppied the .pst file which was about 2.5GB onto a flash drive and restarted my pc in the Windows 7 partition. Opened up Outlook located the Store Folder where Outlook keeps the messages and pasted the .pst file."

Where is the "Store Folder" in W7U?  How does opening Outlook in the W7U machine help me locate?  Did you mean in the C: drive explorer window somewhere?

Paul

Hi Ron and Teresa,

Just to let all Know I have manage to Import from Outlook Express to my Hotmail account Successfully AND THEN Export to Outlook 2010 -> Also Succesfully, BUT - The problem I Found was was after "From Windows Live Mail clickFile > Export > Messages > choose Microsoft Exchange" as per your Instructs, which are fine, THE WISARD GIVE's You an Option to Export ALL or Selected Folders. I Selected the "Selected Folders" option and then Selected the "Imported Folder" and clicked on OK! The result was that it exported that folder only!! IE It DID NOT AUTOMATICALLY Select the sub folders as well. Once I had Highlighted (Selected) all the Required Folders and Clicked on OK, It DID then Export ALL the Selected Folders to OUTLOOK 2010. What a Relief!!

THE TRICK IS to Make sure ALL required Folders are selected.

Many thanks to ALL for your Input - Graham

PS. I also Made Sure that Outlook 2010 was open/Active when I did the export!!!

ALSO this was for Outlook 2010 v14.0.6112.5000 (32 bit) version

This Solution is the one that works 100 percent, although i did no partitioning, i followed Eddie Kruger's advice and installed Outlook 2010 onto the old XP computer that was running Outlook Express, then opened Outlook 2010 and started the set up but without creating an account. Once i had declined creating an account i was asked if i would like to import my existing files from OE i clicked yes and the process began. (the import process was not visible it must have been done in the background but after about 20 mins i checked the inbox expand chevron and saw all my old folders were there. Then i checked contacts folder and that was also populated. The next step was to plug in my pen drive and go to documents > outlook > data files and send to drive E (which was the drive letter for my pen drive) and after progress bar finished i safely removed the pen drive. Over to the new Computer running Windows 7 & Outlook 2010 opened documents located the Outlook file opened it and copy and pasted the data pst file from my pen drive and then opened Outlook 2010 then Clicked File > Open >  Import > "Import from a file" and browsed to the outlook pst file cliked open and then watched as the process continued, roughly 15 minuites later i had all my old files into a new subfolder i had created.  Works 100 percent. Thanks Eddie.