Outlook Express and Windows Live Mail: Windows 7

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If I upgrade to Windows 7 from XP I lose Outlook Express and have to use Windows Live Mail. Will everything I have in my Outlook accounts be transferred over to Live Mail or will I lose what I have saved? I have many, many emails and information I have saved that I want to retain.
Barbara Graae

The excitement of purchasing and using a new computer is generally dampened by a flood of questions that come to mind when the package finally is opened and the system is set up. The most troubling issue is often related to email, especially how to transfer email from the older computer to the new one. And Microsoft hasn’t been of much help because they have been changing default email clients faster than releasing new versions of their Windows operating system.

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It all started with the trusted and popular Outlook Express being missing from Windows Vista and substituted with Windows Mail. But before the usage of Windows Mail (or Outlook Express 7, as I like to fondly call it) could gather momentum, it was thrown aside and in came Windows Live Mail.

To further complicate matters, Windows 7, the latest operating system which was officially launched a few days back, comes with no native email client. People who’ve been on Vista or XP will be completely lost when switching to a Windows 7 machine. (Please note: Windows Live Mail, the recommended email client, may come pre-installed on Windows 7; as in the case of my new Sony VAIO laptop).

So for the benefit of those who are looking to move from Windows XP to Windows 7 (read Outlook Express to Windows Live Mail), this is what you need to do.

No Outlook Express on Windows 7 – only Windows Live Mail

There is no Outlook Express on Windows 7. The default email client on the latest operating system from Microsoft is Windows Live Mail. Does this mean you will lose all emails stored on Outlook Express?

Heavens, no! All you need to do is transfer emails from Outlook Express (Windows XP) to Windows Live Mail (Windows 7). This can be easily and quickly accomplished using the Export and Import functions of the two programs. But before I tell you the steps to follow, I need to address an important point.

Transferring emails from one computer to another is a manual process – this will not happen “automatically”. In other words, no one can wave a magic wand and have the messages moved from one computer (Windows XP) to another (Windows 7). The time taken for this procedure depends on the number of emails you have stored – it can be done in minutes or can take an hour (more?).

Transfer Outlook Express emails to Windows 7 – Windows Live Mail

Transfer emails from Outlook Express to Windows 7 - Windows Live Mail email program

Import Outlook Express messages in Windows Live Mail - Windows 7

For step by step instructions, please refer the following links:

Answers Outlook Express Windows 7 Windows Live Mail