Most users believe that Outlook Express is missing on Vista – from one point of view, it’s not true, and I shall tell you more about this in the next paragraph. Anyway, I have tons of emails from desperate people asking how they can get Outlook Express for their computer. The desperation for O.E. is not surprising as it is, and may still be, the most popular email program in the world!
Windows Vista is not shipped with Outlook Express. The default program that takes its place is Windows Mail. In fact, I wouldn’t be very wrong in calling Windows Mail a new version of Outlook Express.
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Why? Because it has almost the same interface with a couple of added features – the automated Junk email filter and a fast search utility. I am quite surprised how people miss the preinstalled Windows Mail on Vista as its right in the “Programs” menu.
Can you install Outlook Express on Windows Vista?
This is probably not a good idea because the support and development for Outlook Express has been discontinued by Microsoft. The program was bundled with Internet Express version 6 and Vista has the newer version of the browser preinstalled. In fact, as far as I know, you cannot install Outlook Express on Vista. You can always try uninstalling the new version of Internet Explorer from your system – for help and step by step instructions, please refer Microsoft help and support section. This will work only for I.E. 8, so if you have the earlier 7 version, you might like to upgrade first. Then grab a copy of Internet Explorer 6 from oldversion.com and see if you can get it on Vista – don’t ask me, I’ve never done but I would like to know if you are successful. So in short, here are the steps if you want to try:
- Check the Internet Explorer version on your Vista computer. If its 7, upgrade it to 8.
- Then uninstall the web browser – refer the link above.
- You should now have a Windows operating system without Internet Explorer.
- To get Outlook Express for Vista, download and install Internet Explorer version 6 – use the installer file from oldversion.com
- Once Outlook Express gets installed on your Vista operating system, upgrade Internet Explorer to the latest version.
Don’t get Outlook Express for Vista – use an alternative
The point is, why are people so hell bent on getting Outlook Express for Vista when a perfectly good email client in the form of Windows Mail is available? By the way, Windows Mail is also kind of old and has been replaced by Windows Live Mail (similar sounding names, I know). This is a standalone email program available for download from the Microsoft web site. Installing Windows Live Mail is very easy – read that article for step by step instructions which are accompanied with screenshots. Email management is just one of the functions; Windows Live Mail features include an RSS reader and a blogging tool – yes, it’s a News client just like its predecessors.
Conclusion: I wouldn’t suggest getting Outlook Express for Vista. It’s an old program and has to pass on – R.I.P and all that. There are two perfectly good alternatives available – Windows Mail (preinstalled) and Windows Live Mail. If you want to get out of Microsoft’s clutches, try the cross-platform free open source Thunderbird from Mozilla. You can find other Windows email software for download, most of them for free. Also check out the Outlook Express alternatives.
