Windows 7 - No Outlook Express. Yikes !

hubb

I have finally upgraded to Windows 7 from XP but as I am so used to Outlook Express, I have all my business emails stored in folders, I have found to my disappointment that there is nothing resembling Outlook Express. In fact, no email program at all ! I like this email program and am at a loss why Microsoft have got rid of it. I also have gmail accounts too. I just like the way Outlook Express works and physically keeping my emails on my PC for proof of earnings etc.

What is my best option for the way I work please ?

GunJack

probably Thunderbird, I use it for an alternative e-mail account...lots of people like it but I kinda tolerate it - but you can use it in a similar way to OE

grumpycrab

The equivalent Microsoft free email today is Windows Live Mail at
http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/download/details.aspx?id=29224

HOWEVER, its pretty grim when compared to Outlook Express. e.g. ribbon toolbar, its desire to connect to your Microsoft account (which you may not have) to use Skydrive as your email repository etc.

So GunJack's Thunderbird suggestion is a good one. It is very good at importing mail from Outlook Express (you have to export it first of-course) and at setting up existing accounts (if your existing email account "physically keeps youremails on your PC" then so will your account under Thunderbird).

ChiefGrasscutter

OE was a nightmare in some respects
It was always designed as a cut down version of Outlook for the home user.
But
It stored it's stuff in various obscure places - making backups awkward - the OP does do backups I suppose?
It stored the stuff in various different files - not one combined file.
It used a propietry format

Personally I was glad to ditch it ASAP when I swapped from Win 98 to XP in the early 2000's and instead I used MS Outlook 2003....with the one single .pst file wich you could store where you wanted it - and have done ever since.

Problem the OP may have is in exporting/importing the existing OE data into a new program like thunderbird - I agree its a good suggestion for an email client.
Where are the OE files- on their old computer or are they hidden away in that obscure sub sub sub sub sub sub sub sub directory on the existing computer which has had the OP system upgraded to Win7?

Toxteth_OGrady

If you like OE take a look at eM Client

Oblivion

I'm an ex user and fan of Outlook Express and really missed it's absence when I moved to Windows 7. I am using Windows Live Mail in Win 7 now and although it took quite a bit of getting used to I'm finding it quite pleasant to use now.

The big annoyance was that I just could not get the Export of stored email messages from my old Outlook Express setup to be recognised by the Import facility in Live Mail, no matter what format I tried. So I've effectively had to start with a clean sheet.

grumpycrab

Oblivion wrote: »

The big annoyance was that I just could not get the Export of stored email messages from my old Outlook Express...

A suggested way is to install Windows Live Mail on the OLD computer first; import Outlook Express data into WLM on the old computer. Moving WLM data from old to new computer is then trivial.
EDIT: something else people hate about WLM (ribbon related) is there's no big print button. Its surprising how fussy some people can be. But you know what they say - the client is always right.

Oblivion

grumpycrab wrote: »

A suggested way is to install Windows Live Mail on the OLD computer first; import Outlook Express data into WLM on the old computer. Moving WLM data from old to new computer is then trivial.
EDIT: something else people hate about WLM (ribbon related) is there's no big print button. Its surprising how fussy some people can be. But you know what they say - the client is always right.

I'm probably being thick but how is that different to trying to do it via Export / Import from old to new PCs? If I install Live Mail on the old computer, surely I'm still faced with exactly the same issue ... i.e. Live Mail will not recognise any of the export formats that Outlook Express creates.

grumpycrab

Oblivion wrote: »

I'm probably being thick but how is that different to trying to do it via Export / Import from old to new PCs? If I install Live Mail on the old computer, surely I'm still faced with exactly the same issue ... i.e. Live Mail will not recognise any of the export formats that Outlook Express creates.

WLM has an automated "import Outlook Express account" function which doesn't work across computers. I.E. it doesn't let you browse for the data - it searches for the Outlook Express account itself. If you know what I mean.

Oblivion

grumpycrab wrote: »

WLM has an automated "import Outlook Express account" function which doesn't work across computers. I.E. it doesn't let you browse for the data - it searches for the Outlook Express account itself. If you know what I mean.

Oh righto. I'll give it a go ... just need to get the old PC out of mothballs and fire it up ... a nice job for a really foul rainy day

macman

This won't work, because you can't install WLM under XP. You need Vista SP2 as a minimum.
Just export your old OE address book and folders to a flash drive or USB hard drive, and reimport into WLM on the new PC.
I've done the same recently using Thunderbird and it all worked fine except reimporting the address book. Which in this case was not really an issue, as the friend had no more than 20 contacts in there.