Experience with CONVERSION of OUTLOOKE EXPRESS emails (from XP) to WINDOWS 7 (new PC) WINDOWS LIVE mail.
Much as I would like to I will not rant about the idiocy of Microsoft, who decided to eliminate the option for Outlook Express in Windows 7, nor made it anything but difficult to do a conversion. But, it can be done!!!! Hopefully this will help others though I am sure I do not cover all the issues out there. I just went through this conversion this weekend so wanted to post experience thoughts in hopes it may help.
Background - I had regularly backed up my data on Clickfree (completely easy and mindless - highly recommend). I did a final backup the night before I converted over to my new PC. Current one was 5 years old and SLOW.
The entire 'restore' to new PC went wonderfully, including iTunes, from Clickfree hardrive. This includes the files from Outlook (with one glaring exception!!!). However, when it came time to importfiles into LIVE Email the following would occur.
Go to File>Import>Message? Browse to find folder where the backup has been stored. Then click NEXT. Here is what happened:
ERROR MESSAGE
No messages can be found in this folder or another application is running that required files open. please select another folder or try closing application that may have files open
(NOTE: Exported files from Outlook express are saved as *.DBX files)
First issue I figured out? (although, read second issue as well, because that is critical too):
You MUST browse/define ALL THE WAY DOWN to the >outlook express folder. Initially, I was just defining to about C:\Documents and Settings\[username] rather than all the way to where you can view email file folders. It is very similar to below filepath, with the identifier number being unique to you. I finally figured this out after I copied my data from clickfree to a folder I defined, then went to mycomputer to find the file. Just keep clicking all the way down. Once you determine you can actually see your Outlook Express folders (and, these are just the highlevel folder names you have stored the individual emails in, which are there, but you can't see) then you have to go back to the Windows Live ..to File>Import>Message? and get to there. You will see the file folder names. Select the files you want to import. I recommend just doing a handful at a time. See, 'ONCE COPIED' below.
C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities\{12345678-1234-ABCD-EFGH-1234567890AB}\Microsoft\Outlook Express
SECOND ISSUE - VERY IMPORTANT. There MUST be a FOLDER.DBX file in your outlook express directory mentioned above. This is a file that defines the directory/file structure from your old email. I have no idea why, but this one critical file did not get backed up/copied over/recognized or whatever from my Clickfree. Once I figured this out from reading other help blogs, I went back to old PC and found it, manually copied it over to a flashdrive, then copied over to outlook express folder on new PC. After that, the import worked, the detailed path was recognized and I could select folders to import. My guess is, THIS ISSUE is the #1 problem with improting, from what I have read, causing the error message above (though not defining down to detailed path is an issue as well).
So, if you have gotten this far you are in good shape and it is a matter of patience and finesse to get what you want.
ONCE COPIED/IMPORTED:
Here is where it was fun. Issues:
1) You MUST define the detailed path, clicking through several times, EVERY TIME you do an import. Because you will run into error messages from individual files, you don't want to attempt to do everything at once (IMHO). You will get to know this path really well.
2) When you have imported, you will see Imported File (1), click on that you will see INBOX, click on that you will likely see the name of a file you recognize. Unfortunately you get the Imported>Inbox everytime. This meant I had to rename the IMPORTED to what I wanted it to be from old one (id'd in imported subfolder) and then copy the emails from that highlevel folder to IMPORTED (1) you rename:
3) EXAMPLE:
IMPORTED (1) INBOX SPORTS (from import) SOCCER (subfolder) TENNIS (subfolder) etc.. I simply renamed IMPORTED (1) To SPORTS, copied all emails directly in SPORTS folder to new SPORTS, then moved SOCCER,TENNIS subfolders up to new SPORTS/IMPORTED folder( Drag them) and then verify that INBOX and old SPORTS folders are now empty and delete them. This just keeps things clean and able to view at all times.
4) This movement/reorganization etc.. was the other reason I did grouped imports, so I could keep track and organize what I was doing as I went along. People have their own organization systems so this is just an example of what worked for me.
NOTE: Several times I would get an error message saying something like "some messages in folder XYZ could not be imported." You have to confirm. Sometimes it would just proceed to next folder, sometimes it would terminate. So, pay attention to which files so you 'skip' them next time to continue progress importing, but can go back. Sometimes later it would work, sometimes I never was able to get old email files imported. Not that many had that issue, however and no clue as to what the actual problem was, but none were critical enough to me that I bothered with it.
Hope this is somewhat helpful and clear enough. It took a while to get there, but you can, NO THANK TO MICROSOFT!!!
GOOD LUCK.
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