transferring from Windows Mail to Outlook 2003

[Dave T Win]

I have been using Windows Mail for my email, and now wish to use Outlook
(2003).

I have tried to Export to Microsoft Exchange, and select Outlook as the
profile in the next screen. I then select the folders I need, and it does
something, and tells me my messages were exported in Windows Mail format
(??why noy Outlook??), but I have no idea where they are - and when I start
Outlook, it can't find anything to import.

Any suggestions?

 

[Hal Hostetler [MVP-P/I]]

Windows Mail will export to the Personal Folders (.PST) file attached to the
Outlook profile in use. In other words, when you open Outlook after the
export from Windows Mail, the email should all be there. Example: I
created a folder named XYZ in Windows Mail and copied some messages to it.
I then went to 'File|Export|Messages', selected Microsoft Exchange, selected
the XYZ folder and let it export. I opened Outlook and, in addition to the
folders I had to start with, I now have an XYZ folder containing messages.
Outlook must have at least one profile setup and have a delivery location
set for that profile. A delivery location is either a Personal Folders file
(.PST) or an Exchange Server mailbox.

Hal
--
Hal Hostetler, CPBE -- (e-mail address removed)
Senior Engineer/MIS -- MS MVP-Print/Imaging -- WA7BGX
http://www.kvoa.com -- "When News breaks, we fix it!"
KVOA Television, Tucson, AZ. NBC Channel 4
Still Cadillacin' - www.badnewsbluesband.com

 

[gentech21]

Windows Mail will export to the Personal Folders (.PST) file attached to the
Outlook profile in use. In other words, when you open Outlook after the
export from Windows Mail, the email should all be there. Example: I
created a folder named XYZ in Windows Mail and copied some messages to it.
I then went to 'File|Export|Messages', selected Microsoft Exchange, selected
the XYZ folder and let it export. I opened Outlook and, in addition to the
folders I had to start with, I now have an XYZ folder containing messages.
Outlook must have at least one profile setup and have a delivery location
set for that profile. A delivery location is either a Personal Folders file
(.PST) or an Exchange Server mailbox.

Hal
--
Hal Hostetler, CPBE -- (e-mail address removed)
Senior Engineer/MIS -- MS MVP-Print/Imaging -- WA7BGX
http://www.kvoa.com -- "When News breaks, we fix it!"
KVOA Television, Tucson, AZ. NBC Channel 4
Still Cadillacin' - www.badnewsbluesband.com

I have a similar problem. I have a windows mail account that mysteriously
quit sending mail and my customer wants to transfer from windows mail to
outlook 2003. I have the account set up in outlook already. I have gone to
export option in windows mail and chose exchange/outlook and chose my
personal folders file which includes subfolders. I hit export and it said it
was successful and was exported in windows mail format. When i open outlook,
there are local folders in there with the personal folders from windows mail,
but there aren't any messages in them or in inbox, outbox, sent, etc?????? I
can find the PST file from today, but it is not the same size as the message
store file in windows mail. Now I have two email programs with no mail. Any
ideas?? How can I get my messages back or are they lost. I have tried export
a few times, and just have several copies of same empty folders in outlook.

I thought of deleting account in outlook and trying again...but....I don't
have anything in windows mail to export????

Thanks

 

[Hal Hostetler [MVP-P/I]]

1. Exporting from Windows Mail to Outlook does NOT remove messages from
Windows Mail, it makes copies that are sent to Outlook. If you had messages
in Windows Mail that are not there after the export, something else is
afoot.
2. Make sure your View settings are not set to "Hide Read Messages" or show
only "Unread messages in this folder".
3. Windows Mail and Outlook have entirely different storage processes, so
data file size differences between the two are mostly meaningless, unless
the difference is huge.
4. If your view setting are correct for showing read mail in Windows Mail
and you're positive you had messages there and visible before the export,
that "something else is afoot" is commonly an Anti Virus application setup
to scan email. If you have such a creature, STRONGLY suspect it, most A/V
email scanners do not get along with Windows Mail. You don't need email
scanning anyway, it is a totally redundant operation that does nothing but
create problems where none otherwise exist.

Hal
--
Hal Hostetler, CPBE -- (e-mail address removed)
Senior Engineer/MIS -- MS MVP-Print/Imaging -- WA7BGX
http://www.kvoa.com -- "When News breaks, we fix it!"
KVOA Television, Tucson, AZ. NBC Channel 4
Still Cadillacin' - www.badnewsbluesband.com

 

[gentech21]

Thanks for the reply Hal, but I had already found this exact post of yours in another forum. The directions from that post are the ones I followed and it didn't work. The emails are gone. Same results that Dave got. Nothing.

Any other ideas. I have pretty much accepted the fact that the emails are
gone and I am going to need to just start over.

 

[Diane Poremsky [MVP]]

gentech21 wrote on Mon, 22 December 2008 13:44

I have a similar problem. I have a windows mail account that mysteriously
quit sending mail and my customer wants to transfer from windows mail to
outlook 2003. I have the account set up in outlook already. I have gone to
export option in windows mail and chose exchange/outlook and chose my
personal folders file which includes subfolders. I hit export and it said it
was successful and was exported in windows mail format. When i open outlook,
there are local folders in there with the personal folders from windows mail,
but there aren't any messages in them or in inbox, outbox, sent, etc?????? I
can find the PST file from today, but it is not the same size as the message
store file in windows mail. Now I have two email programs with no mail. Any
ideas?? How can I get my messages back or are they lost. I have tried export
a few times, and just have several copies of same empty folders in outlook.

I thought of deleting account in outlook and trying again...but....I don't
have anything in windows mail to export????

Thanks

Outlook won't delete the mail. It sounds like the mail profile is messed up - look on your hard drive for the mail files. The default location in Vista is C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Mail.

Unless there are other reasons for moving to outlook, fixing mail would be better.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]



Outlook Tips by email:
mailto:[email protected]

EMO - a weekly newsletter about Outlook and Exchange:
mailto:[email protected]