Trouble importing previous outlook express mail files into Outlook

[Guest]

I recently had to reformat my HD and reinstall everything, so I backed up the
data (email files AND address book) files from my copy of outlook express,
expecting that I could import them back in when I reinstalled the software.
I have done this more than once before and was not expecting it to be a
problem.

This time I decided to use Microsoft Outlook (2002) instead of Express, and
am unable to import any of these files. It basically seems that Outlook
doesn't give me the option to direct it to where the files are stored (DVD).
I tried importing them into Outlook Express (hoping I could then send it to
Outlook), but it doesn't seem to recognize the file type the emails are
stored as (they are .dbx files).

what do I need to do to be able to import these files? I have 10 years of
emails backed up into these and I need to be able to access the,. Please
give some advice.

 

[Brian Tillman]

I recently had to reformat my HD and reinstall everything, so I
backed up the data (email files AND address book) files from my copy
of outlook express, expecting that I could import them back in when I
reinstalled the software. I have done this more than once before and
was not expecting it to be a problem.

This time I decided to use Microsoft Outlook (2002) instead of
Express, and am unable to import any of these files. It basically
seems that Outlook doesn't give me the option to direct it to where
the files are stored (DVD). I tried importing them into Outlook
Express (hoping I could then send it to Outlook), but it doesn't seem
to recognize the file type the emails are stored as (they are .dbx
files).

You must move the files from DVD to your hard drive, configure Outlook
Express to use them, then you can import contacts into Outlook and export
messages from OE to Outlook.

 

[Hal Hostetler [MVP P/I]]

Adding a little to Brian's post, all of your OE data files were marked READ
ONLY when you stored them on CD and neither Outlook Express nor Outlook can
use them when set this way. Copy them back to your HD, reset them to
READ/WRITE (remove the Read Only checkmark from file properties) then use
the following to restore them to OE:

Backing Up, Recovering and Restoring OE5/6 Files and Settings
http://www.oehelp.com/backup.aspx
http://insideoe.com/backup/index.htm
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_oe.htm#xp_oe_restore

OLEXP: How to Back Up and Recover Outlook Express Data
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=270670

http://insideoe.com/faqs/how.htm#importOE5
How do I import OE5 and OE6 mail folders?

How to import a single mail folder (*.dbx)
http://www.insideoe.com/faqs/how.htm#importdbx

Once that's done, make sure you have Outlook installed (both Outlook and OE
must be installed for Import/Export functions to work), then use OE's Export
function to move everything to Outlook (OE's export works better than
Outlook's import).

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

 

[Guest]

Copying them onto the HD and ensuring they were not "read only" seems to have
done the triick. Thank you for the help.