Export e-mail messages from Vista's Windows Mail back to XP Pro?

[PH Graphics]

After nearly a year of occasional crashes and constant frustration I am
taking Vista off of my new laptop and going back to XP Pro (which is already
on all 5 of the other PC's and/or workstations in my office.)

I've gathered all of the XP drivers and exported Vista's "Contacts" folder
as a .csv file. Vista would only export IE's "Favorites" as a .htm file.
Will XP be able to import that info, or is there a better way to get my
"Favorites" over to XP?

MOST IMPORTANTLY, how do I get my e-mail messages from Vista's Windows Mail
format back to XP? Windows Mail will only export the messages in Microsoft
Exchange format. Will I be able to import that file into XP? In the past I
have simply used Outlook Express, but I have no emotional attachment there.
I am willing to use whatever e-mail software gets the job done and can import
all of my Windows Mail messages. I should point out that my Windows Mail
store location is on my D: drive -- not my C: drive -- so the messages and
the message store location itself WILL NOT be physically wiped out when C: is
reformated during the XP install.

Anything else I should think about before doing the install? (I bought a
full retail version of XP from CDW, so I'm not worried about it being a
pirated or otherwise invalid copy.)

Thanks in advance for your time.
Paul
I'm ready to do the XP install. The only thing still holding me back is
that I need to be CERTAIN that I will have access to my e-mail history as
soon as XP is up and running.

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

You should be able to Import the Favorites back-up via IE File | Import and
Export | Import Favorites.

You should be able to import the CSV file (Contacts) into Address Book via
(Address Book) File | Import | Other Address Book.

You can back-up your individual Windows Mail emails as EML files and then
drag them (en masse or selectively) directly into the appropriate open OE
folder.

Note that downgrading a Vista machine to WinXP is not necessarily without
its issues, especially if it's a Notebook PC. Doing so will almost
certainly void your Warranty and any Service Contracts you've purchased.
~~
IE-specific newsgroup:
news://msnews.microsoft.com/microsoft.public.internetexplorer.general
OE-specific newsgroup:
news://msnews.microsoft.com/microsoft.public.outlookexpress.general
Windows Mail-specific newsgroup:
news://msnews.microsoft.com/microsoft.public.windows.vista.mail
~~
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Desktop Experience - since 2002
AumHa VSOP & Admin http://aumha.net
DTS-L http://dts-l.net/

 

[PH Graphics]

PA Bear,

Thanks for the reply.

I'm all too well aware of the risks, costs, and probable unforeseen glitches
I'm likely to encounter in taking a fairly new notebook from Vista to XP, and
I made the decision only after long deliberation and as a second-last resort.
The last resort, if this transition does not work out well, will be to buy a
MacBook.

I'm a freelance photographer and graphic designer, so I'm only making money
while working on billable jobs for clients. As such, I keep pretty accurate
time records, and they show that I have lost the equivalent of 12+ days of
billable time to Vista crashes and/or troubleshooting software, hardware or
office networking problems or incompatabilities. That's 5% of my annual
income!

Would you continue to use your current OS -- or any OS -- if that OS's
licensing fee were changed tomorrow to be 5% of your annual income every
year? My accountant (as well as common sense) won't let me do that, either.

Thanks, again.
Paul

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

I would not purchase a new Notebook PC right now without downgrade rights
and the necessary OEM CDs for running WinXP on the machine.

You're welcome & thanks for your feedback. Good luck to you.