I need to transfer inbox and sent messages from Netscape 6.2 Mail to
Netscape 7.0 mail from one computer to another. "Import" hasn't
worked.

Dear 1donw1-ga;

Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting
question.

Here’s the easiest, fool-proof method to move mail between computers
(regardless of which email program you use). It requires no importing
of data or re-formatting whatsoever and will only take a few minutes:

On your source computer, highlight all the messages in your SENT file
(do the “sent file” messages first – you’ll see why in a minute) and
send them to yourself (yes, your “own” address) as FORWARDED email
messages.

Then unhook the phone line (assuming you are using a dialup) from your
source computer and plug it into your new computer (if you are not
using the same line for both computers and/or don’t have ICS
(“internet connection sharing”) installed this won’t be necessary).
Now dial back out on your new computer, establish a connection and
check for new email. When the incoming emails arrive, move them out of
the “inbox” and into the “sent file” for storage and future reference,
similar to how they were on the old computer.

Go back and repeat this process for the emails in your INBOX file. It
is important that you don’t try and do this with more than one folder
at a time or you will end up with multiple incoming emails on your new
computer that will not indicate which folder they came from. This will
prevent confusion and help you to put the right emails in the right
folders.

The reason you must transfer the SENT file contents first is because
you will eventually be moving them from the INBOX on your new computer
to the SENT file on your new computer once they arrive, thus clearing
your inbox for new messages. The second time you do this you will be
forwarding the INBOX contents on your old computer to the INBOX on
your new computer, where they will remain. If you don’t do it in this
order you will end up with all the emails in your INBOX with
absolutely no way of knowing which message came from which file on
your old computer.

I know all this sounds a bit confusing but it’s really simple. Here’s
another way to explain it:

OLD means the computer with Netscape 6.2 Mail
NEW means the computer with Netscape 7.0 mail

OLD: forward all “sent” file contents to your own email address.
NEW: check for incoming email – immediately move all inbox contents to
the “sent” file.

OLD: forward “inbox” contents to yourself.
NEW: check for incoming mail.

VIOLA! YOU'VE DONE IT!

I hope you find that that my research exceeds your expectations. If
you have any questions about my research please post a clarification
request prior to rating the answer. I welcome your rating and your
final comments and I look forward to working with you again in the
near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.

Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga



INFORMATION SOURCES

Personal experience

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Request for Answer Clarification by 1donw1-ga on 24 Jan 2003 15:54 PST

Hi. Thanks for the answer. However, I have already attempted to
"Forward" the messages by using "Select All" to get all the messages
grouped. The problem is that there are 300+ messages and Netscape 6.2
opens a message forwarding window for each message. It doesn't group
them. I had to "ESC" to stop the process or it would have taken far
too much time and computer resources. Any insight?

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Clarification of Answer by tutuzdad-ga on 24 Jan 2003 16:59 PST

Give me a few minutes and let me see what old Dad has in his bag of
tricks.

Can I assume you are trying to move these files across a NETWORK? Or
are you trying to copy them to disk perhaps?

Dad

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Clarification of Answer by tutuzdad-ga on 24 Jan 2003 19:01 PST

(Read this entire procedure and print it if possible before beginning.
Forgive me in advance if my instructions sound too fundamental, but
I'd rather assume that you know NOTHING about this than explain
something that might be beyond your technical scope)

OK, LET'S TRY TO DO THIS MANUALLY USING A FLOPPY DISK - HERE WE GO:

We are about to manually transfer Mail Files from Netscape 6.2 on your
old computer to Netscape 7.0 on your new computer - >

You will find your Mail Folder in one of the below listed locations.
Find the operating system below that you are using on your old
computer and make a note of the file path that you will be using:

Windows 2000/Windows XP - write down this path:
C:\Documents and Settings\user_name\Application
Data\Mozilla\Profiles\profilename\xxxxxxxx.slt
NOTE: These files are hidden by default
To see hidden files:
1. On the Tools menu in Windows Explorer, click Folder Options
2. Click the View tab
3. Under Hidden files and folders, click Show hidden files and folders

Windows NT - write down this path:
C:\Winnt\Profiles\user_name\Application
Data\Mozilla\Profiles\profilename\xxxxxxxx.slt

Windows ME - write down this path:
C:\Windows\Application Data\Mozilla\Profiles\profilename\xxxxxxxx.slt

Windows 98 - write down this path:
C:\Windows\Application Data\Mozilla\Profiles\profilename\xxxxxxxx.slt

Windows 95 - write down this path:
(If Windows login password protection is disabled)
C:\Windows\Mozilla\Profiles\profilename\xxxxxxxx.slt


Ok, let's get ready to move the Mail files to the new location:

With Netscape closed, open Windows Explorer on your old computer.

Locate the Netscape 6.2 Mail folder (follow the path above that
applies to your old computer) and take a look at the files inside.

(We're not MOVING FILES, now - we're just going to "COPY" them) 

Now, see the files that DO NOT have a .msf extensions in the Netscape
6.2 Mail folder? (The ONLY ones we are interested in now are the ones
that DO NOT end in .msf, got it? - These will be Inbox, Templates,
Drafts, Sent, etc.)

One at a time, point your cursor at each folder that DOES NOT end in
.msf and RIGHT CLICK. A menu will appear. Select SEND TO - > FLOPPY.

You should now see the email file you just copied appear on the disk.
Repeat this process with every file you plan to copy onto the disk
from your old computer. If you have a lot of file, this may take more
than one floppy disk.

When you are finished, remove the disk from your old computer and
place it in your new computer.

With Netscape closed, open EXPLORER.

Find the new Mail folder:
C:\Windows\Application
Data\Mozilla\Profiles\profilename\xxxxxxxx.slt\Mail\accountname

Caution: Now listen carefully, if there are any subfolders or files
already here (if you've already been using it) like INBOX, SENT, etc.,
these folders
you are about to paste FROM THE DISK TO YOUR NEW COMPUTER will
PERMANENTLY replace ALL of them! Pay attention now - If you have
anything in them (the inbox, template, sent file, or whatever THAT IS
ALREADY ON YOUR NEW COMPUTER) that you want to keep, take a few
minutes right now and rename all these folders ON YOUR NEW COMPUTER to
something else (You won't have to rename the individual files, just
the FOLDERS, like INBOX, SENT, etc.) You should rename the Netscape
7.0 Mail files on your NEW COMPUTER to something like this: rename
"Inbox" to "OldInbox", rename "Sent" to "OldSent", rename "Template"
to "OldTemplate", etc. The renamed files will appear in the Netscape
7.0 Mail each time you rename one. This is normal. It will ensure that
you lose no existing mail if there is any there. However, if you
haven't been using 7.0 on your new computer and there isn't any mail
saved in any of these folders, you can skip all this renaming business
and go on down to the next move. If you haven't been using it, or only
have a few emails in there that you don't particularly care to keep,
skip on down and let's move on - they will be overwitten
(permanently)...otherwise, *ONCE AGAIN* if you have anything in the
folders you want to keep (I can't stress this enough) get them all
renamed BEFORE we move on.

Ok...You've either gotten all the folders on your new computer renamed
or you've decided that it doesn't matter if they get overwritten. Now
we can proceed:

Go to your floppy drive (Drive A: in most cases) and highlight all the
folders on the disk. (A quick way to do this is to highlight the first
folder at the top of the list, then scroll down to the one at the
bottom of the list. Hold down your SHIFT KEY and click the folder at
the bottom of the list. This should highlight them all at once). Now,
with all these folders highlighted, point your cursor at any one of
them and RIGHT CLICK. A menu will appear. Select COPY. All the folders
on the disk are now copied to the clipboard on your new computer.

Go back to EXPLORER and follow this directory path to the new Netscape
7.0 folder:

C:\Windows\Application
Data\Mozilla\Profiles\profilename\xxxxxxxx.slt\Mail\accountname

Once you've found it, highlight this folder and RIGHT CLICK. A menu
will appear. Select PASTE. You should see all the old files that you
copied from the disk appear in the new folder in the same directory as
the ones that you renamed earlier. (If you didn't rename any, it may
start telling you something like "this file already exists - do you
want to overwrite it". If you don't care if these old files get erased
(and this is your last chance) click "YES" (or "OK", on some
computers). It may, in fact, tell you this several times (because
there are several folders). If it does, and you want to overwrite,
just keep telling it "OK", or whatever.

Bingo! *NOW* you've done it!

Ok, for the purposes of liability I must add this obligatory
disclaimer. Back up all Mail Folders before doing this edit. Better
safe than sorry! You must do this procedure at your own risk. I am not
responsibile for anything that might go wrong or any loss or damage
that might result to your computer or your data. If you do not feel
comfortable doing this procedure, consult a local technician who can
do it for you in person. If you feel that this procedure is beyond
your scope and wish to have someone else work on your question, I will
have my answer removed and allow you to do so. I know all this may
sound complicated, but it's really not. The fact that you have two
computers and you are adventurous enough to upgrade to a bigger,
better program tells me that you are probably advanced enough to know
alot about the fundamental copying and moving techniques. If my
instructions don't indimidate you...

...Happy COPYING!

Let me know how it comes out.

REGARDS;
TUTUZDAD-GA

PS: WHEW! That wore me out! :)


* INFORMATION SOURCES *

NETSCAPE SOLUTIONS
http://home.att.net/~cherokee67/index6.html

Particularly: http://home.att.net/~cherokee67/ns7mailtrnsfr.html


* SEARCH ENGINE USED *

GOOGLE ://www.google.com


* SEARCH TERMS *

"netscape 6.2" transfer email files to 7.0
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22netscape+6.2%22+transfer+email+files+to+7.0

"netscape 6.2" inbox
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22netscape+6.2%22+inbox

"netscape 6.2" email files
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22netscape+6.2%22+email+files

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Request for Answer Clarification by 1donw1-ga on 25 Jan 2003 11:01 PST

Hello tutuzdad,
1) Thank you for the follow-up information. I will try it this
afternoon. Just for the record I am trying to move over a HomePNA
network from a WIN98 computer to a WIN XP system.
2) I am experienced in using PCs and your detail is very much
appreciated.
3) I will let you know my success or status in a follow-up
clarification.
4) Thanks again.
Don Wellington

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Clarification of Answer by tutuzdad-ga on 25 Jan 2003 14:24 PST

I'll be right here.

Dad

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Clarification of Answer by tutuzdad-ga on 25 Jan 2003 15:37 PST

Happy to be of assistance. Thank you for your generosity.

Hurry back;
tutuzdad-ga

Thank you. The solution of going to the mail files based on your
"path" descriptions, worked great, even over the network. You
definitely earned the $10.00. See tip
Don Wellington

That is a darned good idea. I wish someone would invent an email
client that does not rely on encryption to store the messages. I would
love to just be able to drag the folder (of plaintext memos)  to
another hard drive.

why down't you use an e-mail acout streaight off the internet. (sorry
abot my spelling)

Having replaced multiple PCs in various places and dealt with
differnet MS Operating systems and mail clients, I too wish for a more
universal and simple method of moving messages. What I don't
understand is why the "import" command doesn't get the messages
normally for me. For instance in Netscape Mail 7.0, it doesn't give an
option to import Netscape 6.2 mail messages, only version 4.x. I blame
AOL for messing with what was a great company.

I do use some online email accounts, and it is more universal, but
sometimes I need to work on messages offline and with my PCs
capabilities available.
Thanks for the comment though.

Another way to do this is to get an e-mail account that has IMAP mail
capability.  IMAP allows the ability to synchronize all the folders on
a local PC with the mail server.  www.imap.org explains IMAP mail. 
www.myrealbox.com offers free e-mail accounts with up to 10 MB of
storage with IMAP capabilities.

The process would be the following:

Go to www.myrealbox.com and start a new account.

On old PC, disable old e-mail account.

Create new mail account on Netscape using incoming server of
imap.myrealbox.com and outgoing server of smtp.myrelbox.com.
Answer any questions about synchronizing folders with server as yes. 
This may take a while as all messages will have to be sent over
internet connection to mail server.

On new PC, create new mail account on Netscape using incoming server
of imap.myrealbox.com and outgoing server of smtp.myrelbox.com.
Answer any questions about synchronizing folders with server as yes. 
This may take a while as all messages will have to be sent over
internet connection to mail server.

Possible problems could be if there are more than 10 MB of messages on
the old PC.

Using IMAP would also be good if you needed to use more than one PC
and wanted to have access to all the old messages.  Your existing
e-mail provider may even have IMAP available.