I have just bought a Win XP Home Edition desktop, running Outlook
Express 6. My old computer, which I plan to give away once all my
stuff is transferred, runs Win 98, with Outlook Express 5. Is there a
straightforward way to move my messages and folders from my Inbox on
the old computer to the Inbox on the new one? I know how to get the
addressbook.

Hi Marie_pca-ga,


The Microsoft Knowledge Base Article - Q270670 explains how to how to
back up and recover Outlook Express data. This is what you must do in
order to move your e-mail messages from the old computer to the new
one.

Moving E-mail to a new PC

Copy Mail Files to a Backup Folder

To make a backup copy of your Outlook Express e-mail message files:
 
1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. On the Maintenance tab, click Store Folder.
3. Select the folder location, and then press CTRL+C to copy the
location.
4. Click Cancel, and then click Cancel again to close the dialog box.
5. Click Start, and then click Run.
6. In the Open box, press CTRL+V, and then click OK.
7. On the Edit menu, click Select All.
8. On the Edit menu, click Copy, and then close the window.
9. Right-click any empty space on your desktop, click New, and then
click Folder.
10. Type mail backup for the folder name, and then press ENTER.
11. Double-click the Mail Backup folder to open it.
12. On the Edit menu, click Paste.
13. Close the Mail Backup window.

Copy and paste this file to a Zip disk or other backup source. It will
probably be too large to copy to a floppy disk.

Copy the file to your new computer.

If you have followed the steps above to backup your Outlook Express
data, restoring is simple.

Import Messages from the Backup Folder

To import your Outlook Express e-mail messages from the Backup folder:

1. On the File menu, point to Import, and then click Messages.
2. In the Select an e-mail program to import from box, click Microsoft
Outlook Express 5 or Microsoft Outlook Express 6, and then click Next.
3. Click Import mail from an OE5 store directory or Import mail from
an OE6 store directory, and then click OK.
4. Click Browse, and then click on the Mail Backup folder on your
desktop.
5. Click OK, and then click Next.
6. Click All folders, click Next, and then click Finish.

Microsoft Knowledge Base Website
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q270670

There is an illustrated tutorial you may want to see first. The backup
and restoring of Outlook Express messages is shown here in a simple
straightforward way.
http://www.sitedeveloper.ws/tutorials/outlook.htm#outlookexpress


Search Criteria:

://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=microsoft+tutorial+in+moving+outlook+express+messages+to+a+new+computer

://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=how+to+move+outlook+express+5+messages+to+new+computer+with+outlook+6

://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=moving+messages+from+Outlook+Express+5+to+outlook+express+6+on+another+computer

://www.google.com/search?q=+Migrate+Outlook+Express+5.+to+a+New+Computer+++++++++++&hl=es&lr=&ie=UTF-8&start=10&sa=N


I hope you find this helpful.

Best Regards,

Bobbie7-ga

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Clarification of Answer by bobbie7-ga on 09 Sep 2002 22:06 PDT

There is an easier way to restore the backup data instead of importing
the messages:
Just copy it into the directory where it is stored on your new
computer.
 
To find the directory where it is stored:
From the Outlook Express menu select Tools | Options | Maintenance and
click the StoreFolder button. You see a dialog with the name of the
directory that has your mail files.

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Request for Answer Clarification by marie_pca-ga on 10 Sep 2002 10:37 PDT

Thanks for your answer and for the web site links. It would have
worked perfectly I think, but for Microsoft's penchant for strewing
hazards in one's way. In my case, the glitch came when I tried to
import, yet the import choices EXCLUDED Outlook Express 5 -- indeed
they go from OE 4 to OE 6, blithely jumping over 5. So then I decided
to drag and drop the .dbx files, realizing that I would write over the
messages currently in my Inbox and in Sent mail. So I first created a
folder called SAVE and dragged them to it. Then I used Explorer (first
setting it to "Show hidden files and folders") and dragged over the
.dbx files I wanted to keep. When I opened OE, I could see my
transfered received and sent messages, but the other folders didn't
show. So I dragged in the Folders.dbx realizing with a sinking heart
that this would remove the SAVED folder from the OE display. Sure
enough, I can now use all of the transferred stuff, but none of the
new stuff. In the vain hope of getting it back, I compacted all
folders. That didn't work. So I searched help for the Inbox Repair
tool and that turned up nothing. Its not the end of the world as there
were only a few new messages, but I would be very grateful if you
could help me with this glitch. Thanks

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Clarification of Answer by bobbie7-ga on 10 Sep 2002 12:08 PDT

Hi

I’ll try to find a solution and get back to you as soon as I can.

Thanks

Bobbie7-ga

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Clarification of Answer by bobbie7-ga on 10 Sep 2002 13:02 PDT

Hi again,

After doing a search where I found nothing, I consulted a fellow
researcher.

Here is a solution that I hope works for you.

If you have a saved.dbx file in your OE folder in Windows Explorer,
you should move it out of this folder (or copy it elsewhere and rename
it there).
Then create a new folder in OE called "Saved".
Close OE.
Copy the saved.dbx back to the OE folder and overwrite the now new
saved.dbx.
Then re-open OE and his messages should be there. 

I hope this helps you with the glitch.

Bobbie7-ga

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Request for Answer Clarification by marie_pca-ga on 10 Sep 2002 13:30 PDT

Yes! That worked. Thanks so much. Surely this is a task that most
people who buy new computers face. Why do think they make it so hard?
(You don't have answer that -- just ranting).

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Clarification of Answer by bobbie7-ga on 10 Sep 2002 13:48 PDT

Thank you for the nice rating and thanks to Clouseau-ga who helped me
with the glitch.

Excellent and timely response to my question and the resulting glitch.