Getting old Outlook Express emails when you no longer have Outlook Express (desktop, modem)

[Tracysherm]

I just got my new computer. On my old computer, I used Outlook Express as my e-mail client, and my and my boyfriend's comcast e-mail accounts went right to Outlook Express.

Before I got the new computer, I followed directions I found online to "export" my OE email folders. (I don't care about the address book or "news groups," just my saved e-mails in the folders I filed them in.)

For what it matters, here's what I did when I made the copy of my Outlook Express Email files:

In OE, I went to tools>options>maintenance>clicked Store Folder.
Copied the location of the folder, hit Start>Run>then pasted on the folder location>hit ok

Folder opened, selected all, copied all, and pasted them into a fresh folder on my desktop. Dragged the new folder onto my removable hard-drive.

All went fine.

Then got my new computer which has Windows 7, and no Outlook Express. Went to download OE and it said it won't work with windows 7. I'm now using Windows Live Mail as my e-mail client. (I HATE "regular Outlook" as it has too much confusing extra stuff.) I'm getting new mail just fine, but can't get my old folders and saved emails.

So I dragged my folders of the saved e-mails files from OE (one folder for him, one for me) off the removable hard-drive and onto the desktop of my new computer. Tried to open, and it wanted me to choose a program to open it with. Tried word pad, paint, even looked in Microsoft Office to see if Outlook (regular) would open it, but it wan't even there as an option to click.


The files are ".dbx" files.

Any ideas on how to access these old e-mails? I saved them all for a reason. Whenever I get told to go online to search for a program to open a file, it never works out for me (don't know what I'm supposed to be doing).


My only other option is to hook up the old computer again (which means un-installing the cable modem from this computer and re-installing it on the old computer) opening OE, and individually sending every one of those saved e-mails (like 85) to my yahoo box. I really would rather avoid that.

Please! Can anyone give advice?

[kazyn]

Well, unfortunately it seems that without a tool, it's kind of hard to extract emails from DBX files.

Here's a free tool to try:

undbx - Tool to extract, recover and undelete e-mail messages from Outlook Express DBX files. - Google Project Hosting

Here's one that apparently does what you need, for $14:

DBXtract

Note that I have not tried either of these.

Do you have a regular version of Outlook? If so, which version?

[Tracysherm]

It's Outlook 2010. I first tried getting my comcast e-mail through that, but hated it. Switched to the Windows Live Email, much simpler.
Anyone know if either of those two programs are reputable? I'm hesitant to download something unless it's from "Microsoft" or Dell" or something I've heard of.

[kazyn]

You can use Outlook 2010 to Import the data, then merge it with your Windows Live account. It's a very useful program if you have access to it. However, I think that first program I posted should do what you need.

If you want to give it a go in Outlook, look for this:



then:

[Tracysherm]

Thanks. I just did what you show above, but it never asked where to import anything FROM. I have a folder that's supposedly full of these dbx files, but it didn't even go to, or ask me to point it to, that folder. I "imported" from outlook express, but since there's no outlook express on this computer, it didn't find anything.

[kazyn]

I see, that's really odd...wonder why they wouldn't allow you to pick the file you want to import.

did the program from the first link work out?

[Tek_Freek]

Try this: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/w...utlook-Express

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by kazyn

I see, that's really odd...wonder why they wouldn't allow you to pick the file you want to import.

That's because it only wants to import messages and settings from the OE currently installed on the PC, as if you were upgrading from OE to Outlook on the same PC. Tek's link above works well if you have the OE folder containing the dbx files from another machine.

[Tracysherm]

Originally Posted by Tek_Freek

Try this: Import messages into Windows Mail from Outlook Express

I'll try this when I get home tonight. But I'm worried because it talks about a new computer with Windows Vista (and aprogram called Windows Mail), but my new computer has Windows 7 (and a program called Windows Live Mail).

When I go on the old computer, I wonder if I have to re-hook up the modem to it, or just the monitor and mouse & keyboard. This is kind of a pain when you don't (and can't) have both computers hooked up and running at the same time. Instead in involves unhooking everything on the new one, re-hooking up the new one, then unhooking that one again, and rehooking up the new one again.

[kazyn]

Originally Posted by kazyn

undbx - Tool to extract, recover and undelete e-mail messages from Outlook Express DBX files. - Google Project Hosting

I just tried this one here and it seems to work. I put like 20 test emails in an old OE account on one of the old machines we've got, and it converted them successfully. This one is free, I didn't try the other cause, well, I ain't gonna pay no $14 for a test