Very Computer

My ISP's helpline tells me that it is impossible.

My old Windows '95 PC has Microsoft Outlook Express version 4 (actually
4.72.3120.0).

My new PC running under Windows XP for Home has Outlook Express version 6
and Outlook (which came with Microsoft Office XP).

I need to get all of my old email messages from Express 4 to either Express
6 or to Outlook and to get a small number of messages (erroneously
downloaded into Express 6) from Express 6 to Outlook.

I have copied all of my email messages from the old machine to the new but
cannot find any way of importing them into either Outlook Express 6 or
Outlook.

My version of Outlook does not have an import from Express 6: only Express
4.x and 5.x are mentioned.  If I use it for Express 6, it tells me that the
the right number of messages have been successfully imported but they
haven't.   If I try to import the copied Express 4 messages, it just tries
to load the Express 6 ones again, hardly surprising as it never asks for an
input pathname.

If I try to import into Express 6, it prompts for a pathname and when I type
the pathname where the copied Express 4 email folders are located, it says
there are no email messages there or that there may be another program
trying to access them which I should close (there isn't).

If, on the old PC, I use the export facility in Express 4, it simply says it
is exporting and doesn't tell me at the end what it has done with them.  If
I use 'Find' to search for files created or modified today, I cannot see any
obvious export file.

I cannot load Express 4 on the new PC from my Freeserve disk (as it
recognises that Express 6 is installed already) and I cannot load Express 6
or Outlook on the old PC as it is only Windows 95.

Here's what I did, sorta. Not going to go into *exact* detail, but this
should give
you the clues you need to accomplish your goal. This *did* work for me.
This is NOT 2nd hand info of questionable value.

I moved all my old Outlook Express5 messages from my old laptop unit to a
new XP desktop
Unit with Outlook Express6 by doing the following:

1-First do a search (suggest a *.dbx search) to find the folder on old
computer containing all the "local" folders.
As seen in the window of the application they are named Inbox, Outbox, etc.
These files have a *.DBX
file format and contain all those messages you want to save.
The plan is to get (by doing a drop&drag transfer) all of these folders onto
your new machine.
You can do a direct network transfer, or a HD disk transfer, or CD transfer.
A 1.4MB floppy will
probably be too small
2-Then you need to do a search to find the folder on the new computer
that has the "local" folders for the new OE6.
I've not seen the OE XP version, so don't know if things are the same on it
as OE6
3-Then you will "drag & drop" the "old" files... i.e. Inbox, Sent Items,
etc.,
that you want to transferred onto the new "local" folder.
You should be asked "do you want to replace "Xfolder, vintage new" with
"Xfolder, vintage old."
The answer is YES!
4-Basically that is it, you're just replacing the "new folders" with the
old,
but the following hints and ideas should also be noted:
Note1: If you've already started doing business on the new XP machine and
don't want to lose those new messages,
suggest you create(SeeNote2) 1 or 2 "new" folders on *both * machines...
named "Archive1"... and "Archive2", etc.
Objective: Move all your "inbox" & "sent" messages on your old machine into
these different named folders. i.e. "Archive1" and
"Archive2" ... by using these different filenames you can do the "folder
replace" routine on your new machine
as described above without loosing new messages on new machine.
**Remember... you are replacing folders, not "merging."
Note2: Create "new folders" by right clicking on the Local Folders icon.
FinalNote: Don't trash anything until you are 100% sure you got the transfer
you wanted.
I did this several months ago and recall there were some glitches before
success.
Sorry, no longer recall any specifics on the problems I encountered.

Hope this helps... tried to explain it simply, but can see I did a crappy
job.
Regards, cschultz

Quote:> How do I get my old voluminous email from Outlook Express 4 into Outlook
> Express 6 or Outlook XP so I can read it again?

> My ISP's helpline tells me that it is impossible.

> My old Windows '95 PC has Microsoft Outlook Express version 4 (actually
> 4.72.3120.0).

> My new PC running under Windows XP for Home has Outlook Express version 6
> and Outlook (which came with Microsoft Office XP).

> I need to get all of my old email messages from Express 4 to either
Express
> 6 or to Outlook and to get a small number of messages (erroneously
> downloaded into Express 6) from Express 6 to Outlook.

> I have copied all of my email messages from the old machine to the new but
> cannot find any way of importing them into either Outlook Express 6 or
> Outlook.

> My version of Outlook does not have an import from Express 6: only Express
> 4.x and 5.x are mentioned.  If I use it for Express 6, it tells me that
the
> the right number of messages have been successfully imported but they
> haven't.   If I try to import the copied Express 4 messages, it just tries
> to load the Express 6 ones again, hardly surprising as it never asks for
an
> input pathname.

> If I try to import into Express 6, it prompts for a pathname and when I
type
> the pathname where the copied Express 4 email folders are located, it says
> there are no email messages there or that there may be another program
> trying to access them which I should close (there isn't).

> If, on the old PC, I use the export facility in Express 4, it simply says
it
> is exporting and doesn't tell me at the end what it has done with them.
If
> I use 'Find' to search for files created or modified today, I cannot see
any
> obvious export file.

> I cannot load Express 4 on the new PC from my Freeserve disk (as it
> recognises that Express 6 is installed already) and I cannot load Express
6
> or Outlook on the old PC as it is only Windows 95.

OLEXP: How to Back Up and Recover Outlook Express Data
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q270670

--
Kayode
My Windows Resource Page:
http://www.kayodeok.btinternet.co.uk/