Copy Outlook Express Email & Settings Into Windows Live

It's easy to migrate from Outlook Express to Windows Live

by
Heinz Tschabitscher
Heinz Tschabitscher
Writer
A former freelance contributor who has reviewed hundreds of email programs and services since 1997.
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Heinz Tschabitscher
Updated on June 14, 2020

Outlook Express and Windows Live Mail have both been discontinued and superseded by Windows Mail.

If you want to switch from Outlook Express to Windows Live Mail, you can copy all the same data from the former into the latter. To migrate your messages and other settings between these email clients, you have to first export the Outlook Express email and account settings before you can import them into Windows Live Mail.

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How to Export Outlook Express Mail and Settings

To export mail from Outlook Express:

  1. Go to the Tools > Accounts menu in Outlook Express.

  2. Open the Mail tab.

  3. Highlight the desired email account.

  4. Select Export.

  5. Select Save to export the settings to an IAF file named after the account.

  6. To export the Outlook Express email files, you have to first know where they are stored on the computer in order to know where to copy the files from. To find the Store Location folder, go to Tools > Options > Maintenance > Store Folder.

How to Import Mail and Settings Into Windows Live Mail

To import your Outlook Express Mail into Windows Live Mail:

  1. In Windows Live Mail, go to the Tools > Accounts menu (or File > Options > Email accounts in older versions).

    You might need to hold down the Alt key to see the menu.

  2. Select Import.

  3. Choose the IAF file you just saved in Outlook Express and select Open.

  4. Go to File > Import > Messages from the menu.

  5. Make sure Microsoft Outlook Express 6 is selected.

  6. Select Next twice.

  7. Choose specific folders to import under Select folders, or leave All folders selected to import all Outlook Express mail.

  8. Select Next and then Finish.

  9. You can find your imported messages and folders under Storage folders in the Windows Live Mail folder list.