help with new computer, transfering email archive

[Albatross330]

Hi chaps,

Just spent a week of leave transferring 4 years of files from a steam powered W98 Pentium 2 233 machine to a new XP equipped desk top.

Quite impressed with the stability of XP, only one crash in a week!

Anyone know how (apart from emailing them ha ha) how to transfer the archive of emails from Outlook Express on the old machine to the new?

I've located the various .dbx sub folders on the old machine and saved them onto disk. I have managed to find where the equivalent lurk in XP but dragging and dropping doesn't seem to work. They are there sat alongside the default folders on the new machine but don't appear when I open Outlook Express.

I guess it's not that simple.

Using the "export" function only seems to allow transfer to other mail programmes, simililary "import" sources from same.

Anyone nerdy enough to know where I'm going wrong?

Thanks!

[amanoffewwords]

Assuming OE6:

If you place the DBX etc. files in a single folder somewhere on the XP machine you need to then Open OE - go to import, select OE as the program to import from, select messages, then tick "import mail from an OE store directory" - click next and navigate to the directory you have stored the files in and carry on from there.

Once the import process has completed you will need to exit and re-open OE.

That's how I usually do it anyway..

amofw

[TR4A]

http://www.microsoft.com/WindowsXP/expertzone/columns/bott/fstw.asp

http://www.microsoft.com/windows98/usingwindows/work/articles/901Jan/nc4.asp

Making the move to a new computer

On your old computer, start Outlook Express.
On the Tools menu, click Accounts.
On the General tab, locate your personal Display Name and E-mail Name.
On the Servers tab, find your Incoming Mail Server and Outgoing Mail Server.

Don't forget your Address Book
Who wants to re-create the Address Book by hand? Here's how to copy your old one:

On your old computer, start Outlook Express.
On the File menu, point to Export, and then click Address Book.
Choose Text File (Comma Separated Values) from the list, and then click Export. Type a name for the file and then click the Browse button to select a floppy disk on which to save the file.
Click Next and then select the fields you want to export. Click Finish.
Insert the disk into your new computer and start Outlook Express.
On the File menu, point to Import, and then click Address Book.
Choose Text File (Comma Separated Values) from the list, and then click Import.
Click the Browse button to select the file on the floppy disk.
Click Next and then select the fields you want to import. Click Finish.
If you receive a message asking whether to replace an existing entry with the import entry, click Yes To All.

Move those e-mail messges
Transferring your Outlook Express e-mail messages is a bit trickier. You can copy individual messages to a floppy disk and then open them on your new computer. Here's how:

On your old computer, start Outlook Express.
Choose the message you want to copy, and then click Save As on the File menu.
Select a floppy disk on which to save the file.
Insert the floppy disk into your new computer.
Using My Computer or Windows Explorer, find the message file and double-click it.
On the File menu, click Copy To Folder, and then select the mail folder to which you want to copy the message.

Here's another trick for transferring messages: send messages to yourself from your old computer, then use Outlook Express on your new computer to receive them.

[rickity]

I have just used file and settings transfer wizard from xp. no problem even transfered address book and rules from outlook express to outlook. mightly impressed, it just lead me through the process and did it. Slightly large file so useful having computers networked. Did have to remove all other settings, files and folders from the process as that would have made the file impossibly large.

working on transfereing cookies next

Rick

[Albatross330]

Thanks guys it's sorted!

Tried the import from O.E source but despite unlocking hidden files the new machine wouldn't recognise the old messages on the flash disck - possibly because they were FAT format?

Read an article suggesting on XP home I needed to start in "safe mode" to be logged on a administrator to access such files. Seemed very convoluted and prone to cock ups.

So I too used the File and Settings Transfer Wizard, which worked a treat.

Now to set up my Apple Powerbook with hopefully more user friendly software!