Can't Import .pst file into Windows Mail

I can't import my contacts, which are in .pst, into Windows mail. I have
been able to import a .wab file but not the .pst.

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

If you do not also have Outlook ( preferably an up to date version)
installed, you will not be able to do anything with a PST file. Without
Outlook also being installed on the same computer, a PST file is just a
collection of unreadable junk.

The drill is to open Outlook, then open the PST file in question in Outlook,
and then you can import/export from that open instance of Outlook into
Windows Mail. Or on the old machine, export from Outlook to Outlook
Express, then on the Vista machine, import from the Outlook Express message
store folder (which will contain all the old DBX files used by Outlook
Express).
--
Jim Pickering
MVP-Windows Mail applications
Please reply only to the newsgroup.

"NCGeorge" <NCGeorge@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news51BD295-A75B-41A3-A46E-D1628E302DFC@microsoft.com...
>I can't import my contacts, which are in .pst, into Windows mail. I have
> been able to import a .wab file but not the .pst.
>
> Thank you in advance for your assistance.

This is stupid and it's time consuming, but this is how I got it to
work.

I do not have a version of Outlook that I can install on my new Vista
machine, and, of course, Outlook Express is gone.

If you MUST retrieve your Outlook mail from a saved .pst file, and you
don't have Outlook installed, you can go to MS's site and download the
trial version of Office 2007. You have to go through a couple of
hoops, and it's a large (290M) download, but this does work.

Once it's downloaded, do a custom install and choose ONLY Outlook for
installation. After it's done, you can import your .pst file into
Outlook, close the program, and open Windows mail and import from
Outlook. A TREMENDOUS bother, but I had several hundred emails I
needed to have access to. (Plus, I'm retired, I have no life, and thus
have time to fool with this stuff.)

Then, of course, you can uninstall the trial Office, and delete the
(290M) installer file.

Dave M.


--
Dave M.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dave M.'s Profile: http://forums.techarena.in/member.php?userid=21674
View this thread: http://forums.techarena.in/showthread.php?t=673040

http://forums.techarena.in

Dave: It's one helluva lot easier to export from the old version of Outlook
to Outlook Express on the older computer. Then later import from the saved
DBX files of the old computer's message store folder into Windows Mail.
Added bonus, you don't have to play with OL2007 and try to figure out how
its new Ribbons work vs. the old, tried and true menus. But, it's your
choice.
--
Jim Pickering
MVP-Windows Mail applications
Please reply only to the newsgroup.


"Dave M." <Dave.M..2li9ze@DoNotSpam.com> wrote in message
newsave.M..2li9ze@DoNotSpam.com...
>
> This is stupid and it's time consuming, but this is how I got it to
> work.
>
> I do not have a version of Outlook that I can install on my new Vista
> machine, and, of course, Outlook Express is gone.
>
> If you MUST retrieve your Outlook mail from a saved .pst file, and you
> don't have Outlook installed, you can go to MS's site and download the
> trial version of Office 2007. You have to go through a couple of
> hoops, and it's a large (290M) download, but this does work.
>
> Once it's downloaded, do a custom install and choose ONLY Outlook for
> installation. After it's done, you can import your .pst file into
> Outlook, close the program, and open Windows mail and import from
> Outlook. A TREMENDOUS bother, but I had several hundred emails I
> needed to have access to. (Plus, I'm retired, I have no life, and thus
> have time to fool with this stuff.)
>
> Then, of course, you can uninstall the trial Office, and delete the
> (290M) installer file.
>
> Dave M.
>
>
> --
> Dave M.
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Dave M.'s Profile: http://forums.techarena.in/member.php?userid=21674
> View this thread: http://forums.techarena.in/showthread.php?t=673040
>
> http://forums.techarena.in
>

Yeah, Jim, I know I could have done it that way, but the old computer
wasn't trustworthy enough. It was in really bad shape, and, if I had
done it that way, I'd probably STILL be fighting with it!
-d


--
Dave M.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dave M.'s Profile: http://forums.techarena.in/member.php?userid=21674
View this thread: http://forums.techarena.in/showthread.php?t=673040

http://forums.techarena.in

Hi Jim. I am in a similar situation and see that importing mails to EO is
easiest. I have an old work computer running XP that I need to give up this
week. First I need to "save" some Outlook e-mails, but I do not see OE on
the work PC. My new home PC includes Vista and the Windows Mail program
everyone is raving about.

Is there an easy/free & legal way to get OE on my XP computer? Or would you
recommend the painful route Dave took?

Thanks for your help,
Jay

"Jim Pickering" wrote:

> Dave: It's one helluva lot easier to export from the old version of Outlook
> to Outlook Express on the older computer. Then later import from the saved
> DBX files of the old computer's message store folder into Windows Mail.
> Added bonus, you don't have to play with OL2007 and try to figure out how
> its new Ribbons work vs. the old, tried and true menus. But, it's your
> choice.
> --
> Jim Pickering
> MVP-Windows Mail applications
> Please reply only to the newsgroup.
>
>
> "Dave M." <Dave.M..2li9ze@DoNotSpam.com> wrote in message
> newsave.M..2li9ze@DoNotSpam.com...
> >
> > This is stupid and it's time consuming, but this is how I got it to
> > work.
> >
> > I do not have a version of Outlook that I can install on my new Vista
> > machine, and, of course, Outlook Express is gone.
> >
> > If you MUST retrieve your Outlook mail from a saved .pst file, and you
> > don't have Outlook installed, you can go to MS's site and download the
> > trial version of Office 2007. You have to go through a couple of
> > hoops, and it's a large (290M) download, but this does work.
> >
> > Once it's downloaded, do a custom install and choose ONLY Outlook for
> > installation. After it's done, you can import your .pst file into
> > Outlook, close the program, and open Windows mail and import from
> > Outlook. A TREMENDOUS bother, but I had several hundred emails I
> > needed to have access to. (Plus, I'm retired, I have no life, and thus
> > have time to fool with this stuff.)
> >
> > Then, of course, you can uninstall the trial Office, and delete the
> > (290M) installer file.
> >
> > Dave M.
> >
> >
> > --
> > Dave M.
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > Dave M.'s Profile: http://forums.techarena.in/member.php?userid=21674
> > View this thread: http://forums.techarena.in/showthread.php?t=673040
> >
> > http://forums.techarena.in
> >
>

Come on Guys! Outlook Express is on all Windows XP systems. That's about as
free as it gets! Windows Mail is on all Vista systems. It is the replacement
for Outlook Express.

MS Office Outlook 2007, which you will have to pay for, will run on either
Windows XP or Windows Vista.
"Jay" <Jay@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:FA01E333-804A-40C2-AF58-EC9D576DF248@microsoft.com...
> Hi Jim. I am in a similar situation and see that importing mails to EO is
> easiest. I have an old work computer running XP that I need to give up
> this
> week. First I need to "save" some Outlook e-mails, but I do not see OE on
> the work PC. My new home PC includes Vista and the Windows Mail program
> everyone is raving about.
>
> Is there an easy/free & legal way to get OE on my XP computer? Or would
> you
> recommend the painful route Dave took?
>
> Thanks for your help,
> Jay
>
> "Jim Pickering" wrote:
>
>> Dave: It's one helluva lot easier to export from the old version of
>> Outlook
>> to Outlook Express on the older computer. Then later import from the
>> saved
>> DBX files of the old computer's message store folder into Windows Mail.
>> Added bonus, you don't have to play with OL2007 and try to figure out how
>> its new Ribbons work vs. the old, tried and true menus. But, it's your
>> choice.
>> --
>> Jim Pickering
>> MVP-Windows Mail applications
>> Please reply only to the newsgroup.
>>
>>
>> "Dave M." <Dave.M..2li9ze@DoNotSpam.com> wrote in message
>> newsave.M..2li9ze@DoNotSpam.com...
>> >
>> > This is stupid and it's time consuming, but this is how I got it to
>> > work.
>> >
>> > I do not have a version of Outlook that I can install on my new Vista
>> > machine, and, of course, Outlook Express is gone.
>> >
>> > If you MUST retrieve your Outlook mail from a saved .pst file, and you
>> > don't have Outlook installed, you can go to MS's site and download the
>> > trial version of Office 2007. You have to go through a couple of
>> > hoops, and it's a large (290M) download, but this does work.
>> >
>> > Once it's downloaded, do a custom install and choose ONLY Outlook for
>> > installation. After it's done, you can import your .pst file into
>> > Outlook, close the program, and open Windows mail and import from
>> > Outlook. A TREMENDOUS bother, but I had several hundred emails I
>> > needed to have access to. (Plus, I'm retired, I have no life, and thus
>> > have time to fool with this stuff.)
>> >
>> > Then, of course, you can uninstall the trial Office, and delete the
>> > (290M) installer file.
>> >
>> > Dave M.
>> >
>> >
>> > --
>> > Dave M.
>> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> > Dave M.'s Profile: http://forums.techarena.in/member.php?userid=21674
>> > View this thread: http://forums.techarena.in/showthread.php?t=673040
>> >
>> > http://forums.techarena.in
>> >
>>

Hi Jay,

The shortcut for OE is probably hidden if Outlook is the default. You can
go to "c:\program files\outlook express\msimn.exe" and click on that (or cut
and paste it into the Start | Run box with the quotes) and OE will open.
Then you can use File | Import from Outlook. Then transfer the dbx files to
the new PC and then import with WinMail. See www.oehelp.com/OETips.aspx#4
and www.oehelp.com/backup.aspx#oe2wm

steve

"Jay" <Jay@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:FA01E333-804A-40C2-AF58-EC9D576DF248@microsoft.com...
> Hi Jim. I am in a similar situation and see that importing mails to EO is
> easiest. I have an old work computer running XP that I need to give up
> this
> week. First I need to "save" some Outlook e-mails, but I do not see OE on
> the work PC. My new home PC includes Vista and the Windows Mail program
> everyone is raving about.
>
> Is there an easy/free & legal way to get OE on my XP computer? Or would
> you
> recommend the painful route Dave took?
>
> Thanks for your help,
> Jay
>
> "Jim Pickering" wrote:
>
>> Dave: It's one helluva lot easier to export from the old version of
>> Outlook
>> to Outlook Express on the older computer. Then later import from the
>> saved
>> DBX files of the old computer's message store folder into Windows Mail.
>> Added bonus, you don't have to play with OL2007 and try to figure out how
>> its new Ribbons work vs. the old, tried and true menus. But, it's your
>> choice.
>> --
>> Jim Pickering
>> MVP-Windows Mail applications
>> Please reply only to the newsgroup.
>>
>>
>> "Dave M." <Dave.M..2li9ze@DoNotSpam.com> wrote in message
>> newsave.M..2li9ze@DoNotSpam.com...
>> >
>> > This is stupid and it's time consuming, but this is how I got it to
>> > work.
>> >
>> > I do not have a version of Outlook that I can install on my new Vista
>> > machine, and, of course, Outlook Express is gone.
>> >
>> > If you MUST retrieve your Outlook mail from a saved .pst file, and you
>> > don't have Outlook installed, you can go to MS's site and download the
>> > trial version of Office 2007. You have to go through a couple of
>> > hoops, and it's a large (290M) download, but this does work.
>> >
>> > Once it's downloaded, do a custom install and choose ONLY Outlook for
>> > installation. After it's done, you can import your .pst file into
>> > Outlook, close the program, and open Windows mail and import from
>> > Outlook. A TREMENDOUS bother, but I had several hundred emails I
>> > needed to have access to. (Plus, I'm retired, I have no life, and thus
>> > have time to fool with this stuff.)
>> >
>> > Then, of course, you can uninstall the trial Office, and delete the
>> > (290M) installer file.
>> >
>> > Dave M.
>> >
>> >
>> > --
>> > Dave M.
>> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> > Dave M.'s Profile: http://forums.techarena.in/member.php?userid=21674
>> > View this thread: http://forums.techarena.in/showthread.php?t=673040
>> >
>> > http://forums.techarena.in
>> >
>>

Thanks, Steve. I had looked in that folder, but the file was just hidden.
To import archived personal folders, it looks as though I'll need to first
move the messages of interest to my Inbox (since you cannot select personal
folders after choosing to import from outlook), right? Thanks for your
help...never had to do this before.

Jay



"Steve Cochran" wrote:

> Hi Jay,
>
> The shortcut for OE is probably hidden if Outlook is the default. You can
> go to "c:\program files\outlook express\msimn.exe" and click on that (or cut
> and paste it into the Start | Run box with the quotes) and OE will open.
> Then you can use File | Import from Outlook. Then transfer the dbx files to
> the new PC and then import with WinMail. See www.oehelp.com/OETips.aspx#4
> and www.oehelp.com/backup.aspx#oe2wm
>
> steve
>
> "Jay" <Jay@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:FA01E333-804A-40C2-AF58-EC9D576DF248@microsoft.com...
> > Hi Jim. I am in a similar situation and see that importing mails to EO is
> > easiest. I have an old work computer running XP that I need to give up
> > this
> > week. First I need to "save" some Outlook e-mails, but I do not see OE on
> > the work PC. My new home PC includes Vista and the Windows Mail program
> > everyone is raving about.
> >
> > Is there an easy/free & legal way to get OE on my XP computer? Or would
> > you
> > recommend the painful route Dave took?
> >
> > Thanks for your help,
> > Jay
> >
> > "Jim Pickering" wrote:
> >
> >> Dave: It's one helluva lot easier to export from the old version of
> >> Outlook
> >> to Outlook Express on the older computer. Then later import from the
> >> saved
> >> DBX files of the old computer's message store folder into Windows Mail.
> >> Added bonus, you don't have to play with OL2007 and try to figure out how
> >> its new Ribbons work vs. the old, tried and true menus. But, it's your
> >> choice.
> >> --
> >> Jim Pickering
> >> MVP-Windows Mail applications
> >> Please reply only to the newsgroup.
> >>
> >>
> >> "Dave M." <Dave.M..2li9ze@DoNotSpam.com> wrote in message
> >> newsave.M..2li9ze@DoNotSpam.com...
> >> >
> >> > This is stupid and it's time consuming, but this is how I got it to
> >> > work.
> >> >
> >> > I do not have a version of Outlook that I can install on my new Vista
> >> > machine, and, of course, Outlook Express is gone.
> >> >
> >> > If you MUST retrieve your Outlook mail from a saved .pst file, and you
> >> > don't have Outlook installed, you can go to MS's site and download the
> >> > trial version of Office 2007. You have to go through a couple of
> >> > hoops, and it's a large (290M) download, but this does work.
> >> >
> >> > Once it's downloaded, do a custom install and choose ONLY Outlook for
> >> > installation. After it's done, you can import your .pst file into
> >> > Outlook, close the program, and open Windows mail and import from
> >> > Outlook. A TREMENDOUS bother, but I had several hundred emails I
> >> > needed to have access to. (Plus, I'm retired, I have no life, and thus
> >> > have time to fool with this stuff.)
> >> >
> >> > Then, of course, you can uninstall the trial Office, and delete the
> >> > (290M) installer file.
> >> >
> >> > Dave M.
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > --
> >> > Dave M.
> >> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >> > Dave M.'s Profile: http://forums.techarena.in/member.php?userid=21674
> >> > View this thread: http://forums.techarena.in/showthread.php?t=673040
> >> >
> >> > http://forums.techarena.in
> >> >
> >>
>

Outlook Express may be restricted by your 'work' system admin which would
indicate its lack of presence.
If 'work' meant your personal XP computer that you do 'work on', OE is
installed by default in XP as part of IE.

Alternative if you do not have the software..drag and drop messages to a
hard drive folder, burn to cd, copy to hard drive, remove read only if
applicable, then drag and drop to a user created folder in WM.

"Jay" <Jay@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:FA01E333-804A-40C2-AF58-EC9D576DF248@microsoft.com...
> Hi Jim. I am in a similar situation and see that importing mails to EO is
> easiest. I have an old work computer running XP that I need to give up
> this
> week. First I need to "save" some Outlook e-mails, but I do not see OE on
> the work PC. My new home PC includes Vista and the Windows Mail program
> everyone is raving about.
>
> Is there an easy/free & legal way to get OE on my XP computer? Or would
> you
> recommend the painful route Dave took?
>
> Thanks for your help,
> Jay
>
> "Jim Pickering" wrote:
>
>> Dave: It's one helluva lot easier to export from the old version of
>> Outlook
>> to Outlook Express on the older computer. Then later import from the
>> saved
>> DBX files of the old computer's message store folder into Windows Mail.
>> Added bonus, you don't have to play with OL2007 and try to figure out how
>> its new Ribbons work vs. the old, tried and true menus. But, it's your
>> choice.
>> --
>> Jim Pickering
>> MVP-Windows Mail applications
>> Please reply only to the newsgroup.
>>
>>
>> "Dave M." <Dave.M..2li9ze@DoNotSpam.com> wrote in message
>> newsave.M..2li9ze@DoNotSpam.com...
>> >
>> > This is stupid and it's time consuming, but this is how I got it to
>> > work.
>> >
>> > I do not have a version of Outlook that I can install on my new Vista
>> > machine, and, of course, Outlook Express is gone.
>> >
>> > If you MUST retrieve your Outlook mail from a saved .pst file, and you
>> > don't have Outlook installed, you can go to MS's site and download the
>> > trial version of Office 2007. You have to go through a couple of
>> > hoops, and it's a large (290M) download, but this does work.
>> >
>> > Once it's downloaded, do a custom install and choose ONLY Outlook for
>> > installation. After it's done, you can import your .pst file into
>> > Outlook, close the program, and open Windows mail and import from
>> > Outlook. A TREMENDOUS bother, but I had several hundred emails I
>> > needed to have access to. (Plus, I'm retired, I have no life, and thus
>> > have time to fool with this stuff.)
>> >
>> > Then, of course, you can uninstall the trial Office, and delete the
>> > (290M) installer file.
>> >
>> > Dave M.
>> >
>> >
>> > --
>> > Dave M.
>> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> > Dave M.'s Profile: http://forums.techarena.in/member.php?userid=21674
>> > View this thread: http://forums.techarena.in/showthread.php?t=673040
>> >
>> > http://forums.techarena.in
>> >
>>