How to Transfer Outlook Express Mail to a New Computer

You can move Outlook Express data using a flash drive.

The Outlook Express e-mail client is included with the Windows XP operating system. If you are switching from one PC computer to another, you will need to manually move your mail data. After setting up Outlook Express on your new computer, you can import your old messages. Outlook Express data is not compatible with other e-mail programs like Apple Mail or Mozilla Thunderbird.

Things You'll Need

• Computers running Windows XP
• Flash drive or external hard drive

Instructions

1. Connect a flash drive or external hard drive to your old PC.

2. Open the Start menu, click on "My Computer" and then double-click on the external drive's icon.

3. Launch the Outlook Express application.

4. Go to "Edit" in the top menu bar and choose the "Select All" option to highlight all of your e-mail.

5. Drag and drop the highlighted messages into the external drive's folder and wait for the data to transfer.

6. Connect the flash drive or external hard drive to your new PC.

7. Open the Start menu, click on "My Computer" and then double-click on the external drive's icon.

8. Launch the Outlook Express application.

9. Highlight all of the items in the external drive window and then drag and drop them into the Outlook Express window.

References

• Microsoft Support: How to Manually Export and Import Messages in Outlook Express