Unable to Configure Windows Live Mail and Import Contacts from Outlook Express.

You can configure your e-mail accounts in Windows Mail, export your messages and contacts from Outlook Express or other email programs and import them to Windows Live Mail on Windows 7.

Prepare to Configure Windows Mail

Setting up your e-mail account is a simple process as long as you have the information that you need available. To prepare for setting up your e-mail account(s) in Windows Live Mail or most other e-mail programs, make sure you have the following information from your current e-mail provider.

  1. Your e-mail address and password.
  2. The type of e-mail server used.
    • Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3) servers
    • Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) servers
    • Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) servers
  3. The address of the incoming and outgoing e-mail servers used by your e-mail provider.

    4. Common e-mail server addresses usually have this format:

    • Yahoo!: pop.mail.yahoo.com (incoming) and smtp.mail.yahoo.com (outgoing)
    • AOL: imap.aol.com (incoming) and smtp.aol.com (outgoing)
    • Gmail: pop.gmail.com (incoming) and smtp.gmail.com (outgoing)
  4. The server port required to send or receive mail on your computer.

Configure your e-mail in Windows Live Mail

When you have the required information and you are ready to configure your e-mail account(s) in Windows Live Mail, follow these steps.

  1. Click Start , enter mail , and select Windows Live Mail when it becomes available in the list.
  2. Click Add e-mail account in the left pane.
  3. Enter your information in the fields, select Manually configure server settings for e-mail account and then click Next .
  4. Follow the onscreen instructions using the information listed above.

Your email account should be configured into Windows Live Mail and you will be able to manage, send and receive messages from multiple accounts if you decide to add others.

Export contacts from Microsoft Outlook Express

If you already have an e-mail account from Microsoft Outlook Express, you can export the information you have to a file and select which information you would like to have access to on your Windows Live Mail account. This is a quick and easy method, so you do not have to manually forward all of each your messages and contacts.

  1. Click Start , enter outlook express , and select Outlook Express when it becomes available in the list.
  2. From the toolbar, click File , Export , and then Address book .
  3. Select text file or .csv file , click Save as , and then click browse to determine where you would like to place the file.
  4. Select the fields you would like to export and then click Finish.

Import contacts to Windows Live Mail

Once you have exported the information you would like into a file, you can import your messages and contacts so that they can be used in Windows Live Mail. You can also change the mapping of the contacts and messages so that they are organized to your preference, such as arranging your contacts last name, first name rather than first name, last name.
Use the following steps to import messages and contacts:

For contacts:

  1. Click Start , enter mail , and select Windows Live Mail when it becomes available in the list.
  2. Click Contacts in the bottom left pane.
  3. In the Windows Live Contacts window, click File , Import , and then select the type of file you used to save your imported your contacts and messages.
  4. Decide which fields you want included in your address book or message folders. You can also change the mapping to the information such as changing names to appear first, last or last, first.
  5. Click Finish.

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