Transferring your Emails from Windows XP to a new computer running Windows 7 sounds easy in theory. Not so fast Windows fan boys and girls. Microsoft “killed” Outlook Express and fails to provide an Email client with the Windows 7 install.

With 70% of the IT world still running XP and millions of users shunning Vista, this is sure to be a large PITA. Remember all the hype about the MS Easy Transfer utility? That won’t do it. Break out the jackhammer and read the procedure.

The cast of characters

A 5 year old Pentium class computer running XP Home Edition with Service Pack 3 and Outlook Express for Email. The new kid on the block is a fast HP Pavilion Elite e9270f running Windows 7 Home Premium Edition (64-bit). Set up of this new machine was very easy and it’s fast as lightning. Folders are shared and it appears we are ready to use that gleaming Email client in Windows 7. NOT! After looking around for about 30 minutes and searching the Web I was shocked. No dice. No email client via the install. Maybe I should try that highly touted Easy Transfer utility. The test run was miserable, took like 8 hours, and still no luck.

The Microsoft Solution – Windows Live

Someone in Redmond must want the entire world to use Windows Live. That’s where they provide an imperfect Email client and tons of other applications which are all free. Welcome to download Hell and Windows Update Hell. Since Windows Live Mail is free I decided to give it a try. After the download and a few Windows updates I was ready to grab the email on the XP Computer. Export failed from Outlook Express which I will explain in more detail below. Grab the XP Email folder with all your Email’s .dbx files and transfer across your Network to the Windows 7 machine. After the import into Windows Live Mail I was not a happy camper. Each unique email address/account from Outlook Express has a separate folder structure with no universal Inbox and all the Outlook Express custom Email folders were placed outside the tree and not under the email accounts. It’s also slow and a disk hog. I longed for my beloved Outlook Express which is lean and mean and runs on slow computers. After a few days of using Windows Live Mail it was time to find another solution. Some folks might be happy spending lots of time tweaking Windows Live Mail and tolerating this bloat ware but many more will decide on another solution.

The Microsoft Solution – Outlook 2007

Some of you may already have a license for Outlook 2007 since it’s bundled with some versions of Office like the Office 2007 Small Business Edition. Unfortunately, that was not the case so break out the credit card and navigate to the Office Outlook 2007 purchase page. The install in Windows 7 was easy and of course I visited the Windows Update page a few times. Get ready for some work. Back to the XP Computer and remember that an export from Outlook Express fails so how the heck am I going to generate an Outlook.pst file for Outlook 2007 using Outlook Express on the XP Computer? The only way to do this is install Outlook 2007 on the XP Computer and then run the export from Outlook Express which generates your Outlook.pst file. After this export was finished, I was still frustrated. Where the HELL did the export place Outlook.pst? No clue in the export. Look in you’re: C:\Documents and Setting\[user name]\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook folder and you have found the magic file. Transfer Outlook.pst to you Windows 7 machine. Make a backup of this critical file and then navigate to C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook and overwrite your Outlook.pst file. Contacts/Address Book is exported from Outlook Express via a .csf file (Text File Comma Separated) and then use this file for the import into Outlook 2007. I like Outlook 2007 with Windows 7 very much and it’s reasonably fast and full featured. All the updates and service packs installed without a glitch.

Thunderbird 2 might make you happy and satisfy this glaring emission in Windows 7. Although I didn’t try it, it looks simple and familiar. This application appears to be lean and mean just like Outlook Express and it’s free. If you try it please ping me with your thoughts so I can publish them.

What do I think of Windows 7?

Since the dust has settled, I can offer a few slivers of advice. On a new Computer which you purchase and Windows 7 is already installed, it’s a very nice first effort from the geeks at Microsoft. Much faster and better than Vista. Fast as greased lightning on the appropriate Computer. A reasonably difficult learning curve which to a large existent is understandable. Except for this Email glitch which IS huge, all the other data was a simple transfer. Reinstall your applications and test them to insure they run properly. In my case, even a few very old (2002) legacy applications run fine after I set the Compatibility check box to Run the program as Windows XP (Service Pack 3). Stay tuned for my detailed review of what I like and don’t like about Windows 7.

Disclaimer: No one paid me to write this post or provided me with any form of compensation, free gifts, or ‘in-kind” considerations. I am posting my own experiences with these products and or services.

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