Export/convert windows live mail to Outlook

[Big Jim]

Customer is buying a refurbished laptop from us and has ~15000 emails in Windows live mail, I have convinced them to move to Outlook, however when I use the built in export tool from windows live mail it keeps crashing and restarting the program part way through the process.

WLM is working fine on the new laptop with all emails in place so it is tempting to leave the customer with WLM, I don't like to be beaten though.

Is there a tool that will handle this transition or am I stuck with the built in export option ?

NOTE: if I select the option to export to WLM it misses a LOT of emails, I had to copy the WLM data folder manually to the new computer to transfer everything over.

 

[britechguy]

Might I ask what access method they were using to get at their email under WLM?

If it was IMAP, not POP, this whole thing is likely a non-issue.

I routinely set up people with new e-mail clients where IMAP access was being used, and since all permanent storage is server side, everything "automagically" reappears after sufficient time to allow the syncing of the message headers has passed.

 

[Big Jim]

Might I ask what access method they were using to get at their email under WLM?

If it was IMAP, not POP, this whole thing is likely a non-issue.

I routinely set up people with new e-mail clients where IMAP access was being used, and since all permanent storage is server side, everything "automagically" reappears after sufficient time to allow the syncing of the message headers has passed.

I wish it was IMAP, its POP unfortunately hence this thread.

 

[nlinecomputers]

Outlook is for exchange. Its a bad fit for anyone coming from WLM. Move them to eMclient. https://www.emclient.com/

 

[nlinecomputers]

How to import into eM Client.

eM Client - Email Client and Calendar Software for Windows and Mac

This free email client should be installed on your desktop. eM Client is just great.

de.emclient.com

 

[britechguy]

Outlook is for exchange.

As often as I hear this, I must respectfully disagree. It's excellent for those using Exchange. It works just fine for IMAP (at least if email only is your focus) for all my clients that use it, and most folks I know who are blind use either Outlook or Thunderbird. And you can use any one of several third party sync utilities for contacts, calendar, and tasks if you want 'em in Outlook and you're not using Exchange.

By the way, I love eM Client and can give a very hearty second to that recommendation for anyone considering a new e-mail client.

 

[nlinecomputers]

Outlook is too unstable with PST issues. Yes it can do the job but those features are a secondary consideration, intended for those users who might also have an ISP provided or free email service alongside their exchange mail. It's always been Microsoft's intention that people who are not on exchange to use Outlook Express, Windows Live Mail, etc.

 

[britechguy]

It's always been Microsoft's intention that people who are not on exchange to use Outlook Express, Windows Live Mail, etc.

Well, you wouldn't know that from their accessibility people, nor the fact that Outlook is, without question, the email client that screen reader companies support best and most promptly.

And very few home users of Outlook, and they are legion, have ever touched Exchange, but they've used Outlook for years without issue. I happen to be one of those, but Outlook, while set up and fired up for testing things out with screen readers, is not my preferred email access method. I like webmail much, much better.

But I've never, in all my years of using Outlook with IMAP, had any instability at all.

 

[Markverhyden]

I wish it was IMAP, its POP unfortunately hence this thread.

Just create a temp account where ever, gmail, outlook.com, etc. Add it to WLM, move the emails over, and then set it up in Outlook. But my first question is who still provides POP these days. Everyone that's been around for a while has converted their email servers to IMAP even if they didn't announce it. So far I've been able to just setup the same email as IMAP instead of POP. But done manually, not auto configured. Sometimes there a little futzing around to get the proper IMAP server name.

 

[Blue Banana]

I had to do this the other day, I used KLS Mail Backup to backup the WLM files first and then restore them as files Outlook could recognise. Then I dragged them over into Outlook which then saves it into the .PST file. Works well, just be prepared to wait a while if the computer isn't the fastest.

 

[britechguy]

But my first question is who still provides POP these days.

Way more than any of us would like to think. Google still does (provide it, they don't encourage its use, but they provide it). It seems a lot of regional ISPs do, too.

I just wish they would stop. There is really zero justification for providing POP access now. The "transition period" to server-side, regardless of protocol, is long over.

Of course, I have used the need to transition to a new email client (using IMAP) to get POP hoarders to "leave the stash behind" and access it via their old email client, with the connectivity "neutered," only when necessary. Most are shocked at how infrequently that actually is. There are people who, stupidly, literally keep every message that ever arrived that's not spam. If you've read it, and it's been attended to and has zero archival value, then nuke it. Email is no different than paper when it comes to deciding what to keep versus toss. You need to be able to make a distinction.

 

[Sky-Knight]

Outlook is too unstable with PST issues. Yes it can do the job but those features are a secondary consideration, intended for those users who might also have an ISP provided or free email service alongside their exchange mail. It's always been Microsoft's intention that people who are not on exchange to use Outlook Express, Windows Live Mail, etc.

I have a client that has 30 machines using POP3 into PST files on Outlook M365. It works fine, and it doesn't really give me any fits after initial setup. If you have a machine that's corrupting the PST, just like corrupting the registry you have a deeper issue that needs addressed. Better storage, more RAM, something is BROKEN. Outlook can be configured and last years handling PSTs, I've done it for decades. I don't LIKE TO, but I've done it.

 

[Metanis]

I use MailStore Home MailStore Home – Free Email Archiving and Backup for Home Users and archive the user's Old POP Email. Then I tell them they need to use MailStore if they want to refer to old mail.

For all new mail they either use a modern client or preferably the web interface.

 

[britechguy]

@Metanis,

Interesting. There really is software out there for anything you can think of, and many that you probably wouldn't. This appears to be an ideal solution for home users, particularly if you want a "best of both worlds" situation where the archive is easily accessible, when needed, but is not cluttering up the new environment.

 

[fincoder]

Outlook is for exchange.

Outlook has been around for over 22 years and it has always supported non-exchange accounts. As well as in enterprises, it has been the email client of choice for small business, and most of those don't have an exchange server. They include Outlook in the Office Home & Business package for this reason. Earlier versions such as Outlook 2003 had issues with IMAP, but most users at that time were using POP3 (or exchange). Outlook's POP3 abilities have been generally pretty good over that time, and many users still have PST files for offline folders.

Outlook Express and Windows Live Mail, on the other hand, quite often had mail store corruptions. Especially as the database got big. Lately I've had more WLMail issues presented, I suspect it has got worse on newer Windows 10 releases for some reason. Instead of repairing (by importing into a new mail store) I've now been migrating people to Outlook or emClient.

@Big Jim writes "when I use the built in export tool from windows live mail it keeps crashing".
I've had the same issue recently, with two different customers. Restarting the export and selecting folders after the one it failed on allowed it to continue for a while, I had to restart the export several times to complete. It could be caused by WLMail store corruption, or maybe new Outlook versions have a bug in the MAPI server function.

 

[nlinecomputers]

@Metanis,

Interesting. There really is software out there for anything you can think of, and many that you probably wouldn't. This appears to be an ideal solution for home users, particularly if you want a "best of both worlds" situation where the archive is easily accessible, when needed, but is not cluttering up the new environment.

I've set up many Mailstore for Home setups. The only drawback is that the command to archive is manual. There is no schedule function. Got to pay to get a version with scheduling. There is a workaround to create a command-line trigger and then use Windows Scheduler to run it. Fire it off once a week or once a day and let it trim down the PST or IMAP stack.

 

[nlinecomputers]

Outlook has been around for over 22 years and it has always supported non-exchange accounts. As well as in enterprises, it has been the email client of choice for small business, and most of those don't have an exchange server. They include Outlook in the Office Home & Business package for this reason. Earlier versions such as Outlook 2003 had issues with IMAP, but most users at that time were using POP3 (or exchange). Outlook's POP3 abilities have been generally pretty good over that time, and many users still have PST files for offline folders.

Outlook has always been a buggy kludge on anything but Exchange. At least with a corrupted profile in exchange, you can nuke it create a new one, and not lose any data. IMAP is almost as good as that but Outlook's IMAP support has never been great and 2003 and 2013 both had serious issues with it. And it still can choke on subfolders and frequently you have to force it to refresh the folder. This is as much a problem on the server-side as it is with Outlook but webmail tends to handle it better.

I have a client that has 30 machines using POP3 into PST files on Outlook M365. It works fine, and it doesn't really give me any fits after initial setup. If you have a machine that's corrupting the PST, just like corrupting the registry you have a deeper issue that needs addressed. Better storage, more RAM, something is BROKEN. Outlook can be configured and last years handling PSTs, I've done it for decades. I don't LIKE TO, but I've done it.

I have too and I've had as many people have random corruption that no one can explain other than big old PST files. It's one reason I push Mailstore as mentioned upthread. It allows for archiving and keeps the PSTs or IMAP stacks out of dangerous levels

 

[Big Jim]

I had to do this the other day, I used KLS Mail Backup to backup the WLM files first and then restore them as files Outlook could recognise. Then I dragged them over into Outlook which then saves it into the .PST file. Works well, just be prepared to wait a while if the computer isn't the fastest.

Sounds good, do you use an older version ?
We downloaded the latest one from their site and when you open it, it has a list of different mail clients it can backup but WLM is missing.

EDIT: found version 4 and its added WLM as an option

 

[Sky-Knight]

@nlinecomputers The only time I get corruption is when the PST gets too big. Then the busted one becomes an archive, and a new file is made.

 

[frase]

I have this issue as well, I open WLM > File > Export >Email Messages> Exchange..

An error has occurred while initializing MAPI.

The mail server is POP as well.