Computer buff? E-mail help needed!

[KasinoKing]

My old laptop died earlier this year, and consequently I can not use it to look at any of my old e-mails and I need some important info from them.

However, shortly before it died I took a back-up copy of the entire C drive.
Does anyone know how I can get access to the e-mail data from my back-up?
I have tried searching the web for help, but without success.

The files are in Outlook Express 6 format - the same client I am using on my new PC.
The "Import" feature does not appear to have an option to look on an external drive.

Any help appreciated!
Cheers,
KK

 

[ksech]

If the backup made a "stand alone" backup of your emails, you could just explore the cd, and copy and paste it to your "my documents" and import it from there.

 

[ksech]

Or if you still have the old harddrive, you can purchase a cable which will plug into the harddrive and then you plug it into you new computer via UBS port.

 

[chayton]

If you have a full backup of your old drive, go to folder view and choose 'view hidden files and folders'. Look in *driveletter*:\Documents and Settings\*yourusername*\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook for .pst files.

If you can find them, just copy and paste into C:\Documents and Settings\*yourusername*\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook or paste them somewhere else and then use the import feature in Outlook.

I had to do that when my old hard drive went, and I hadn't been using the new Outlook so I just replaced the new .pst with the old one. If you've been using your new outlook and you have data there you want to save you'll have to make sure that the old .pst has a different name than the new one (outlookOLD.pst for example) and then set one or the other as the default in Outlook.

 

[vinylweatherman]

I had to try something similar for my Mum when she moved from a Windows XP desktop with Outlook express, to a laptop running Windows 7. The "proper way" didn't work. the export/import function of Outlook Express ONLY works when MS Office is installed, an obscure fact tucked away in the Microsoft knowledge base. It's a bind for HOME users, who tend to have MS Works bundled with their PC, rather than MS Office.

The solution is even EASIER if you can connect the email folder to a working copy of Outlook Express. Select all your messages as though you are going to move them to a folder within Outlook, but instead drag them to a folder created on the desktop - a standard one, not a "special" one like the system folders used by Explorer etc. Each message becomes a small file in that folder. This folder can then be moved just like any other data folder between PCs or applications.
To get the messages back into a new copy of Outlook, simply "select all" in the folder, and drag the lot back inside Outlook, and release the button - emails restored as emails

This solution is on the Microsoft website as what to do when import/export doesn't work, or you don't have Office.

The REASON import/export isn't working is because Office isn't installed, or is broken. This leaves Outlook Express unable to access the extended routines needed to support export/import, which are part of Office, rather than part of the Windows OS.