Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Transporting mail from Outlook5 to Outlook6

This is topic Transporting mail from Outlook5 to Outlook6 in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 03-23-2003, 01:47 PM:

I have a new computer with XP and Outlook6. How can I transport all my received and sent mail from my old Outlook5 under 98?

In Outlook5, you backup mail by saving the .dbx files in which the mail is saved.
Outlook6 and/or Windows XP don`t have these files or the directory they were in under 98.

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 03-23-2003, 04:33 PM:

Michael, I make sure any version of Outlook is disabled. There are many others that are far more superior.

Any email I receive that has an .eml file extension I avoid like the Plague, no matter who it comes from. I automatically delete it.

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 03-23-2003, 04:47 PM:

Are .eml files dangerous? I am aware that there are security issues with Outlook, but I never had any problems so far.
Which email program is recommendable?
Still, at this point I need to transport my old email to my new computer. How do I do that?

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 03-23-2003, 05:10 PM:

Actually, Michael, if you still have them in your mailbox, you should still be able to open them up in ver 6.

I think some Guru's like Daryl can give you direction on that issue. I know with AOL it is very easy to do by moving the "organize" sub directory to over-write the orginal in the newer version of AOL. Upon installation of a new version of AOL, it gives that option to do it automatically. That contains the email address book, and all your email that has been sent and received in the personal filing cabnet within the main AOL directory. Whether or not Outlook does that, I don't know for sure. Since I never used it, I never tried to find out.

We have had virus programs come through that were in the .eml files at work. When our sales people downloaded them, some contained virus programs.

I personally don't know if Microsoft has made any improvements in the Outlook program, and I won't use Outlook under any circumstances until I hear that outlook is, shall I say, secure?

Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 03-23-2003, 05:15 PM:

The easiest way is to just import your messages and let Outlook take care of migrating the database.

Find your Identities directory using the Windows Find program. Then figure out which identity you are actually using (there might only be one). Your Outlook database will be in the 'Microsoft\Outlook' folder under the Identities directory. The Outlook folder will contain at least one file for each of your message folders. The filenames will be the same as each of the message folders.

Once you know where your Go to File->Import->Messages, then select what program the files are coming from and tell it where the current files are. If you select the wrong database type it'll tell you.

Depending on the version of Outlook 5 you had the database type will be either Outlook 4 or Outlook 6.

Paul, attatched .eml files are just forwarded emails. Hotmail is notorious for attatching .eml in leu of a properly done email forward. You are no more likely to get a virus from a .eml file than a regularly formatted email forward. Since Microsoft now scans all Hotmail messages for virii with software that is usually more upto date than most people's personal virii scanners, you're probably safer accepting the .eml files than you are accepting forwards from other places.

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 03-23-2003, 05:19 PM:

What Daryl said sounds like a way to do it. Much differently than AOL does, but take my word....Daryl knows what he is talking about. [Smile]

.....and thank you Daryl for your valuable information. [Smile]

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 03-23-2003, 05:46 PM:

quote:
Find your Identities directory using the Windows Find program. Then figure out which identity you are actually using (there might only be one). Your Outlook database will be in the 'Microsoft\Outlook' folder under the Identities directory. The Outlook folder will contain at least one file for each of your message folders. The filenames will be the same as each of the message folders.

I already did that, locating my emails in the respectively named .dbx files. But neither the directory nor .dbx files exist in XP.
Even if I open those .dbx files directly with Outlook, nothing happens.
I selected "import" in Outlook6, then pointed to the files on CD, again nothing happened.
[Frown]

I can open the file with Outlook Express and Outlook Migration, again nothing happens.

Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 03-23-2003, 05:49 PM:

Ah... I overlooked the fact that you were using XP. Let me think about it, it has been awhile since I've used XP... stupid XP!

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 03-23-2003, 06:13 PM:

OK, now I located the .dbx files. They are still there in XP, but they were hidden!!!
I had already chosen "show hidden files" in the Explorer options, but you have to again chose "hidden files" in the Find section!
Now that I have found the directory, I could simply copy the old .dbx files into that durectory, but I have already written and received a couple of new emails, which I would lose since the .dbx would be replaced.
I tried renaming the old files to something like "oldsent", but Outlook does not display the directory.
The import option does not work when I point to the files.
I had thought you could import old emails, and that they would just be added to the new ones.

Now I could forward my new mails to myself, then go offline, replace the .dbx files with the old ones, go back online, receive my forwarded mail from the server, and then I would have them all in one directory. But that seems kind of complicated to me...There should be an easier way.
What is that Outlook Migration program for anyway?

Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 03-23-2003, 06:25 PM:

Importing from an OE6 Mail Store doesn't work?

Try this then:

1. Export your new mail.
2. Close OLEXP.
2. Move the new mail files out of the identity directory.
3. Move the old mail files into the identity directory.
4. Start OLEXP.
5. Import your new mail.

I'd also try using the exact same folder structure as you originally had and use the new Folders.dbx file (instead of copying the old one over).

BTW, I talked to one of my friends who is on the Outlook Group and he says you're just jinxed! Other than that he wan't any help. [Smile]

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 03-23-2003, 06:32 PM:

What means jinxed? If it means confused, that is certainly true...
However, your email tip worked. I hadn`t tried to import from Outlook6. That seemed illogical to me since I had used Outlook5.

After I had finally imported my mail, I found that I couldn`t open the attachments. Since I had no Word on my computer (it came with Star Office, which I liked more, and it can also open Word files), I searched for my old Word97 and installed it.
Now I can open the attached Word documents, but I still can`t open the attached .pdf and .zip files!!!!!! [Mad]

Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 03-23-2003, 06:36 PM:

That'd be because you probably don't have Adobe Acrobat Reader and WinZip installed.

IE5.5 and it's version of OLEXP uses the same database format as OE6 / IE6.

jinxed: a person or thing who appears to bring bad luck

For everyone else who may be interseted, here's the big email tip:

Try copying the contents of the Microsoft Outlook directory on your cd to an
empty folder on your hard drive. Make sure to include the Folders.dbx file.

Then in Outlook try importing them again, this time after selecting Outlook
Express 6 and clicking next, select 'Import Mail from an OE6 Store
Directory'.

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 03-23-2003, 06:48 PM:

I have Acrobat Reader!
I realise the attachments are also in the .dbx file, so you can`t open them directly with AR. But they should be accessible through Outlook.
I also tried forwarding the old mail with the .pdf attachment and it still is grayed out and inaccessible!!!!!!!!!!

edit - OK, yes, the Outlook options were set to not allow opening or saving attachments which could contain a virus. Now I can open the attachments too.
It seems I am just having a bad day here.

Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 03-23-2003, 07:19 PM:

You ARE jinxed! [Big Grin]