Win Live Mail lost some contacts

crabmann · 02 Apr 2017

Desktop PC,Win 10,FF primary,IE secondary. I used Outlook mail on my XP laptop and liked it. When I got this PC I could not use Outlook and went to Live Mail. I do not find it to be user friendly like the old Outlook. Today I went to send an email and found about half of my contacts were missing and cant seem to recover them. I would like to download the free Outlook Mail and move my old emails over and create a single contact list that can be edited. Currently I have several different contact lists some of which can be edited and some not. When finished I would like to delete the old lists and Live Mail. Can this be done and how?

Bastet · 03 Apr 2017

If the account is a Microsoft account then WLMail isn't compatible with the new sync protocol so you'll lose your Outlook contacts & calendar, the only option is to use the inbuilt Windows Mail for hotmail/outlook/live accounts which will sync contacts & calendars for Microsoft accounts.
Your email folders are under: C:\Users\yourcomputername\AppData\Local\Microsoft\ look for the windows live mail folder within there are your accounts, just open the account folder & copy your emails into the new email client. Never moved contacts list so can't help there.

swarfega · 03 Apr 2017

Windows Live hasn't been updated since 2012 so you could be putting yourself at risk by using it.

What was the exact reason why you couldn't use Outlook?

crabmann · 03 Apr 2017

1st-Thanks, I'll try that

2nd- I don't know. My email provider said they could not get it to install.

Bastet · 03 Apr 2017

Are you referring to Outlook Express or the paid for Outlook?
Outlook Express was part of XP which is a basic version of the paid Outlook mail, OE cannot be installed on any current Windows OS but you should be able to install Outlook email client providing you have a current key.

crabmann · 03 Apr 2017

I am going to try the free Outlook but I don't know what a "client key" is.

crabmann · 03 Apr 2017

Status- Apparently I have a Outlook account that I can access by going to Outlook.com.This updated itself yesterday because I logged in? It knows my password but I don't. I tried to change it but the screens that they identified do not have the required options. I have searched my programs and Outlook it is not installed on my PC. Until I can do that I cannot make it the default email program. What is the "client key"

Bastet · 03 Apr 2017

Sorry I don't know what a client key is. To use the Outlook email client you have to purchase/or have purchased Microsoft Office & installed & unlocked the software.

crabmann · 03 Apr 2017

Thank you