How do you transfer your Outlook messages?

I just bought a new computer (Vista) and want to transfer all my emails, bookmarks and address book from my old computer (XP) to my new computer. I have many files and emails that I need to keep.

Does anyone have a simple way of doing this?

Your help will really be appreciated.

Robin

There is no simple "reliable" way: Try This – as it works for us:
Please note: It is CRITICAL to avoid any downloads of new mail while you are working on this migration… until you have imported all your old (exported) mail! CRITICAL… or you may screw it all up.
A: Go to Outlook and right-click your Outlook Today’s <Personal Folders> item the Folder List panel, then choose “Properties” for “Personal Folders”. It is usually headed, “Personal Folders – Outlook Today” Figure 1: Opening the Properties window.
NOTE: IF YOUR FOLDERS LIST IS HIDDEN, OPEN THE VIEW MENU AND CHOOSE FOLDER LIST.
B. Go to the Personal Folder Propertied wind, then select the ADVANCED button by clicking on it. Right Click on the inside of the path, and select COPY.
C. Go to the Start Menue and point to Programs (All Programs) where you point to Accessories. Then Click on Notepad.
D. While in Notepad, you must open the EDIT menu, then select PASTE to paste the folder path into Notepad at that window.
E. At the end of the PATH, you should find the folder name and the extension called: PST or pst. You must delete the end of the path until the last character is the BACKSLASH ( \ )
This may be listed as “Untitled Notepad, with the box where you will have choices “File, Edit, Format, View, and help”
C:\Documents and Settings\Name ?\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook\
See the Path after deleting. Notice that the folder name and extension are gone.

D:\ Depress Control A to select the entire modified path and depress Control-C to copy it to the clipboard.
E:\ Open the Start menu again to choose Run… Depress Control-V to paste the path into the Run field.
Then click OK
F:\ Windows should open the folder containing Outlook’s data files. Copy all of those files to your new computer.
If you have been using Mail Rules in Outlook, continue to the next section. If not, then you should skip to the Outlook XP Import.
You should follow these Outlook Mail Rules (if you use mail rules. If not, skip this step
The Mail Rules are used to automatically sort incoming or outgoing e-mail based on rules that the user can define in the Rules Wizard. If you want to move these to your new computer along with your Outlook data, follow these steps:
AA. Open the Tools menu in Outlook and choose the Rules wizard
BB. At the bottom of the Rules Wizard screen, click on the Options button.
CC. Click on the Export Rules, then type a file name for the exported Rules File, and choose Save. You must copy this file to your new computer.

XP Outlook Import (Outlook Data):
This importing is very familiar to the Exporting in XP Outlook above:
aa. Follow the steps in the Outlook 2000/XP Export section, up to step 8.
bb. Close Outlook by opening the File menu and selecting Exit. Keep this folder Window that contains the Outlook js data files opened.
cc: Delete the files in the data folder.
As mentioned before, this description of procedures assumes you have NOT received any mail (i.e. Send/Receive) on your new computer. If you have received or sent , you must use the IMPORT and EXPORT wizard so you do not lose your new mail. Using the wizard is a more difficult way to import your mail and will not import your Auto Archive files.
1. Now, copy your exported data files into the folder window from your backup medium. Par example, if you copied the Outlook data files from your old computer onto a recordable CD, insert that CD and copy the files into the data folder.
2. Windows will ask you if you want to overwrite the existing files. Here, you select Yes.

Now, with any luck at all you! You have finished the import/export process! You can continue on to Outlook Mail Ruels, or skip to the end

Outlook Mail Rules:
If you exported any mail rules on your old computer, you can follow these steps to import them into Outlook on your new computer:
001. While in Outlook, open the the Tools menu and choose Rules Wizard.
002. At the bottom of the Rules Wizard dialog, select the Options button.
003. Click Import Rulesj icon, and select the Rules files you exported in the Export Section

Your Address Book:
Follow these steps to export your Outlook Express Address Book:
If you are using Windows XP:
Aa. Open the Start menu and select Run…
Bb. Enter the path: C:\Documents and Settings into the Run box and click OK.
Cc. Double-click on the folder with your user name on it.
Dd. Double-click on the Application Data folder.
Take note: If your Application Data folder is NOT visible, open the Tools menu and choose Folder options. Switch to your View tab and set Hidden files and folders to Show hidden files and folders under Advanced Settings.

Reply to thread 'How do you transfer your Outlook messages?'

Thank you so much. I guess this is straight forward. I will try it when I am totally rested so that I do not make any mistakes.

Thanks again for the quick and extensive response.

Robin