Page 1 of Help setting up a Win 8 machine...

As I use a computer at work, like 90% of the population, my girlfriend`s parents have asked me to move all her Dad`s emails/contacts/documents etc... across from his old XP machine to his new Windows 8 laptop!

He wants to sit with me while I uninstall all the c**p you get with a new machine and put on all the other programs he`ll need.  This is the most frustrating part as I haven`t got a clue how to use Win8 and was planning on teaching myself as I went along! :)

Anyway, my main concern is he uses Outlook Express and I don`t believe this exists (or is compatible, this is based on his wife`s input, with Win8).  How easy is it to transfer all his contacts/mails across from XP to Win8?

I`m guessing I simply export all contacts as vcards (or something!) then import them into whatever mail client I setup on his new machine?  Can I have Outlook Express on Win 8 or has it been replaced?

Any help is appreciated as I`m not looking forward to wasting a full weekend trying to sort this out! :)

I`ll look for guides nearer the time but thought I`d kick off a discussion to get some sort of an idea what issues I can expect!

Cheers

Ross

I`ve not played around enough with Windows 8 to offer any specific advice on that (I tried it twice for about an hour each time and I hated it).

However, I can offer advice with regards to Outlook Express.

Export the address book (as WAB or a CSV file etc.)
Export the accounts (as *.iaf files)
Find and copy the *.dbx email files
Place all of them on your USB drive, and import them in to the email program of your choice in Win8 (the default `Mail` app should be fine for this).

Personally I`d be looking to switch to using Gmail and importing all of the emails & contacts into that, then accessing via IMAP (it essentially gives you an automatic backup solution and you can access them from anywhere).
You can also still retain the old email address for sending / receiving emails if you wish rather than changing the account over completely.

I concur with Miles...

I use gmail as my mail client now having transferred all mail and contacts to it. I also set it up to send and receive as my other non-gmail accounts. You`ll never have to transfer to a new machine again and everything is backed-up. I also use 2-stage authentication to increase security (no-one can access your mail on a computer you haven`t authorised)

I think Outlook Express has been superseded by Windows Live Mail (at least in Win7). I actually prefer OE because WLM is a bleedin` mess.

I use IMAP with gmail too, but I`m not a great fan of that. You won`t really need it if you use gmail on every machine.

edit: ...and oh yeah, all my contacts are automatically backed-up to my phone and if I create a new contact on the phone, it automatically updates it on the computer (as well as obviously having all emails available on phone).

This item was edited on Wednesday, 19th June 2013, 11:31

I`m sure switching everything across to gmail makes loads of sense but it also sounds like a load of hassle and extra work for me so I won`t be mentioning that to him!  :)

He`ll be getting Windows Live Mail setup and his documents copied across!!!

Cheers guys

You wait until he asks you to sort out his computer when it`s completely crashed...and recover all the emails & contacts ;)

or you could find XP drivers for the lappy ;)

man,  i feel old... my brain just refuses to accept change lol...

Well, funny thing about his laptop was I told him last month I was going to buy a laptop and he started asking me about the spec, then he liked the sound of it so he made me show him it online. 5 left on Amazon so he buys one there and then! 6 hours later I`m back home and this laptop is sold out everywhere! End of line model.

699 for 15.4", i7 2.4, 1TB + 8 Gb SSD (because we all know miles wouldn`t like it without an SSD!!!), 8Gb RAM, 1Gb Nvidia, Win 8.

I`m really begrudged doing anything with his (my) laptop! He`s going to struggle with Win 8. I know I`ll be asked to put Win7 on at some point! :/

Quote:
r8sso. says...
because we all know miles wouldn`t like it without an SSD!!!
Good lad ;)