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Microsoft on its website states: 'If you’ve been using an older email app, like Outlook Express, Windows Mail, or Windows Live Mail, and your mail and address book are on the hard drive of your old PC, there are a couple of ways you can access them on your new PC running Windows 8 or Windows RT. You could reinstall the app and transfer your email and address book.'

Here is the link where I found the information mentioned above: Did anyone was able to actually 'reinstall' either Outlook Express (v. 6.0 from XP) or Windows Mail (v. 6.0 from Vista) from an old computer (XP or Vista) on a new computer running Windows 8? If yes, where did you find installation files (for OE 6 or WM 6) to perform the installation on a new Windows 8 computer? Or is there any way to find and copy the installation file on either Windows XP or Windows Vista old computers? I did not make an upgrade from XP or Vista to Windows 8, I have 2 different computers (old and new).

I want only transfer my e-mail messages and contacts from my old computers running XP (and Vista) to a new computer running Windows 8 and be able to use either Outlook Express or Windows Mail under Windows 8. I need to do transfer from Windows XP (or Vista) 32-bit computer to Windows 8 64-bit computer. I do not like Windows Live Mail (a part of Windows Live Essentials) distributed for Windows 7 or a 'new' Mail installed on a Windows 8 computer. I do not want to go 'clouds' as Microsoft vigorously promotes. I do not want my picture attachments being seen as thumbnails, etc. In addition, I still have paid e-mail accounts that use POP3 protocol so a 'new' Mail is useless for me. Mainly, a 'new' Mail in Windows 8 seems to really full of bugs and problems (based on problems already reported by members on this forum).

I search all around the Microsoft website, but there is no way to find the answer for my Q or knowledge base/how-to explaining how Microsoft 'imagines' to perform the reinstallation without having an ability to download either Outlook Express 6.0 or Windows Mail 6.0 *.exe files. Unfortunately the link you point out is probably referring to third parts mail apps like Thunderbird. Outlook Express 6.0 and Windows Mail 6.0 are components of previous operating systems and are not available for Windows 8. In fact, they simply will not run on newer versions of windows at all. The only options are to use Windows Live Mail or the built in Mail app (although the mail app does not support POP3 so that is probably not an option).

The only other option I can think of would be to purchase Microsoft Outlook (not express, the full version). It would support your email and you would be able to transfer to it. I'm sorry that there doesn't appear to be a solution to your problem. Maybe it's time to switch to a modern email app, or use the cloud, even if it seems like a bit of a transition at first it would mean you could avoid problems like this. There is no way to install OE or fix WinMail in Windows 8 so it works. The alternatives at the moment for 'real' email clients are to use WLM (I don't) or Thunderbird or some other 3rd party email client. It is unfortunate that the people who determine things at MS seem committed to forcing users to change, when the users are perfectly happy with what they had before.

I suspect in the future that there will be other email clients developed to fill this chasm. In the meantime, backup your messages in the systems you still have and try to continue to use them until some other applications are developed, or perhaps they will see the error of their ways and fix things in Windows 9. Steve Steve Cochran, Ph.D. MS-MVP 1998 - 2014 Outlook Express Windows Mail http://www.oehelp.com. Thank you both for your replies. Yes, it is unfortunate that MS developers do not care about users and their actual needs. After years, it is clear that instead of fixing small problems on previous e-mail apps, they always decide to create something new and cause more mess and frustration for users -- by launching a cripled version of previous great apps/products on the market.

I know that many people like idea of 'clouds', but I like my e-mails stored on my computer (not somewhere in the clouds) and read them when I disconect from the Internet. In addition, our Internet provider (COX) does not support IMAP (only POP3). COX recommends switching to Thunderbird as well, but based on my reading of how-to articles, it will not be easy -- to recreate everything from the beginning, even having suddenly all read e-mails shown as unread, etc. Seems to be a daunting task. And who knows what surprises would await me, if I decided to go that way. I do not have time to spent hours of recreating everything from the beginning in a new e-mail client program (that was not a purpose of buying a new PC).

I expected the same easy transfer of e-mail messages and contacts as I did between ME and XP or ME and Vista. I already returned a computer with a preinstalled Windows 8 back to a store. I rather have old settings on a slower XP PC that does everything as I want, adding external HDDs, than going through frustrations created by Miscrosoft developers in a 'block-looking' Windows 8. Maybe, Windows 9 will be better, but I doubt it. I read in many reviews for new PCs that people did the same as I did - returning a new PC with Windows 8 back to stores and searching online for a PC with Windows 7 (even not the best solution for mail apps). Having colorful 'blocks' on the Windows 8 start-up page does not impress me at all, and I lost interest in Windows 8 after learning they even removed a support for POP3 e-mail accounts in a new MAIL app. Reading misleading information on Microsoft's support page -- claiming an option of reinstallation of apps that are actually impossible to reinstall, including chat with two MS Answer Techs without any solution, was a last straw before packing the new PC for its return.

Lastly, Microsoft does not even have Windows Easy Transfer that I can install on XP to be able to make an easy transfer of files and settings to a new PC with Windows 8. So, if Microsoft does not care about users of previous versions by providing them an easy transition to a new version, then there is no point to invest money to their 'block-y' version of Windows.

Maybe it's time to switch to Apple. Yes, there is a solution (kind of). The only possibility to 'transfer' my OLEX 6 messages was to install Windows Live Mail 2012. Actually, I installed only a MAIL part of it (plus some extra part that I was not able to uncheck during custom installation of the Windows Essentials 2012 package, to avoid having more useless apps installed). Windows Live Mail 2012 is similar to Outlook Express 6 (sort of), but even I finally did a 'transformation' approx. 3 weeks ago, I am still frustrating.

WLM 2012 was not able to import my folders with messages (from OLEX backup) as I expected. First, everything was thrown inside the STORAGE FOLDER, and I should rebuild the whole folder/tree structure for all my POP3 accounts, move messages. (I have 6 of them right now). WML does not support drag and drop feature to move folders (only for messages). Secondly, WLM 2012 is not even able to import all my messages from my OLEX6 backup. For example, on the first try, only messages dated before Jul 2010 were imported into my Sent messages folder (under Storage Folder, aka Archive). After deleting all messages in that folder, I attempted importing messages for that folder again hoping to be done correctly on the second try. It went up to Aug 2011 (no sent messages imported after that!!!, while I had thousands of them in backup).

I did backups & import/export tens of times under XP and Vista, and I never had a problem as I had with WLM 2012 under Windows 8. As of today, I am not even done with a transition to WLM 2012. So much for claimed compatibility and ease of use!!!! (as claimed by MS in misleading info provided on its support website). I plan to keep it as a temporary solution (I bought a new laptop because of the speed for video editing), and I do not have time or desire to learn and look for all hidden/misplaced/removed features in Windows 8 (features that I used to find and use with ease before, either in XP or Vista PCs; features that I cannot find easily in Windows 8 without performing online search for tutorial).

I am fed up with Windows 8; I plan to continue using XP as long as possible/supported, and switch to Linux (Ubuntu, Linux Mint. Still not decided) and move to Thunderbird or Evolution as my mail client program.

They have more features that I might need, and it will require more work to do when making a transition, but I know what to expect (based on their great step-by-step tutorials with screenshots). I never wanted to go that way (Thunderbird), but I am not willing to invest my time in rebuilding everything in WLM 2012 to find out that after couple year MS decides to do some anti-user decision again, and I will have to do everything again into another questionable WLM mail client. It's more practical to switch to Thunderbird now. Being fooled by MS's statement: You could reinstall the app and transfer your email and address book. (first paragraph of my post), I was not able to find one tutorial -- a step-by-step tutorial with screenshots explaining how to reinstall Outlook Express 6 under Windows 8 and import messages. I noticed that MS removed misleading statement (as quoted in my first post) after my numerous negative feedback submitted, but it's clear that MS cannot provide tutorials for previous OLEX 6 users, because they know that it is not possible. MS wants us to abandon our POP3 accounts and re-route all our mails to their server/cloud or pay us for Outlook 2013 or as a part of Office 365 subscription or Office suite to have a 'luxury' of the easy use and import/export of OLEX 6.

Ain't gonna happen!!!