Export Windows Live Mail Emails to Outlook on Another Computer

Read time 10 minutes

Windows Live Mail (WLM) is a now-discontinued freeware email client from Microsoft. WLM is a successor to Windows Mail (Windows Vista), which was the successor to Outlook Express (Windows XP and Windows 98). WLM is compatible with Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10.

As of now, there is no support for Windows Live Mail, as it was discontinued in 2012. Even though Microsoft has included a new email client (Windows Mail) in the Windows 10 release, still several users continue to use Windows Live Mail for various reasons. But now, many users have already or are planning to switch to Microsoft Outlook as there is no point in keeping WLM in addition to MS Outlook.

So, if you are planning to Export Windows Live Mail to Outlook, then you might find this article worth a read.

Benefits of MS Outlook over Window live mail

If you’re looking for a more feature-rich and powerful email experience, Microsoft Outlook is the way to go. Windows Live Mail doesn’t offer the same features and benefits as Outlook. Here are some of the key advantages that Outlook has over Windows Live Mail:

• Better organization:

  With Outlook, you can easily organize your emails into different folders and subfolders. This makes it much easier to find old emails and keep track of important conversations.

• More powerful search:

  Outlook’s search function is much more powerful than Windows Live Mail, making it easy to find exactly what you’re looking for.

• More customization options:

  With Outlook, you can customize nearly every aspect of the program to suit your needs. For example, you can change the way emails are displayed, add, or remove buttons from the toolbar, and much more.

• Better support for external accounts:

  If you have email accounts with other providers (such as Gmail), Outlook makes it easy to add and manage them. Windows Live Mail, on the other hand, only supports a limited number of external accounts.

• Better security:

  Outlook includes many robust security features that help protect your email from malware and phishing attacks. Windows Live Mail lacks some of these important security features.

Following are some methods to export Windows Live Mail to Outlook on Another Computer:

• Export Using Windows Live Mail
• From the Windows Live Mail File Location
• Kernel for EML to PST Converter Tool

Method #1 Export Using Windows Live Mail

Windows Live Mail has the export functionality to directly export WLM mail items either to Microsoft Exchange or in MS WLM format on the same computer. But, if you need to export the emails to the Outlook application on a different system, you would have to adjust the process a little bit. And make sure that there are no running instances of Outlook application during the process.

The detailed steps to export items to MS Exchange are outlined below.

1. Launch the Windows Live Mail email client and click on File > Export email > Email messages.
2. Choose the Microsoft Exchange option and hit Next.
3. Next, you will see the following Export message; hit OK to proceed.
4. Choose Outlook from the Profile Name drop-down menu and hit OK.
5. From the Export Messages dialog, either select All folders or Selected folders options and click OK to proceed.
   
6. A new dialog displays the status of the export process.
7. In the end, you will receive a new message confirming the successful completion of the export process.
8. Open Outlook to verify the export.

As you now have all of your WLM mail items exported to Exchange, these mails can be easily downloaded as a PST file on a storage device of your choice. This can be quickly accomplished with the Import/Export feature of the Outlook desktop client.
Note: It is advised that while exporting the Windows Live Mail to Outlook, make sure that no active Outlook instances are running. It is found that running WLM simultaneously with Outlook hinders WLM’s functionality to export emails to MS Exchange.

Method #2 From the Windows Live Mail File Location

It is also possible to transfer the WLM files, which are stored on your system in ELM format, using a storage device. If you are planning to move your WLM EML files to a new PC, then after configuring the Outlook desktop client on your new system, you can drag and drop your EML files to the newly created folder inside Outlook client. To do so, follow the steps mentioned below:

1. Usually, the WLM files are located in the following location on your system:
   C:\Users\[Username]\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Live Mail
2. The location will contain several folders containing mailbox information. Copy these files to a storage device.
3. Now Plugin your storage device into the new system.
4. Launch the Outlook client and add a new folder.
5. Just drag and drop all the files to this folder.

Drawbacks of the manual methods

There are several manual methods that can be used to export Windows Live Mail emails to Outlook on another computer. However, these methods have a number of drawbacks.

The first drawback is that they can be time-consuming. If you have a large number of emails to export, it can take a long time to do so using manual methods.

Another drawback is that manual methods can be prone to errors. If you make even a small mistake when following the instructions, it can result in your emails being exported incorrectly or not at all.

Finally, the manual methods may not work if your email account settings have been changed. If your email account has been switched to a different provider or you have changed any of the settings, the manual methods may not work.

Method #3 Kernel for EML to PST

It is a common knowledge that Windows Live Mail items are stored on the system in EML format. As shown previously in Method#1, the WLM has the inbuilt capability to export emails to MS Exchange, but it doesn’t maintain the hierarchy. Moreover, Method#1 requires the knowledge of two email clients, and there are high chances of data loss. Moving on to Method #2, as we have seen, it is purely manual. One has to manually transfer and Drag & Drop the emails to a newly formed outlook folder. Therefore, it can be termed as time-consuming and involves high-risk of data loss. It is hence recommended to use a professional third-party tool. One such efficient tool is Kernel for EML to PST Converter. The tool automatically displays all the EML files of the PC. The end product is a single PST file containing the WLM mailbox items. So, it is easy to transfer the emails to another PC. Also, it keeps the original structure, formatting, and properties of the mailbox items. It even allows the export of converted EML directly to cloud-based Office 365. Here is how it works:

1. Launch Kernel for EML to PST. The left panel shows the hierarchical structure of directories on your system. You can either locate the folder containing the EML files manually or use the Find option to scan your local drives for the EML files.
2. Browse to specify the source drive to search for EML folders.
3. Select the source folder/drive and click OK.
4. Once all the folders containing EML files get listed, select the one you require, and click on the OK button. The EML contents are shown on the right-hand side panel. Click on the Save button.
5. The next window lets you Define Conversion rule to save specific data from your selected folder. If not required, the option “Convert all items” is set by default. Click Next.
6. The Select Destination window allows you to provide a destination path to save the converted PST. You can choose between various options to save the data:
   • If you want to create a new PST, click the Create New PST radio button.
   • If you’re going to save the converted data in some existing PST files, click on the Save in Existing PST File radio button.
     Select the appropriate saving options as per your requirement, provide a destination path, and click on the Save button.
     Note: You can opt to Save in folder hierarchy if required.
7. The converted PST file gets successfully saved to the specified location. Click OK to finish the conversion process.

Benefits for Kernel EML to PST Converter

• The software saves the EML file directly to new or existing PST files.
• The original structure, format, and properties of the mailbox saved in EML files are protected.
• It can convert the UNICODE characters also.
• It shows the preview of mailbox content before starting the conversion.
• The software works on all versions of Outlook and Windows Operating System.

Software Video Guide: Export Windows Live Mail Emails to Outlook

Conclusion

If you are looking to export your emails from Windows Live Mail and import them into Outlook on a different computer, we have outlined the steps for you in this post. The process is relatively simple, but it is important to follow each step carefully in order to avoid any errors. But we recommend you to try out our full-proof and the simplest and most powerful tool. With its easy-to-use interface and advanced features, it is the best option for anyone looking to move their email messages from one platform to another. Try it today and see how easy it is to use!

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