Broadband -> DSL

I have been called over and commissioned by the all mighty powers that be (Mama and Papa) to set up and install Verizon DSL on their home computer network from RoadRunner (Broadband).

When they first got Road Runner last year, I set it up so that their email from Road Runners site POP3's into Outlook express to facilitate the email process for them (they both have trouble just logging into an email account :D )

They have just gotten DirectTV and they also chose Verizon DSL for their 2 box home network.

Before installing DSL and cancelling Broadband is it absolutely neccessary to back up all the email in Outlook express? or After DSL is installed and I configure the POP3 server so that their email from the verizon email goes to OE, will those emails be compiled and combined into their respective accounts along with the old emails POPed from RoadRunner?

Did I word that Question OK?

What I meant was - will the existing accounts in OE retain the old email data and then just continue to also collect from the Verizon emails and add these into the existing accounts along with the already existing email data?

All my knowledge and 'cyber-sense' tells me that it will and all will be alright.
But the same 'cyber-sense' tells me that there is no Affirmation like Confirmation.

Also - if anyone has any other advice, warnings or precautions for me to insure a smooth transition - Im smart enough to know that Im not smart enough to think of everything, haha :p - they would be more than welcome ........

Thanks, again all.

Ok if the e-mail address change, the e-mail will not be transferred since the ee-mail is stored on their server, when you cnhange to DSL you'll get new empty space :)

right ? somebody better confirm this, but this seems logical to me.

See Copyright I thought that it was the other way around .........

This was exactly my concern, and I need confirmation too because I thought that anything that was already POPed to OE was stored on Microsofts server and was safe from a change over, because it has already been transmitted and stored with OE.

But like you, I need either confirmed confirmation of this or confirmed contradiction of this (or something like that :p )

Once you cancel the RoadRunner contract, you won't be able to use the RoadRunner POP server anymore. That's got nothing to do with the messages already stored in OE, though - they'll stay there, and there's no need to back them up before setting up the new Verizon account.

You sound pretty confident about that, Neg, thats what I was thinking but wasn't absolute about.......... I'll take that as confirmed confirmation ;)

Quote:

---

I thought that anything that was already POPed to OE was stored on Microsofts server

---

No, it is actually on your local hard drive which is why it is safe.

Make sure that you download everything that is in the old supplier's server.

I would run them in parallel for a month and forward mail from the old server to the new one.

Get your parents to e-mail their change of address to their contact list etc..............do this from the new e-mail provider and make it easy for the recipients to update their adress books;)

Even though it is POP3, a lot of providers have their own e-mail client which works like OE but leaves the mail on the server NOT your local machine................check that there isn't any of that.

Once you configure a new Outlook account for them, they will need to open up the old account if they need any previous emails. You could solve that possibly by copying all the emails from one account to the other. I'm not too familiar with Outlook, though.

But as stated, the emails are safe; they won't disappear, they just may take a few more clicks to retrieve.

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

I thought that anything that was already POPed to OE was stored on Microsofts server

---

No, it is actually on your local hard drive which is why it is safe.

---

Nihil - would you be so kind as to point me to where on the HD they are stored, please - seems like something (like everything else) worth knowing.

Hrmmm... I don't use Outlook but I have done some forensics work with it.

The emails should be stored in "C:\Documents and Settings\<user name>\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook" or "C:\Documents and Settings\<user name>\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook"

Look for the .PST files, I think. Those should be the files with all the emails in them. If the above two folders don't have them, then search the "Documents and Settings" directory for *.PST files, and you should find what you're looking for.

Under Windows 2000, the emails may be stored in the Administrator directory off C:\Documents and Settings if individual accounts have not been made.

Outlook express doesn't use a PST file normally, regular outlook does. What you'd be looking for would be a DBX file if I remember correctly.

I noticed this when I did a *.PST search - only outlook came up (along with a plethora of others) none being OE.

As zENGER stated

Quote:

---

Outlook express doesn't use a PST file normally, regular outlook does. What you'd be looking for would be a DBX file if I remember correctly.

---

the folders in Outlook Express are in *.dbx format but not by default ... you first need to compact the folders to be able to take a backup of them ...

Take a look at this website for more info regarding backup of Outlook Express.

[Edit] Also check this page for more info on troubleshooting Outlook Express and how to extract eml's from the dbx files.[/Edit]

Gr33tz,

C.

Oops. My bad. I missed the "express" part.

The directory locations should be similar, however. I can't remember where Outlook Express keeps its stuff, but a search of the Documents and Settings folder for *.DBX files should turn it up.

Just to clarify...

If you are using the same local machine profile on the computer...then all you have to do is change the email settings in IE...I believe you can pop multiple accounts..in OE ( I know you can in Outlook)...so you should be able to pick up mail from both accounts until the old account is cut off.

It is a good thing to backup email once in a while anyway...specially if it is important ...throw in personal photos and docs, etc in as well. Burn it to a cd...and put that disc away. How often you do it ...depends on how valuable the information on the computer is.

Remember...if someone steals the computer...you always get a new one...and restore the data..if you have a backup :rolleyes: ...otherwise..its gone
Have seen lots of harddrive failures...with no backups.

Heres a link on OE

http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;188854

HTHs

MLF

On this WinME box it is:

C:\windows\applications data\identities\99999999999\microsoft\outlook express

Where 999999999 is some gibberish

:)

EDIT: On Win2000Pro:

C:\documents & settings\user profile goes here \local settings\application data.......................................same as above

I would guess the path to be similar in XP

Quote:

---

Once you configure a new Outlook account for them, they will need to open up the old account if they need any previous emails. You could solve that possibly by copying all the emails from one account to the other. I'm not too familiar with Outlook, though.

---

Now you're mixing up things ;)
What you're talking about is a new profile - he won't need to do that. All he needs to do is add the new account to Outlook (Tools --> Accounts --> Add) - all (old) messages will still be where they were before.

The default store location on XP is Documents and Settings\{user ID}\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities\{class}\Microsoft\Outlook Express

I asked a similar question a while ago :
Got this answer from 'bluthound' [sp]

BACKING UP OE FILES .dbx

it works, well it did for me :)

Quote:

---

make sure that your hidden files and file extensions are viewable.
You can access those functions from 'Folder Options' in My Computer.
Leave the My Computer window open....
Open OE, click Tools, then Options.
Click the Maintenance tab, then the Store Folder button.
You should see the path to the location of the stored .dbx files.
Right-click the path and click Select All.
Right-click the path again and click Copy.

Go back to My Computer and right-click in the Address bar and click paste.
Press Enter, which will take you to the location where these files are stored.
At this point you want to make sure that OE is closed, because backing up these
files with OE open may result in corrupt back-up files. So go back to OE and click
Cancel on the Store Folder dialog box, then click Cancel on the Options window.
Exit OE before proceeding.

Now you can copy the files you need. Don't move/delete them. You can back-up to
another folder, floppy or cd.

Once you have OE fixed, create a new folder and name it something distinctly different
than Inbox, Outbox, etc. Do this by right-clicking Local Folder in OE and choose New Folder.
Follow the above instructions to get to the location again, close OE and copy/move your
.dbx files into the new folder you created (Drag and drop works). You may want to create several new folders for the various categories. To keep it coherent, you could create an INcopy, OUTcopy, DELcopy, SENTcopy folder. If you copy a back-up folder into a folder that has some .dbx files in it, these will be overwritten, hence the need for new seperate folders.
You can move e-mails later, once you are in OE.
By creating a special folder for "bad" e-mails, you can use this technique to lift them onto an isolated box.
Let me know if this works for you.

---

HTH