By Leo Notenboom
I did not realize Windows Mail is not included in Windows 7 Professional. Is there a way to add Windows mail?
It’s true – Outlook Express was replaced by Windows Mail in Windows Vista, but with the release of Windows 7 even that has disappeared, along with Windows Messenger and a few other items.
To be honest, that’s good news for those of us who never used these tools.
But for those who did, it means an extra step or three.
The official replacements are all now part of Windows Live. For Windows Mail, you can now download its replacement, the free Windows Live Mail. Miss your Windows Messenger? Grab Windows Live Messenger.
“The official replacements are all now part of Windows Live.”Microsoft has an page specifically directing you to the replacement applications: Finding your applications in Windows 7 .
So the replacements are there; Microsoft has simply removed the years of duplication by making Windows Live
the official, single set of tools you can download and use if you like.
The problem, of course, is migration. The Microsoft page above indicates that you can Import directly from Outlook Express and Windows Mail folders stored on your hard disk. I’ve also seen advice to actually download and convert to Windows Live Mail before upgrading or installing Windows 7. (There’s even one hack out there that supposedly allows you to copy the Windows Mail executable from your Windows Vista system, but I don’t recommend it.)
Full list of applications “replaced” by downloads from Windows Live
[This post is excerpted with Leo’s permission from his Ask Leo blog.]
Leo Notenboom has been involved in the tech industry for nearly 30 years. After retiring from an 18 year career as a Microsoft Software Engineer Leo went on to create Ask Leo!, a free web site where he answers real questions from ordinary computer users.
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Twitter URL: http://twitter.com/askleo
