New version of Windows Live Mail (AKA Outlook Express)

Windows Live Mail has a new version.  A note of caution, there are a lot of products with similar sounding names.  If you are moving to Windows 7 and love Outlook Express, you can have it in Windows Live Mail.  It is part of The Windows Live package, the rest of which you are unlikely to want or need.  Indeed all of Live comes already installed on most new computers.  Most people do not know it is there or care.  I normally just remove it all for my clients. 

When you get your new Windows 7 computer, first prepare to transfer your data by downloading and installing "Windows Easy Transfer" from Microsoft.  Run it on your old XP system.  It produces a single very large file that you then need to copy to an external hard drive.  After your new Windows 7 system is up and running and you have loaded all your programs and updated them, you run the other half of the Windows Easy Transfer program, which is already on your system as it is part of Windows 7.  You can find it by simply typing that in the text box above the start button.  It will take quite a while to run, but when it is done it will have copied all your data, including your Outlook Express data on to your new system

If you want Windows Live Mail, you can go to the Microsoft web site and start the download and install of Windows Live, then un-select all but Windows Live Mail.  It will give you the opportunity to do that selection early on in the install process.

After install, when you start Windows Live Mail for the first time, it will automatically discover your Outlook Express data and import it all by itself. 

Once installed, it will try to get you to use Live Mail.  That is not what you want.  Live Mail is really Hot Mail which was MSN Mail.  They are online versions that store your mail and contacts on the Microsoft server network.  If you want Outlook Express for Windows 7, you want the version that stores your stuff locally in your computer.

Windows Live Mail is a really good product.  It is Outlook Express but very nicely enhanced.  Up till recently, it suffered from unchangeable on-screen fonts that were too light for normal eyes.  The latest version -- 15.4.3538.0513, has fixed that problem along with some other nice little improvements.

I had a challenging problem.  I installed WLM in March, 2011 version 14.0.8117.0416.  When I used the product to look for updates, it took me to Windows Update which reported no updates available.  When I went to the Microsoft web site and tried to download it, it told me I already had the latest version -- obviously not true.

I found a different download at

http://www.filehippo.com/download_windows_live_mail/download/62232e3ef267d0671c29a73fa087b27d/

Using that download it did indeed update my WLM, and I am very pleased.

By the way, you may recall that when Microsoft announced Windows 7, it announced that there would be no included mail client.  It loudly reported that Outlook Express was dead.  A lot of people, like me were quite perplexed.  It is just NOT TRUE!  Someone at Microsoft did not get the letter.  They did it anyway.  The only thing different is that it is not literally part of Windows 7, but a separate download.