What can use to replace MS Outlook & still import all my old emails

[Kolesar]

I had to reformat the C: drive on my 2004 Compaq PC. I saved the emails first onto disks in files with the .pst extension. I saved my address book, too.

The PC had Outlook Express, the reduced email tool, and I upgraded to Outlook. I don't even remember where I got Outlook, but I had a copy I used for years. I could put "someone else's Outlook" onto my PC. I thought that now would be a good time to look into another mail tool like Thunderbird as noted in this DU thread on this forum:http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=242&topic_id=9597">DU 2006.

My hunch is that I want desktop mail, not a web-browser based email. I like the way that Outlook Express has an editor that is a word processor.

(1) Can I import my old emails and have them in the mail tool for searching?
(2) Can I import the address book?
(3) Anything else I ought to know?

Thanks

[Gore1FL]

1. I found this for you

but can claim no expertise in doing this:

http://support.real-time.com/tbird/outlook_import.html

[canetoad]

2. You should know

that you can install Thunderbird on your computer and get it working before you stop using Outlook or OE. Emails will simply go into the mailbox of the program you open and download them with.

With Thunderbird, go to the Tools menu, select import. From there you have a choice to import mail, address books etc. No need to save anything as special files, just do it directly from the program.

[trotsky]

3. There is a plug-in for Thunderbird that will let you directly import PST files.

http://linux.softpedia.com/get/Communications/Email/Thunderbird-PST-Import-plugin-33014.shtml

[Kolesar]

4. thanks. I am back to square one because the PC is still having problems at the boot

"and that's the way it is, May 7, 2008"