Written by Jennifer Walsh. Reviewed for technical accuracy by Shubham Dixit, Independent Expert in Email Forensics and Data File Conversion.
Shubham is an independent external reviewer and not an employee of PCDOTS.
Quick answer. Windows Live Mail has a built-in way to move mail into Outlook, so you often need nothing else. Its Export email to Microsoft Exchange feature pushes your folders straight into an installed classic Outlook. Export contacts separately as CSV. If Windows Live Mail is gone or Outlook sits on another PC, convert the .eml files to PST.
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The built-in way, straight into Outlook
Good news first, Windows Live Mail can hand your mail to Outlook on its own, no download required. Windows Live Mail stores each message as an .eml file, and it has an Export email feature that opens a direct channel into Outlook and copies your folders across. In Windows Live Mail, click the File menu, choose Export email, then Email messages, pick Microsoft Exchange as the format, and click Next. Confirm the prompt, then choose all folders or just the ones you want, and let it run. When you see Export complete, your Windows Live Mail folders are sitting inside Outlook. No files to shuffle, nothing converted by hand.
Windows Live Mail’s own export copies mail straight into Outlook.
“People buy a tool for this far too quickly, because Windows Live Mail already does it, its Export to Exchange feature drops the mail straight into Outlook. The one thing that trips everyone up now is which Outlook. It has to be the classic desktop Outlook, the new Outlook simply cannot import, so if that is all you have installed you will hit a MAPI error every time. The moment a converter genuinely earns its place is when the two are not on the same machine, or Windows Live Mail is already uninstalled. Then you are working from the .eml files it left behind, and turning those into a PST is the clean way across.” Shubham Dixit, Email Migration reviewer (draft, pending approval)
One requirement, classic Outlook
Here is the catch that stops most people, and it is worth knowing before you start. That export only works into the classic desktop Outlook, the installed Office version. The new Outlook, the lighter app that ships with Windows now, cannot import at all, so if it is the only Outlook on the machine, the export fails with a MAPI error. The fix is simple, make sure a classic Outlook is installed and set up first, then run the Windows Live Mail export into it. Both programs need to be on the same computer for this direct method, since it hands the data straight over rather than making a file.
The built-in export, four clicks from File to Outlook.
Moving your contacts too
Your contacts travel on a separate track, and it is just as easy. In Windows Live Mail, open the Contacts view, choose Export, and pick Comma separated values, which saves your address book as a CSV file. Then in Outlook, go to File, Open & Export, Import/Export, choose Import from another program or file, select Comma Separated Values, and point it at that CSV. Your contacts land in Outlook’s address book, names, emails and all. Doing mail and contacts as two steps is normal here, not a sign anything went wrong.
Outlook on another computer?
A very common situation, Windows Live Mail is on an old PC and Outlook is on a new one, or Windows Live Mail is already uninstalled. The direct export needs both on one machine, so here you work from the files instead. Windows Live Mail keeps your mail as .eml files in C:\Users\[you]\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Live Mail, so copy that whole folder to the new computer, or onto a USB drive. From there you turn those .eml files into a single .pst, which any version of Outlook can import through File, Open & Export, Import/Export. That conversion step is exactly where a dedicated tool helps, because it does not need Windows Live Mail or classic Outlook installed at all.
A tool for the file route
When you are on the file route, moving to a new PC, past a Windows Live Mail you have already removed, or stuck with only the new Outlook, a converter turns the leftover mail into a clean Outlook file. The PCDOTS Windows Live Mail to PST Converter reads your Windows Live Mail store, or a copied folder of .eml files, and exports the lot to a single PST, keeping folders and attachments, which you then import into Outlook. It runs on Windows with a free trial of the first twenty-five items per folder. If both apps are on one PC, the built-in export above is genuinely all you need, this is for the times that route is not open to you.
The tool route, EML files turned into a PST for Outlook.
The tool follows four short steps.
Step 1. Install and run the software on Windows.
Step 2. Load your Windows Live Mail account or a folder of EML files.
Step 3. Pick the folders you want to move.
Step 4. Open Export, choose PST, and save.
Related reading, our guides to back up Outlook emails and import DBX files to Thunderbird. To check the resulting file, the free PST viewer opens a .pst without Outlook.
The methods compared
Pick by whether both apps sit on the same computer.
| Method | Best for | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Export to Microsoft Exchange | Both apps on one PC | Free, needs classic Outlook |
| Contacts as CSV | Your address book | Free, a separate step |
| Convert EML to PST | Another PC, or WLM gone | Tool, no apps needed |
Frequently asked questions
How do I export Windows Live Mail to Outlook for free?
In Windows Live Mail, go to File, Export email, Email messages, choose Microsoft Exchange, and select your folders. It copies them straight into an installed classic Outlook.
Why does the export fail with a MAPI error?
Because only the new Outlook is installed, and it cannot import. Install and set up the classic desktop Outlook first, then run the Windows Live Mail export.
How do I move my Windows Live Mail contacts to Outlook?
Export them from Windows Live Mail as a CSV file, then in Outlook use File, Open & Export, Import/Export, and import that Comma Separated Values file.
Can I export Windows Live Mail to Outlook on another computer?
Yes. Copy the Windows Live Mail store folder of .eml files to the other PC, convert them to a PST, and import that PST into Outlook there.
Where does Windows Live Mail store my emails?
As .eml files under C:\Users\[you]\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Live Mail. That folder is what you copy or convert when moving between computers.
Do I need a converter tool?
Not if both Windows Live Mail and classic Outlook are on one PC. A tool helps only for a different computer, an uninstalled Windows Live Mail, or new Outlook only.
Your old mail is safe either way
One reassuring thing to hold onto as you do this, none of these methods delete anything from Windows Live Mail. The built-in export copies your folders into Outlook and leaves the originals in place, and the .eml files stay right where they are in your Windows Live Mail folder. So there is no single risky moment to dread, if a run does not look right, your mail is still sitting safely in Windows Live Mail to try again. Set up classic Outlook, run the export, add your contacts from CSV, and your years of email are simply in two places instead of one.
