The North Orange County Computer Club helps The Gadgetress tackle the multitude of readers cries for help. NOCCC group has experts in Windows, Word and all sorts of computer topics. The club, which meets monthly on various topics, has been in existence since 1976. Visit the club’s site at noccc.org.
Question: I have been using Outlook Express for many years and I also own Office 2000, which contains Outlook. I want to convert from Outlook Express to Outlook, but I also want to keep the address book and copies of e-mails I have stored in “Express.” How can I switch over to Outlook and also retain all the items in my “Local Folders”?
Item No. 2: I have an external Hard Disk (Western Digital WD120B005-RNN). Something happened that won’t allow me to access the data. When I plug it into the USB port the drive appears in “Explorer” but no data shows up. I think the directory is fouled up somehow. Is there a way to correct this?
NOCCC: To upgrade from Outlook Express, first go to the “File” menu in Outlook, and click “Import and Export.”
The Import and Export Wizard opens and presents a list. Click “Import Internet Mail and Addresses,” and then click “Next.”
From that list, select “Outlook Express 4.x, 5.x, 6.x.”
Verify that the “Import Mail” and “Import Address book” checkboxes are selected, and click “Next.”
Choose the option you want Outlook to use for duplicate items, and then click “Finish.”
The “Import Summary” dialog box reports on how many messages and addresses were successfully imported.
Item No.2: In the “My Computer” window, right-click on your hard drive’s letter, and click on “Properties.” When the Properties window opens, click on the “Tools” tab.
In the “Error-checking” box, click on “Check Now.” When the window opens, click on both options and click on “Start.”
The diagnostic may work through the USB adapter.
In a case like yours, I prefer to remove the drive from the external enclosure and hook it directly to an IDE port on the motherboard. This eliminates a possible problem with the USB interface. It also allows you to run diagnostics that you can download from the disk manufacturer, or run from the Ultimate Boot CD at ultimatebootcd.com.
– Jim Sanders, NOCCC president
Tamara 'the Gadgetress' Chuang
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