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Please help! I’m trying to export my address book from Yahoo to Roadrunner . And I’m just about done in! Please help me. As you can tell, I’m truly a non-computer person.

Okay, take a deep breath. We can help.

Yahoo’s Address Book

I have to admit, Yahoo’s address book isn’t exactly the most user-friendly address book on the Web. For one, it’s hard to find. For example, when signed into Yahoo Mail, you will see two tabs: Home and Contacts. You’d think that Contacts would have an Import/Export feature, wouldn’t you? It doesn’t; it has an Import Contacts feature under Options but not an Export Contacts feature. Instead, you need to access the Yahoo Address Book.

Click on the Options link in the upper left corner (it’s right next to Help). Choose Mail Options. This takes you to a new screen where you’ll see a pane of choices on the left side. Click Contacts. A new window opens and you are officially in the Yahoo Address Book! Under Management, click Import/Export.

Scroll down to the Export section. Choose Microsoft Outlook CSV and click Export Now. CSV, which means Comma Separated Values, is one of the more universal formats. Save the file to your hard drive by click Save when prompted and giving the file a unique name. Give it a name and save it in a folder that you will remember such as “EmailContactList2009″ in the My Documents folder. Close Yahoo and head over to Roadrunner.

Importing Yahoo Contacts into Roadrunner

Roadrunner.com offers both Web-based e-mail as well as POP3 access (for receiving your messages through a desktop client such as Outlook Express). Once signed into Roadrunner, click the orange Mail button followed by the Address Book button which is located in the big blue bar. Click the white Import button (beneath the blue bar). A new screen appears. Choose MS Outlook CSV and browse to your previously saved folder. In this example, you’d browse to My Documents and select the file named “EmailContactlist2009.”

Importing Yahoo Contacts into POP3 Client

If you want to use Outlook Express or Windows Live Mail to send and receive your Roadrunner mail, you can also import your address list into the client software. Let’s use Windows Live Mail as an example since this is the latest version of Outlook Express. The steps are similar for Outlook Express. Open Windows Live Mail and click the Address Book icon. Now click File > Import > Comma Separated Values (CSV). Browse to your saved e-mail address list, select Open, and click Next. You will need to pick and choose the fields that you want to import from a list. Click Finish. Windows Live Mail will then import the list.

I have Gmail as my email. Outlook Express keeps coming up when I want to send email. Where do I find Outlook on my PC so as to remove it? I use Mozilla as my main browser. I also have Explorer but do not use it.

Set Gmail as Default Email Client

You have a couple of options for this. You can start by setting your default email to Gmail so that Internet Explorer stops trying to be helpful and launching Outlook Express when you try to send an email. Here’s the link to the Google webpage with more instructions. In order to set Gmail as the default, you need to first download the Gmail Notifier, which is also available through the same link.

Remove Internet Explorer

Since you are using Mozilla and want Firefox to open Gmail as your email client, you can remove Internet Explorer, which might make the whole situation easier. Outlook Express is a component of Internet Explorer, so removing one will help take care of the other. The steps to remove Internet Explorer differ depending on the version of your Windows operating system.

If you are running Windows Vista or Server 2008:

1. First, close all your open windows and programs
2. Click the Start button, then choose Control Panel
3. Under Programs, choose Uninstall a Program
4. Now, from the Tasks pane, choose View Installed Updates
5. You’ll see a list of your installed update, scroll to and double click Windows Internet Explorer 8 - or your version
6. An Uninstall an Update dialog box will open, choose Yes to confirm
7. If you are prompted for an administrative password, enter it or press Enter
8. Complete the onscreen instructions - then restart your computer

If you are running XP or Server 2003:

1. Close all your open programs
2. Click Start, then choose Control Panel
3. Choose Add or Remove Programs
4. Scroll through the list and choose Windows Internet Explorer 8 - or your version, then choose Remove
5. Follow the onscreen instructions - then restart your computer

If you see more than one version or Internet Explorer in the Programs list, then you can remove them all. This should take care of the problem, and allow Gmail to open as your default email client. If, in the future, you want to use Internet Explorer again, it is easy and free to download and install new software. I hope this does it, good luck!

I have Windows XP and I want to send and receive emails through Outlook Express. Outlook Express doesn’t appear on my programs list although I can access it through the Help & Solutions. Also, I can send emails but not receive them. My ISP is Tiscali. Can you help?

Yes, we can help. First, let’s solve the problem with the missing Outlook Express shortcut and then we’ll look at setting up Outlook Express to receive your messages.

Missing Outlook Express Shortcut

If your icon for Outlook Express is no longer showing up when you click the Start button, the easiest way to get it back is to use the “Pin to Start Menu” option. This puts an icon for Outlook Express at the top of the list, making it unnecessary to click All Programs in order to find your e-mail. Now, if Outlook Express is located in the list when you click All Programs, this is really easy. You’d simply click All Programs, right-click Outlook Express, and choose Pin to Start Menu. However, it sounds like Outlook Express is not listed here either.

In this case, we will need to go directly to the source and create the shortcut from the actual Outlook Express executable file. To do this, right-click the Start button and choose Explore. Now, let’s find the Outlook Express executable. It is named msimn.exe. Type this file name into the Search bar. When it appears in the list, right-click it and choose Pin to Start Menu. Now, a shortcut will appear near the top of your Start Menu.

If you want one-click access to launch Outlook Express, send it to the Quick Launch area which is the area directly next to the Start button. Do this by right-clicking msimn.exe and choosing Add to QuickLaunch.

Receiving E-mail in Outlook Express

Now, let’s see if your incoming e-mail settings are set properly for receiving e-mail from your ISP. First, to Tools and click on Accounts. Click the Mail tab and highlight your account in the list. Choose Properties and click the Servers tab. Make sure that the incoming server is set as POP3. Also, make sure that the check box next to “Log on using Secure Password Authentication (SPA)” is empty.

According to Tiscali, the incoming and outgoing e-mail servers are as follows:

• Incoming (POP3): pop.tiscali.com.uk
• Outgoing (SMTP): smtp.tiscali.com.uk

Make sure that the server information is typed correctly. A missing period or a typo in the incoming server field could be behind Outlook Express’s failure to receive e-mail messages.

E-mail Backlogs

Another common issue with e-mail receive errors is when a single, large (or corrupt) e-mail is unable to come through. When this happens, no messages can come through until that message is out of the way. Since Tiscali has Web-based mail, head to the Tiscali Web site and log in. Click the My Mail icon and look to see if you have any messages in your inbox. Which message is the oldest? That’s likely the one causing the logjam, especially if it has a large attachment. Try deleting this message. Now, go back into Outlook Express and see if the other messages arrive.

I keep a lot of mail in my inbox of Outlook Express. Just out of the blue, a huge amount from May 07 to June 09 has just disappeared. I haven’t deleted it in error, it has just disappeared. Can it be retrieved?

Outlook Express Folders and Identities

The first thing to check is that you are signed onto your computer as yourself, not another user. For example, if you are signed onto the computer using the guest account or another user’s account, Outlook Express will display the contents of that user’s Outlook Express folder - not yours.

Okay, so you’re signed into Windows as you, so that’s not the problem. Next, let’s make sure that you are using the correct “identity.” Many users use Outlook Express with different identities to keep work and personal e-mails separate. If you are accidently looking at the wrong identity, then switch back to your standard identity and see if your Inbox is as it should be.

Outlook Express Views

Before we move onto recovering emails, let’s also make sure that the View hasn’t been set to display only unread messages. Go to the View menu and look for the option that says, “Show all messages.”

Disappearing Inboxes

Once we are sure that the messages are indeed gone, let’s see if we can get to the bottom of the missing Outlook Express Inbox. An older Microsoft Knowledge Base article (321505) discusses a known conflict with McAfee corrupting Outlook Express’s Inbox. While it’s doubtful that you’re using a three-year-old version of McAfee, if you are, take a look for further instructions.

Disappearing Folders

Next, is the entire Inbox folder missing or just its contents? If the entire folder is missing, then it’s likely that the folders.dbx file is damaged. In this case, you’ll need to rename the folder and allow Outlook Express to rebuild it. This is easy. First, go to Tools> Options > Maintenance > Store Folder to find the storage location of this file. Write this down and close Outlook Express. Right-click Start, choose Explore, and navigate to this path. Find the folders.dbx file and right-click it. Choose Rename. Rename the file to folders.old. Press the Enter key and confirm that the name change took place. Restart Outlook Express and it will rebuild the file. Your folders and their contents should reappear.

Corrupt Outlook Express Inbox

Just as with the disappearing folders, renaming the inbox.dbx file often solves the problem. Use the same procedure as above, only this time rename the inbox.dbx file to inbox.old. Restart Outlook Express and see what happens. If that doesn’t work, go back and change the file name back to inbox.dbx.

E-mail Recovery Tool

The next option is to use a data recovery tool to recover the lost emails. Not any tool will do. You need one specifically capable of recovering .dbx files. ParetoLogic’s Data Recovery Pro version is one such product. What’s nice about this one is that a free data recovery scanner is available, allowing you to scan your system before you buy. That way, you can see if the emails are recoverable or not before paying for the software.

I need to reboot my computer every 6-8 hours to get new e-mails.

Since you can get your new emails each time you boot up, I am guessing that the problem is not with your e-mail account settings. Check those just in case and make sure that everything is okay, especially if you are having your emails forwarded from one account to another.

Email Troubleshooting: Outlook Express

How often is your e-mail application set to check for new messages? If it’s not set to send, this could be part of the problem. By starting the program, the program will send and receive initially, but won’t do so again unless you tell it to or restart it. Check by going to Tools > Options and find the “Check for new messages” section. (These steps vary by e-mail client). Set it to 10 minutes.

If the email application that you are using is Outlook Express, then you can use the “Detect and Repair” tool that is offered with this application. It troubleshoots problems either receiving or sending emails. To access it, open your Outlook Express application, select the “Help” section, and select the “Detect and Repair” tool. Then, all you need to do is follow the prompts. Hopefully, this will resolve the problem for you.

Email Troubleshooting: Incredimail

If you are using the Incredimail e-mail application, you need to visit their website and obtain any current upgrades. Once you do so, the problem should go away for you.

Email Troubleshooting: Clear out old emails

One of the first steps for e-mail troubleshooting is to clear out any old emails that you are storing on the application. Some e-mail applications will experience trouble when too many old emails have not been deleted and the allowable e-mail storage capacity has been exceeded. This includes clearing out emails that have ended up in the Junk, spam, or trash folders.

Email Troubleshooting: Scan for Spyware and Viruses

Since this type of problem can result from a virus/spyware infection, you should scan your computer now and remove any forms of malware that are discovered. Viruses and spyware can slow a computer down, use up bandwidth (needed to receive emails), and disrupt your programs from working. Once you remove any spyware or viruses that have infected your computer, you shouldn’t have any problems any more.

Email Troubleshooting: Clear Temporary Internet Cache

In fact, I have experienced problems on one of my computers whenever my kids use them and I get too many tracking cookies on it. Plus, if you save too much data from your web browsing, you can eat up a lot of resources that you might otherwise need to run your e-mail program. Take the time to access the Tools section on your web browser and clear out the temporary cache, etc to free up resources and prevent glitches.

Email Troubleshooting: Memory

When e-mail disconnects happen such as in the inability to receive emails, you might want to consider the fact that everything you do on the computer uses up some of its temporary RAM. If you run out of RAM or your temporary memory, you won’t be able to complete certain tasks on the computer. Perhaps receiving emails is one of them. Since you can receive emails once the computer has undergone a fresh reboot, this is a possibility. Check to see how much free memory you have. Add memory if you do not have a lot available for use.

Email Troubleshooting: Help Section

You can also visit the help or support section for the e-mail application that you are using. Typically, this is a good way to find the answer that you need.

My incoming email will not show graphics. Why not?

E-mail Security Features

Believe it or not, this is actually a security feature. I know, it sounds odd. As if pictures of cute puppies could possibly be dangerous! Two main types of threats are associated with e-mail images: malware and Web beacons.

Malware Threats in Photo Attachments

If someone’s computer is infected with a virus or malware, it’s not uncommon for the program to spread by embedding itself in a file. When this file is shared with other users, the malware is shared too. While the images that your family members and friends send may be harmless, you can’t be 100 percent sure. A good antivirus/anti-spyware program will catch most of the attachments containing malware, but newer threats may not yet have been secured against.

Web Beacons

The other threat involving graphics in e-mail messages has privacy implications. E-mail marketers often send out e-newsletters, ads, and other messages with graphics and other HTML features. This makes the messages visually appealing. However, graphics have a little secret: they can tell the marketer whether or not you opened the e-mail.

Who cares? You might not care so much if you subscribed to the newsletter or want the coupons that landed in your inbox, but what about if the message was pure spam? You already know better than to respond to spammers as doing so confirms that your e-mail address is valid and thereby makes it more valuable for selling to other spammers, right? Graphics do the same thing. They confirm that your e-mail address goes to a real live person.

Graphics can do this because when you open a message with embedded graphics, a connection is made to the server hosting the graphic. Your computer must communicate with this server in order to display the image. Spammers can then review the server logs to see which recipients’ computers connected. It’s all done with software, so it’s super easy for spammers to verify good e-mail addresses.

Images used in this manner are known as “Web beacons.” To make it even trickier, plain text e-mail messages can also contain invisible Web beacons. The spammer creates a small (usually one pixel by one pixel), white image and hides it somewhere within the message. You don’t see any images but the image is there, quietly telling the spammer that he’s found a good e-mail address.

Because of these concerns, many e-mail clients are set to block images.

Displaying Graphics in E-mails 

If you have a good antivirus/anti-malware program installed on your computer, then you can make a couple of adjustments so that you can receive the graphics that you trust and block those that you do not trust.

The steps vary depending on your email client. Using Windows Live Mail as an example, go to Tools > Safety Options > Security. Now find the section that is labeled “Download Images.” Place a check mark in both options which are:

• Block images and other content in HTML emails
• Show images and external content sent from emails in my Safe Senders list.

Now, go to the Safe Senders tab and enter any contacts that you consider safe. If you click the “Also trust e-mail from my Contacts” option, then messages with images from people in your contact list will come through without blocking.