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I am setting up a new computer and I cannot find e-mail. Help?

Creating a new email account on a computer isn’t difficult, but there are steps you need to follow in order to be able to access your mail. Without knowing your operating system or how you are getting your email, I’m going to walk you through the steps for using Outlook Express on Windows XP. From there, I’ll touch on Windows Vista and Microsoft Mail.

Set Up Web-Based Email

The first thing you need to do is to set up a web-based email account using a service such as Hotmail or through your provider such as Comcast. Go to the website and follow the instructions for setting up an email account. Through them, you will get an email address such as yourname.comcast.net. Write this down somewhere. By setting it up on the web, you can access your email from any computer anywhere in the world.

ISP Information

You will also need some information from your Internet Service Provider (ISP). You may find this information in your set-up paperwork, or you may have to get in touch with them. You will need:

• What kind of email server you use: POP3 (most), HTTP (Hotmail) or IMAP.
• The name of the incoming email server.
• The name of the outgoing email server (usually SMTP).
• Your account name and password.
• You also need to know if you need to use Secure Password Authentication.

Set Up Outlook Express

First, you need to set up Outlook Express on Windows. Follow these steps:

1. Start Outlook Express by going to Start and then All Programs and Outlook Express.
2. You will be asked if you want to open this account automatically when you start OE. Check Yes if you do.
3. Click on Always Perform the Check to stop this from being asked again.
4. Put a check by When Outlook Express Starts, Go Directly to my Inbox.
5. You should see a list of folders on the left. If not, click on View then Layout and then Contacts and Folder List. Click on Ok.
6. If you want, you can right click on Outlook Express to create a shortcut that will put an icon on your desktop.
7. Now, start OE and click on Tools and Accounts.
8. The Internet Wizard should start. If not, click on Add and then Mail.
9. Type in your name as you want it to appear to others on the Your Name page. Click Next.
10. On the Internet Explorer Address page type in your email address from the first step. Click Next.
11. You will see the Email Server Names page. This is where you fill in the information that you got from your ISP. Click Next.
12. You will see the Internet Mail Logon. Type in the account name and password.
13. Click Next and Finish.

You should be done! Now, when you start Outlook Express on your desktop, it will go to the web-based account and download everything in your Inbox and put it in OE.

Windows Vista and Windows Mail

If your new computer is Windows Vista, you won’t find Outlook Express at all. It’s been replaced by Windows Mail and then by Windows Live Mail. Don’t worry; Windows Mail is quite similar to Outlook Express, so the steps outlines above are the same. To find Windows Mail, go to Start> All Programs> Windows Mail. If you can’t find it there, go to Start > All Programs > Windows Live> Windows Live Mail. Once launched, set up your e-mail account.

Have you heard the rumors? Outlook Express has kicked the bucket and has been replaced by Microsoft Windows Live Mail. Should we throw a tantrum or have a party? If you’re happy with Outlook Express and it’s still working for you, you don’t have to rush out and do anything but keep in mind that Microsoft is less likely to issue security fixes should something go wrong with their older products. Going with the current editions of your operating system utilities and products is usually a smarter choice.

If you’ve seen Windows Live Mail in action, you may be anxious to upgrade and join the fun. After all, Windows Live Mail brings with it plenty of new, and useful, features such as a built-in RSS feed reader, photo emails which allow you to send high resolution images without filling up your friends’ inboxes, and the ability to manage multiple e-mail accounts (including web accounts like Yahoo mail) in one place.

Not sure you want to give up on OE and jump on board the Windows Live Mail bandwagon? Unlike upgrading from one version of Outlook Express to the next, when you upgrade to Windows Live Mail, you aren’t actually replacing OE; instead, you are adding a second, standalone program. This means that you can run both and decide for yourself which one you prefer!

But what about all of your contacts, messages, account settings and so forth? No worries, when you install Windows Live Mail, it begins importing your Outlook Express data. One annoyance involves the way Windows Live Mail imports the contacts. If you have contacts with multiple e-mail addresses such as a default e-mail address and several auxiliary ones, Windows Live Mail assigns the various addresses to different e-mail types such as personal e-mail, work e-mail, etc. Double check to be sure that you agree with the way these addresses were assigned. Otherwise, the new default may be the wrong (or even an obsolete) e-mail address.

Another consideration if you run Windows Live Mail alongside Outlook Express (or Windows Mail the Vista version of OE) is that you now have two separate programs handling your messages. If you download a message into Windows Live Mail one day and decide to use Outlook Express the next day, your downloaded message from the day before won’t automatically appear in Outlook Express. Because of the possibility of scattering your messages between the two programs, you should make your decision fairly fast. Going back and forth between programs isn’t ideal.

The rumors are true: Outlook Express is out. Upgrading to Microsoft Windows Live Mail is easy, it’s free, it has a lot of cool new features, and you may even like it.