How to Export Windows Live Mail to PST Format – Key 9 Steps

Many businesses are transitioning from Windows Live Mail to Microsoft Outlook because of digital transformation. Therefore, businesses export Windows Live Mail to PST to avoid losing existing communication. This helps them retain important past messages in Outlook, ensuring a hassle-free and efficient transition. But how can the user perform this migration? There are two ways to solve this problem, manually or by using Windows Live Mail to PST Converter Tool. Read this blog to understand why and how this migration is done.

Windows Live Mail is a Microsoft email client that allows users to manage multiple emails in one place. PST (Personal Storage Table) is a file format developed by Microsoft. It is primarily used to back up and archive mailbox data locally on your computer. To switch from Windows Live Mail to Outlook, the user needs to convert WLM to PST.

Benefits to Convert Windows Live Mail to PST

The need to transfer Windows Live Mail to PST is crucial for maintaining compatibility, access, and efficient email management. Here are the key reasons why businesses and individual users find this process beneficial: 

• Microsoft Outlook is used by both individuals and enterprises. Converting Windows Live Mail to PST makes your email data fully compatible.
• By converting to PST, users can manage and organize emails into folders and categories. This makes email management more structured and efficient.
• Exporting Windows Live Mail to PST ensures that the data is backed up securely with no storage constraints.
• PST Files are flexible and fully compatible with different Outlook versions. 
• As we know, Windows Live Mail is discontinued; users prefer Outlook for data migration. 

How to Export Windows Live Mail to PST Format?

PST Files can be transferred in two primary ways. One is a manual method, and the other uses an automated tool. Let’s take a closer look at both the methods to see which works best for you. 

Export Emails from WLM to PST Files Using Outlook

Before starting with this method, ensure that Windows Live Mail and Outlook are pre-installed on your desktop. Also, try to run both the applications as administrators. 

Follow a step-by-step guide to begin the process:

1. Open Windows Live Mail on your system.
2. Go to File > Export Email > Email Messages.
3. An export window gets opens up, choose Microsoft Exchange and click Next > Ok.
4. Select either specific emails or the entire folder and click on Ok to begin the process.
5. Once the export process is completed, go to File > Open & Export > Import/Export.

Limitations: This process is not suitable for handling large mailboxes. It might also not retain the folder structure.

Convert Windows Live Mail to PST Using IMAP Synchronization 

To use this method, you don’t need both WLM and Outlook on the same system. This procedure maintains the folder structure.

Follow the instructions given below to begin the conversion:

Step 1: Configure IMAP in WLM

1. Open Windows Live Mail.
2. Go to Accounts > Add Email Account.
3. Now, fill in your account credentials and choose IMAP. 
4. Once this is done, your IMAP folders will be created.
5. Drag and drop emails from the WLM folder to the IMAP folder.

Step 2: Add the same IMAP account to Outlook

1. Open MS Outlook.
2. Navigate to File > Account Settings > Add Account.
3. Enter the same IMAP account credentials and choose IMAP.
4. Once the synchronisation is done, again go to File > Open & Export > Import/Export.
5. Select Export to a file > Outlook Data File (.pst). 

Limitations: The user should have a good technical knowledge of IMAP configuration. Moreover, synchronizing large amounts of emails makes the process very slow and, therefore, consumes a lot of time.

Direct Method to Export Windows Live Mail to PST

The Windows Live Mail to PST Converter Tool is versatile and reliable. It enables the conversion of Windows Live Mail to PST and various other file formats. It comes with advanced features such as bulk email conversions, removal of duplicate emails, skip attachments, etc. It also keeps the folder structure intact for a seamless and smooth transfer. The tool is ideal for both small and bulk migrations and also filters messages as required. 

Below are the simple steps to convert Windows Live Mail to PST:

1. Drag and drop the desired email from WLM to your desktop.
2. This will be saved as an .eml File.
3. Now, download and launch the tool.
4. Choose from Select File/Files or Select Folder and click Next to proceed.
5. Browse and open the EML file.
6. Select and preview the EML File from the tree hierarchical structure. Then, click on Next.
7. In the Saves/Backup/Migrate As section, pick File formats and choose PST.
8. Select any additional features if needed and choose the destination to save the file.
9. Finally, click on the Convert button to begin the process.

Conclusion

The ability to export Windows Live Mail to PST ensures continued access and compatibility with other systems. Since Windows Live Mail has been discontinued, exporting emails to PST Files will support backups and archiving. While manually exporting WLM to PST can work, it can be complex and prone to errors. Using an automated Windows Live Mail to PST Converter Tool is the ideal choice for a smoother, error-free, and more secure experience. 

Related Post: Export Windows Live Mail to PDF Format.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q- How do I export emails from Windows Live Mail to PST format?

Ans- There are 3 ways to do it:

• Using Outlook’s Import/Export feature
• By doing IMAP Synchronization
• One can use a dedicated tool for it like Windows Live Mail Converter Tool.

Q- Is Windows Live Mail compatible with Outlook 2019 or Microsoft 365?Ans- There is no direct compatibility of WLM in Outlook 2019. The WLM emails are in .eml format, whereas Outlook supports only .pst and .ost files. Therefore, to open WLM emails in Outlook, one needs to convert Windows Live Mail to PST Files.