Replies

What is the difference between the 5-digit pin that TurboTax requires for e-filing and the 6-digit IRS pin?

Susan Bradley wrote:

If it installs use the following command in PowerShell to remove it

Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -AllUsers -Online -PackageName (Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.OutlookForWindows).PackageFullName
Blocking new Outlook can also be done with Group policy. You will need to download the new Group Policy ADMX file and edit the settings in the following section:

File Name: outlk16.admx
Policy Setting Name: Disable web add-in installation on migration to new Outlook for Windows
Scope: User
Policy Path: Microsoft Outlook 2016\Miscellaneous
Category: Miscellaneous
Registry Information: HKCU\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\outlook\addins!disablecomtowe

Can New Outlook be uninstalled by clicking Settings>Apps & features>Outlook (new)>Uninstall?

Paul T wrote:

It may just be easier to backup the entire AppData folder than to try to work out what is in there.

Yes, I agree. I like to keep things simple. In fact, I had never installed an email client prior to installing Thunderbird. I had always used whatever Microsoft email client came with my computer, e.g. Outlook Express, Windows Live Mail, and Windows Mail.

I just found these two videos from Leo Notenboom that I found to be useful. The first discusses moving Thunderbird profiles and second discusses Thunderbird in more general terms.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qy8J9fr5RlE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuuaDxpEUg4

Paul T wrote:

Make sure you backup the mail directories regularly. They are not stored with your other documents, they are in a folder in %APPDATA%.

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profiles-where-thunderbird-stores-user-data

Thanks for providing this very useful information. I think I understand it. I will try to create a backup of my Thunderbird profile soon.

Thanks again.

n0ads wrote:

Note: it’s not possible to have it save sent copies both locally and server-side, it’s one or the other.

I had hoped to save sent emails on the server as well as locally in Thunderbird as Windows Mail did. But now I know that that there was not a problem with the installation of Thunderbird. I will save my sent emails locally in Thunderbird.

Thank you for this very helpful clarification.

Paul T wrote:

MS is hardly going to force you to use an Apple service.

I agree. I meant to write Microsoft Cloud not iCloud.

I am leaning towards Thunderbird too.

Thanks for your help.

Paul T wrote:

“Account Settings” in Outlook should allow you to set the local storage location.

Just to clarify, I am not using any version of Outlook. I aborted my migration from Windows Mail to Outlook (new) once I realized that Outlook (new) insists on saving emails to iCloud.

Just two more questions:
1. Which email client would you suggest, Thunderbird or eMClient, for someone who has simple email needs.
2. Will either of those clients struggle to download the approximately 1,300 emails on my email provider’s server?

Paul T wrote:

You won’t be able to read those files, but they are your email – as shown by the scraps you can read.
How many file are there?

There are at least one hundred files, maybe more.

Recapping What I Am Trying To Accomplish:

I would like to install a new email client for my non-Microsoft POP3 email account because (a) Microsoft has locked me out of Windows Mail and (b) Outlook (new) insists that I save my emails to iCloud. After installation of a new email client (I am reviewing Thunderbird and eMClient) I would like to get all my historic emails and future emails onto the new email client so that I do not have to work with them on my email provider’s clunky website.

Question: After installing a new email client will I be able to download to the new email client all of my historic emails? There are approximately 1,000 emails in the inbox and 300 in the sent box on my email provider’s server. These emails were previously downloaded to Windows Mail but a copy was retained on my email provider’s server.

Drcard:)) wrote:

My research indicates the emails are save at the following location

C:\Users\{myname}\AppData\Local\Comms\Unistore\data\2\o

I located the following folder:
C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Comms\Unistore\data. Within this folder are four folders with single digit names. Within each of those folders are numerous folders with single alpha names. Within those folders are many .dat files with names in the format you indicated. Most of these files contain gibberish when I try to open them. Just a few contain small legible bits of calendar entries.

Paul T wrote:

Are there any PST files? Dates of them?

What are PST files and where should I look for them?

Vincenzo wrote:

I am wondering if your emails are really IMAP

My email account is a POP3 account. When I set it up many years ago I manually set the parameters for the account including type of account (IMAP or POP3), port numbers, password, whether to leave a copy of my emails on the email provider’s server, etc. all as specified by my email provider. To confirm that the email account is a POP3 account before writing this post, I logged into my email account at my email provider’s website using a browser and deleted a couple of emails, logged out, and then checked the emails on my phone. The two emails that I had deleted at the website were still on my phone.

Vincenzo –

Vincenzo wrote:

have you already configured Outlook (new) for your email account and does it show any emails in the Inbox?

Outlook (new) is not configured for my email account. When Microsoft locked me out of the Mail, Calendar, and People apps, I started the process of migrating from Windows Mail to Outlook (new) by following the Microsoft instructions in the link in my first post to this thread. After following the steps to export my data I continued the Outlook (new) setup process. However, at one point in the process a screen stated that it was necessary to save my emails to iCloud before I could continue. That reminded me of what Peter Deegan wrote in his article in the March 3, 2024 AskWoody Newsletter,

“The huge issue with Outlook (new) is the built-in privacy breach for any non-Microsoft-hosted accounts such as Gmail, Yahoo, Apple, or email service from an Internet service provider (ISP).

Classic Outlook for Windows/Mac connects directly to each mailbox, using POP, IMAP and SMTP protocols. Your login details, including password, are shared only with that mailbox. Newer Outlooks give the mailbox login details to Microsoft, who uses that info to connect with the mailbox. All email and other traffic go through Microsoft servers.

It’s not just email that’s exposed. For many people, their Gmail login is their main Google account login, which gives access to a lot of other personal info.

That is the main reason why I do not recommend Outlook (new) for non-Microsoft mailboxes. The same warning applies to the mobile Outlook apps and the new Outlook for Mac.” (italics added)

In my very simple computer setup there is no need for my emails to be on Microsoft’s servers. Consequently, I am checking out other email clients, starting with Thunderbird and eMClient.

Vincenzo wrote:

Are you able to log into your email account via a browser and see that the emails are still there?

Yes, I can still access my emails by using a browser to log into my email account at my email provider’s website. However, it is a slow and clunky process to write emails there.

Vincenzo wrote:

Have you looked in the default location DrCard mentioned above C:\User\username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Mail  to see what is in there?

I have looked for the default location that Drcard mentioned but there is no Windows Mail folder in C:\User\username\AppData\Local\Microsoft.

Paul T – What is my local PST and where should it be located?

Drcard:)) Below is a link to the Microsoft instructions for exporting emails, contacts, and events from Windows Mail.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/export-emails-and-contacts-from-windows-mail-or-people-and-import-to-new-outlook-7ced6135-3d1d-409b-b2da-4282a69c151b

Those instructions include the following statements:

“The file explorer will open to a new folder created on your device. Within that folder will be an .ics file that contains all your local events, and one or more folders containing your local .eml messages. Make note of this location to import your files to a new email application.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​”

I followed Microsoft’s instructions and file explorer opened to the following location:

Windows (C:)/Users/{username}/AppData/Local/Packages/
Microsoft.Windowscommunicationsapps_8wekyb3d8bbwe/
LocalState/Exported/

The only thing in this location is a folder titled “Mail”. This Mail folder contains just two folders, one for each of my two email accounts. Within each of those two folders are additional folders, all of which are empty, for all of the email folders (inbox, sent, drafts, etc.) associated with those two email accounts.

The location of the .eml and .ics files referenced in Microsoft’s instructions remains a mystery.

b- My email account is a non-Microsoft POP3 account set up to retain a copy of every email on my email provider’s server. As you suggested, maybe the export software in Microsoft Mail does not consider my emails to be “local” because they are also on that server.