Hi, Robert.
> A bit on in years now, so please bear with me.
My first name also is Robert, and I turned 74 in July. Maybe I can help.
;<)
First the ground rules:
WinXP comes with OE, which will not run on any Windows version after WinXP.
Vista comes with Windows Mail (WM), which will not run on any Windows
Version except Vista.
Microsoft has announced - in about 2006 - that neither OE nor WM will be
developed any further.
Windows 7 comes with NO email or newsgroup application at all.
OE won't run on Win7.
WM won't run on Win7. (Well, a few experts have done it, but it is not for
"us mere mortals").
The Windows Live suite was introduced about 3 years ago, but became popular
just this year. It includes a half-dozen or more components, including
Mail, Messenger, Write, Calendar, Contacts, Movie Maker - and maybe a couple
I've forgotten; all their names start with "Windows Live". We generally
refer to Windows Live Mail as "WLM" - or "WLMail" when we need to
distinguish it from WLMessenger.
Windows Live Mail (the word "desktop" was removed from the name of the
program over 2 years ago) will run in WinXP, Vista and Win7. It does not
come included in any of those, but can be downloaded (along with any other
Live components we want) from [URL="http://download/live.com"]http://download/live.com[/URL] and installed in any
of them.
WLM is like OE in many ways, but there are significant differences, too.
One major difference is in the way they store messages. OE stores messages
in .dbx files that OE calls "folders". There is one Folders.dbx which acts
as the index for all the others. The others have names that you create,
such as "Family.dbx". If you get 1,000 emails from your kids, they might
all be in Family.dbx; a single corrupted byte in any one of those mails
might cost you the whole folder. WLM will store those emails as 1,000
separate files, each with a cryptic long numeric name and the .eml
extension. If one file is corrupted, you will lose only that one message.
Because of this basic difference, OE and WLM cannot share message stores;
other consequences flow from this as well.
WLM will run "side by side" with either OE (in WinXP) or WM (in Vista), and
many of us used that technique to ease the transition to WLM. You can, if
you like, download WLM now and install it in your WinXP. It will
automatically Import and Convert your OE Accounts and messages (and hide -
but not delete - your shortcuts to OE). You can set both OE and WLM to
"leave messages on the server"; that's the default setting in WLM, but you
will want to set ONE of them to delete messages after a reasonable time (14
days) to keep your mailbox on the server from getting full and blocking
further incoming mail. Use both apps for a few days or weeks until you are
familiar with WLM. When you are ready, just stop using OE (you can't delete
it) and let WLM become your only mail/news client.
Then, when you transition to Win7 (or Vista), you can use WET (Windows Easy
Transfer - included with both Vista and Win7) to export all your WLM and
other settings from WinXP to a temporary holding area, and then import them
into WLM after you install it on your new Windows.
Just remember that a few OE (and WM) store folders do NOT get duplicated
automatically when you run OE/WM and WLM side by side. Sent Items, in
particular, will reside only in the app that sent those items, so you will
need to export/import that folder from your OE in addition to all the
messages that are duplicated in OE's Store Folders and WLM's Message Store.
You MAY want to also carry forward OE's Drafts, Junk and Deleted items
folders, which won't be handled automatically.
So you can choose between two transition paths from WinXP to Win7:
1. Download and install WLM into WinXP now and transition to it in WinXP.
After you get WLM installed into Win7, use WET to transfer your files and
settings from WLM to WLM.
2. Wait until Win7 arrives and you've downloaded and installed WLM. Then
use WET to transfer your files and settings from OE to WLM.
If you have questions, just ask. Or visit this newsgroup (which still has
"desktop" in its name because it's hard to change newsgroup names):
news://msnews.microsoft.com/microsoft.public.windows.live.mail.desktop
Good luck! I think you'll like Windows Live Mail - and that you will LOVE
Windows 7. ;<)
RC
>> Stay informed about: Transferring OutlookExpress Files From XP To Vista and Win.. 
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