Accessing old emails from Outlook

I am trying to assist a friend in viewing her old emails through Microsoft Outlook version 14 (32 bit). This version of outlook is part of Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010. She wants to be able to see the emails which were sent and received prior to setting up Outlook on the new machine.

Her previous machine is no longer able to start up, so I cannot copy the .pst file with the email data over to the new laptop.

However, the e-mails are still visible on the Virgin Media webmail. I have suggested that she use the webmail permenantly and avoid Outlook, but she has rejected this possibility.

When looking through solutions to similar problems on the internet, I found a suggestion that the .pst file should be deleted/moved to a different directory and then send/receive performed again. This caused no e-mails to be shown instead.

Is there a way of seeing the old e-mails on Outlook?

Sepia

Posted 2014-07-20T20:02:05.367

Reputation: 111

If the emails don't exist on the server, and you cannot retrieve the file which contains the emails, then what you want isn't possible. If you deleted the .pst file then the emails are gone. – Ramhound – 2014-07-20T20:12:03.330

As they can still be accessed on the Virgin Media webmail, the e-mails are not 'gone'. Is there no way they can be imported into outlook from there? – Sepia – 2014-07-20T20:15:08.967

Answers

Add the virgin account as an imap account - Settings are on the virgin site - once connected, the emails and imap folder structure (inbox,outbox,sent etc) will also appear. Create a new PST with all these emails (make sure you copy the mails to the PST - not move) then you can remove the virginmedia account, and just attach the newly created PST file.

JohnnyVegas

Posted 2014-07-20T20:02:05.367

Reputation: 2 820

Thanks, this solves the problem. Instead of using the POP3 Outlook account any more, I intend to delete that (with my friend's consent) so she instead just uses the IMAP one. – Sepia – 2014-07-22T18:33:49.197

Her previous machine is no longer able to start up, so I cannot copy the .pst file with the email data over to the new laptop.

If the harddisk still works (i.e. is readable) then you may connect it to another computer and read the files - avoid writing to it in any case. If using a laptop you will probably need to be fit it into an external drive casing... better try with a desktop computer.

Hannu

Posted 2014-07-20T20:02:05.367

Reputation: 4 950

This may well have worked if there was a desktop PC available, but unfortunately everyone in the house uses laptops. – Sepia – 2014-07-22T18:34:54.533