UPDATING PROBLEMS WINDOWS XP TO WINDOWS 7

There is a transfer program for user data but that's basically all, from an XP system to Win 7.  You can't transfer programs, they must be installed, if compatible.  You will need new Win 7 (or possibley Vista) drivers for the Printer and it will have to be installed.

Windows 7 does not come with an e-mail program (I don't know what Dell is installing if any), but the Windows Live Mail e-mail program is a free download from Microsoft.  If you are using Outlook Express now, your best option is to export your address book to a file.  Then import that address book into the Windows Live Mail, if you are going to use the Microsoft Program.  Same way if you have e-mails that you want to copy over to the new PC.

Actually, there is not much to "transfer" using the program and a special transfer cable that you will have to buy.  Just as easy to either burn CD's with the user data on it and then copy it on to the new PC or use a USB hard drive enclosure and temporarily install the old hard drive in the USB enclosure and then copy whatever you want to the PC"s hard drive.. 

If you want to use Windows 7 Professional and the "XP Mode" to run older programs that are not Win 7 compatible, make sure you buy a PC that has "VT" (Intel Virtualization Technology).  Not all PC CPU's have this capability and that is required for the XP Mode.

I'm not an OE kind of person but here are two ways to try to get your e-mail's moved:

1. All programs have to save their information somewhere.  That may seem obvious but a lot of people have the "magic wand" kind of thoughts when it comes to what a computer program does with their data.  Wave it and POOF!  it magically appears, wave it again and POOF!  it magically disappears.  Anyway, almost all programs now put their saved content into the Application Data folder found on your system.  Under Windows XP this is located in the "Document and Settings" folder.  In order to find the folder you have to click on the "tool" option at the top of the dialog.  Click on the "View" tab.  Scroll down through the "Advanced settings" options until you find the "Show hidden files and folders" option.  Select it.  If you do not have it selected, you might also want to turn on "Display full path in the address bar".  Click Apply and also click the "Apply to All Folders" button as well. (You can always go back and reset these later.)  Once done you should see some grey'd out folders appear.  THESE ARE NEVER TO BE DELETED!  These folders are those your system works with.  If you delete them - your system will not function properly.  Click on the folder with your account's name on it.  You should see a grey'd out "Application Data" folder.

NOTE: If you see folders in the "Documents and Settings" directory for accounts you never set it - you may have been hacked.  I'm not talking about the grey'd out folders.  I mean if your account name is "marjos" and you see "Mr.ED" or something other than the "All Users", "Default User", "LocalService", and "NetworkService" folder - then there is a good possibility that you got hacked.  Because hackers will usually put other folders into this directory just for themselves and this is one way you find out that you are hacked.

Back to our original conversation:  Look for the "Application Data" folder.  Double-click it.  Look for the Microsoft Folder.  Double-click it.  Look for the Outlook folder (or it may be in the Office folder).  Check each of them.  There should be a folder which will contain your e-mails in one of them.  Just drag'n drop the folder onto a jump drive and save it off to Windows 7.  Then you run into the problems of Windows 7.  I'm the test Guinea pig at work for System 7 but I've only just started using it.  Microsoft decided to make it really hard for you to be able to muck with the Application Data folder in System 7.  So you have to figure out how to get your stuff into it.  About the only help I can give you there is to use the command line to move the files around.  Sorry, haven't played around with System 7 a lot yet.

MORE NOTES: Since I do not use Outlook this is about as far as I can get you.  See below for method #2.

2. Outlook will import from other programs.  Other programs will import from Outlook.  Thunderbird and Eudora are the easiest to import Outlook and Eudora is the easiest for Outlook to import from (if I remember correctly).  Both of these programs will create its own directory in the Application Data folder.  Download one of them and let it import all of your e-mail from Outlook.  Once done, just drag'n drop the entire folder from the Application Data area onto a jump drive and bring it over to System 7.  The nice thing about doing it this way is that in Outlook under System 7 you tell it you want to import the e-mails and then just re-import them by finding where you put the e-mails on the jump drive.  Outlook will pull them all in and then all you have to do is to re-arrange them again.  If you are lucky - they will already be in the right folders and such.

Have fun! :-)