Life without your Outlook Express e-mail

QI've grown comfortable with the look and feel of Microsoft's Outlook Express e-mail program on my nine-year-old Windows XP computer. But my new Windows 7 PC doesn't have it, and I've got 700 e-mails accumulated over nine years that I can't read. What should I do?

ROSS COUCHMAN, OTTAWA

AYour best alternative is to switch e-mail programs, although you can take your old e-mail with you.

Microsoft no longer provides Outlook Express, and has switched to Windows Live Mail. But by copying your Outlook Express e-mail to a flash drive, then moving the flash drive to your new PC, you can import your Outlook Express e-mail into Windows Live Mail.

A less desirable alternative is to download an old copy of Outlook Express, which is still available for free at tinyurl.com/6c2nm. However, Outlook Express comes as part of Internet Explorer 6, a Web browser that is way out of date.

Windows Live Mail is not included in Windows 7, but you can download it free (tinyurl.com/28fdybz) as part of a package called Windows Live Essentials.

For directions on how to back-up Outlook Express to a flash drive, see tinyurl.com/qw5v4. Learn how to import Outlook Express e-mail from the flash drive to Windows Live Mail at tinyurl.com/yl52qo2.

BILL SCHUESSLER, WAYZATA

AYou can find instructions for converting e-mail files from Microsoft Outlook Express format to Macintosh format at tinyurl.com/28a83tq.

Before following the directions, download a free PC program called DbxConv (tinyurl.com/26u9p86) that performs the file conversion.

QI have a Dell Dimension 9100 PC that runs Windows 7, but it continually freezes and gives me the message "Program not responding. Do you want to wait or cancel program?" What can I do?

GEORGE LYALL, PINECREST BY THE SEA, FLA.

Try adding a gigabyte or two of RAM (your model can use up to 4 gigabytes) at a cost of $25 to $40 per gigabyte. See tinyurl.com/2bwzloq or tinyurl.com/28z7ck3.