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Windows Live Mail 2011 Contacts missing after w10 Upgrade

Hello,

I've had an issue on 2 completely different machines both using windows live mail 2011. First call I received I taught it was a user mistake. But when my neighbor came to me with the same problem after only 10 minutes after his upgrade and only using WLM11 I figured this might be on account of W10.

Both upgraded to windows 10 and their contacts dissappeared.

So I started my search and found numerous topics on where to find the contact lists.

Going to the directory I found a few folders that I all checked but showed empty as if they were gone.

I then checked the folder size of the complete "Contacts" folder. Which in one case was over 160 MB, and in the other over 188 MB.

This size was given to folders that show completely empty apart from the folders itself. So technically windows 10 shows me empty folders but shows a size of more than 160&180 MB. 

Could it be that windows 10 hides files? I've also checked "hidden" files but nothing there either. Has w10 corrupted the data in these folders? Is there any way to recover his contacts? He & she never signed in with WLM11.

Cheers,

Ben

 

Hi,

 

Welcome to Microsoft Community.

Windows Live mail 2011 is not compatible with Windows 10. It looks like the program itself was uninstalled due to incompatibility.

I suggest you to install Windows live Mail 2012 from here and also follow the below mentioned article to import the contacts into WLM 2012.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-live/essentials

How do I import and export email, contacts, and calendars with Windows Live Mail?

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-live/mail-import-backup-restore

 

Regards,

Waseemulla S

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Windows Live Mail 2011 is not supported on OSs other than Vista, and it's not officially available for download any more. The way it handles contacts changed radically after build 3538, and updating to later builds had the effect of removing the default contacts list. However, if you're seeing content in the Contacts folder and the users have never signed in in Windows Live Mail, this is not likely to have happened. It would be worthwhile checking that the users haven't been signed in automatically - the right-most button on the Home tab of the ribbon should read Sign in.

The contacts databases are marked as hidden system files, which is why they may appear to be empty if Hide protected operating system files is selected at File Explorer options > View in Control Panel.

Please explain what contacts disappeared means in the two cases.

  • What is visible if the users switch to the contacts window (press Ctrl-3 or click the third, address-book-like, icon at the foot of the folder pane)?
  • What do they see if they click To... in a message compose window?
Noel Burgess MVP (Ret'd)

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I thought this had answered my question when you said that Windows Live Mail 2011 isn't supported by Windows 10. However, I realized that I have Live Mail 2012 and had the same problem in Windows 7.

If I start typing a contact in the "TO:" box, the contact will come-up. However, if I open the actual contacts icon at the bottom left, it is totally empty.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Theresa

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Hi Michael, 

Thank you for posting your query on the Microsoft Community. 

Please verify if you can see all the contact when you go to https://people.live.com through web browser. 

If you are able to see the proper contacts on the browser, I suggest you to repair the Windows Live Mail and check if it helps. 

Please follow the steps below to repair Windows Live Mail. 

  1. Press Windows + X key. 

  2. Select Program and Features. 

  3. Right click on Windows essential. 

  4. Hit uninstall. 

  5. From the Window that comes up select Repair all Windows Essential programs. 

Note: Windows Live mail comes with Windows Essentials package. 

Let us know if you need further assistance. We will be glad to help. 

Thank you. 

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Thank you. I am able to see my contacts in the people.live link. 

However, when I tried your next step, I do not get anything with Programs and Features. I get a box called the "Windows Mobility Center" which does not have anything labeled "programs and features" that I can see.

Thanks,

Theresa

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Hi Michael, 

Thank you for keeping us posted. 

I suggest you to follow the steps below to repair your Windows Live Mail and check if it helps.

  1. Clickon the Start button. 

  2. Goto All Programs >>  Control Panel >> Programs and Features. 

  3. Right click on Windows essential. 

  4. Hit uninstall. 

  5. From the Window that comes up select Repair all Windows Essential programs. 

Note: Windows Live mail comes with Windows Essentials package. 

Let us know if you need further assistance. We will be glad to help. 

Thank you.

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Last updated December 26, 2022 Views 1,364 Applies to: