[SOLVED] Windows Mail emptied my inbox on another computer with Outlook 365.

dempy19

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Dec 28, 2013
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Hello all,

I'm looking to get some help in figuring out what is happening with my email. I have 2 computers for business. my old one is running Vista and I had my work email going through Windows Mail. On my new computer, running Windows 10, I have Outlook 365 with the same email.
Yesterday I turned on the old machine and went into Windows mail and it pulled all the newest emails to it (no problems there). However, once I went back to my new computer and opened up outlook, my whole inbox was deleted. After a few trials I noticed this was happening after every time I opened up Windows Mail.
The said emails are no longer found on the website version of the email prover either.

What is the solution to stop this from happening? And how can I get my emails back to my outlook?


Thank you in advance for your help!
 
Solution
Hello all,

I'm looking to get some help in figuring out what is happening with my email. I have 2 computers for business. my old one is running Vista and I had my work email going through Windows Mail. On my new computer, running Windows 10, I have Outlook 365 with the same email.
Yesterday I turned on the old machine and went into Windows mail and it pulled all the newest emails to it (no problems there). However, once I went back to my new computer and opened up outlook, my whole inbox was deleted. After a few trials I noticed this was happening after every time I opened up Windows Mail.
The said emails are no longer found on the website version of the email prover either.

What is the solution to stop this from happening? And...
Hello all,

I'm looking to get some help in figuring out what is happening with my email. I have 2 computers for business. my old one is running Vista and I had my work email going through Windows Mail. On my new computer, running Windows 10, I have Outlook 365 with the same email.
Yesterday I turned on the old machine and went into Windows mail and it pulled all the newest emails to it (no problems there). However, once I went back to my new computer and opened up outlook, my whole inbox was deleted. After a few trials I noticed this was happening after every time I opened up Windows Mail.
The said emails are no longer found on the website version of the email prover either.

What is the solution to stop this from happening? And how can I get my emails back to my outlook?


Thank you in advance for your help!

Is the old one setup for POP? Is it set to delete messages from the server after downloading?

That's the likely cause.
 
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Cj-tech

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Jan 27, 2021
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Hello all,

I'm looking to get some help in figuring out what is happening with my email. I have 2 computers for business. my old one is running Vista and I had my work email going through Windows Mail. On my new computer, running Windows 10, I have Outlook 365 with the same email.
Yesterday I turned on the old machine and went into Windows mail and it pulled all the newest emails to it (no problems there). However, once I went back to my new computer and opened up outlook, my whole inbox was deleted. After a few trials I noticed this was happening after every time I opened up Windows Mail.
The said emails are no longer found on the website version of the email prover either.

What is the solution to stop this from happening? And how can I get my emails back to my outlook?


Thank you in advance for your help!
Why do you still use Windows Vista? Microsoft stopped supporting it in 2017 - meaning that you have not received security updates in 4 years. If there are security risks in Vista (and there most definitely are), Microsoft will not fix them. Malware is plentiful in Vista.

The best thing to do in this case, from a security point of view, is to either only use the Windows 10 computer for email or upgrade the Vista computer to Windows 10. Although, it is unlikely that the Vista computer would be able to run Windows 10 efficiently. Personally, I would only use a computer with Vista for personal use because of the security risk.

One question: Does the Vista computer still show the deleted emails after they are gone on Windows 10?
 
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Solution

Secret-Squirrel

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Sep 12, 2020
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Dempy, following on from what velocity said, Outlook on your new PC is set up as IMAP where messages remain on the server. On your old PC Windows mail is using POP where the messages are downloaded then deleted from the server. Therefore, they're no longer available on your new PC.

To prevent this from happening again, go into the "Advanced" section for your mail account on the old PC and set it to "Leave a copy of messages on server".

Sadly, there's no way to put the deleted messages back on the server so that your new PC can view them. If it's any consolation, it's only the inbox that's affected so your Sent Items and other folders should still have all their old messages.
 
Sadly, there's no way to put the deleted messages back on the server so that your new PC can view them. If it's any consolation, it's only the inbox that's affected so your Sent Items and other folders should still have all their old messages.

Although I can't say specifically for the Vista version of Windows Mail. Generally, if you add an IMAP account. You can copy emails from local e-mail folders to IMAP folders. Then they'll show up on the IMAP server. Just move messages from folder to folder. Some programs or servers don't play nice to moving folders with subfolders to their servers in one pass. So, it's best to create the folder structure in the IMAP account. Then drag and drop the messages.

I used to do this quite frequently years ago. When smartphones started getting big. As I transitioned clients to IMAP from POP. So, they could get all their old messages on their phones.

The only concern I'd have switching from POP to IMAP. Is some programs delete the local folders when all POP accounts are removed. It's been so long. I don't remember which ones. But the OP should add IMAP first. Move the local folders. Then remove the POP account. Just to be safe.

If there are a lot of messages being moved. This can take a long time and may not look like anything is happening. If the @dempy19 chooses to transition. Just be aware of this. Turn off sleep mode. Then drag, drop and walk away. As it could take a good deal of time. Time which it could act frozen or not look like it's doing anything. Just don't force quit or start clicking around. It'll be done when it's done.
 
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