How to Convert Outlook Express DBX to Outlook 2016 - Ultimate Guide

Both Outlook Express and MS Outlook are widely used email clients on the Windows platform. Due to advancement in technologies many old applications are no longer in use such as Outlook Express. Now, most of the people are switching from Outlook Express to Outlook 2016 as Outlook is a successor of Outlook Express.

Moreover, Outlook is a modern-day email client with a number of benefits such that it offers users to maintain their emails, calendars, contacts, journals, tasks etc. in a precise way. Many individuals and enterprises may be switching from Outlook Express to Outlook email clients due to the upgrade of Windows.

As PST is the proprietary file format of Windows Outlook, there is a need to convert DBX into PST file format. Thus, in this post, a reliable and secure way is discussed to convert Outlook Express DBX to Outlook 2007/2010/2013/2016 and all the other versions.

Steps to Convert Outlook Express DBX to Outlook PST

A user has to follow different steps and techniques that are stated below to convert Outlook Express to Microsoft Outlook mail application.

Step 1: Export Outlook Express Mailbox to DBX

First, you have to open Outlook Express and then go to Tools and then Options
Now, click on Maintenance tab and click on Store Folder button in Options dialogue box
Copy the path from the Store Location dialogue box
Now, you have to copy the path and press Enter key, on a File Explorer window
After this, you have to burn these .dbx folders to a CD/DVD drive or copy them to a USB
On Windows migration machine copy this folder
Now, to convert Outlook Express DBX to Outlook on the same computer, you must save this path for reference in the next step
After this, click on close button the Store Location dialogue box will be closed and then exit Outlook Express Mail client
Now, to convert Outlook Express address book and change the file extension to .wab from the following path:
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Microsoft\Address Book

Step 2: Use the Windows Live Mail(WLM)

Between Outlook Express and Microsoft Outlook, Windows Live Mail acts as an intermediary
First, download the free Windows Mail application and then install the application on your system

Step 3: Import Outlook Express Mail to Windows Live

Open the WLM application and then go to File and then click on Import Messages
Now, you have to select the option to import from Outlook Express 6
Then, browse the location of the folder where the DBX folders are saved
After this, you have to select the folders that you need to migrate to WLM application
Now, to convert DBX to Windows Live Mail click on the import button
Finally, exit the Import Wizard
Go to File and then click on Import Windows Address Book to convert Outlook Express address book to Windows Live Mail
Now, search the folder location where the .wab file is saved
At last, to complete the process close the Import dialogue box

Step 4: Move WLM to Outlook

First, launch the Windows Live Mail application on your local machine
Then, go to File option and then click on it. After this, click on the Export option and then select Messages tab
Now, click on Microsoft Exchange tab in the Export dialogue box
At this step, you have to select all the folders you need to transfer from Windows Live Mail to PST File
Finally, exit this process by closing the Export Wizard

Step 5: Convert Windows Live Mail to Outlook

First, you have to open the Outlook Mail client on your local machine
Now, click on the File option and then click on Open and Export and select Open Outlook Data file (PST)
In this step, you have to search the folder location where the WLM PST file is saved and then click on OK button
This will convert Outlook Express DBX to Outlook and after this conversion process will be completed

Shortcomings of Manual Approach to Convert Outlook Express DBX to Microsoft Outlook PST

It is a lengthy and time-consuming process as it can take hours or days to complete the process.
Required technical expertise to perform the manual steps as the execution of any step in an incorrect way can lead to data loss.

Professional Approach to Convert Outlook Express DBX to Microsoft Outlook

If users want to convert large mailbox Outlook Express DBX to Outlook then the above-stated method is not successful. For this, a user has to go for the professional solution that is SysTools DBX to PST Converter. This utility is capable of converting Outlook Express DBX to PST or into multiple file formats. The tool is designed with a user-friendly interface which makes easy for users to work with this utility.

Some of the highlighted features of DBX to PST Converter are:

Convert Outlook Express DBX to PST/EML/MBOX or MSG file
Supports MS Outlook 2016 and all below versions
Provides option to batch export DBX files into PST
Maintains the folder structure during the conversion process
Compatible with Windows 10 and all below versions
Provides option to view emails with attachments and in multiple styles

Conclusion

Outlook Express was one of the major email clients at the point of time. But now email communication is dominated by Microsoft Outlook. This is because of its scalability and compatibility with the high-end applications such as Microsoft Exchange Server and Office 365.

In this post, we have discussed the manual solution to convert Outlook Express to Microsoft Outlook PST file format. In so far as the credibility of manual method is concerned, we have tested it with 29 GB of Outlook Express mailbox and successfully convert DBX to PST without any glitches.

We also discussed the professional solution to convert Outlook Express DBX to Outlook. So, you can choose anyone from the above-mentioned solution as per your ease and get migrated from Outlook Express to Outlook with attachments.