How to reinstate WinMail onto Windows 8/10/11

[BridgeHead]

How can Winmail disappear

Hi,

What is it that Microsoft developers have done to make it so that the winmail program doesn't work. Certainly all the needed files are still available. Is there a part of the Windows code that WinMail taps into that is no longer there?

Has anyone tried to find a workaround? Do we know the reason? Just to slim down the operating system?

If they can do this with their own product, can they do the same with a 3rd party program? i.e. make it non-ussable?

Thanks
Don

 

[endeavor]

All pretty much are yes's, and the pointers to those answers have already been given in my above posts

..thanks Don, and have a good day!

 

[yako2k3]

Petition . Microsoft: Opensource outlook express / winmail . Change.org

 

[yako2k3]

Creators Update came, WinMail down. I rolledback from Creators but how can i ressist to these updates? Anyway, What is the best option instead of WinMail? (I need mail and nntp client in on place). Do you have any suggestion/s?

 

[Haunted]

That's the beauty of the offered monthly Cumulative Update and being able to download it manually (also any Service Stack or Flash updates, and whatever important update not included)

Anyway I support whatever your desire is to do, or anyone else's

What do you suggest, how to turn off automatic updates completely? For this I upgraded to Win 10 Pro to be able to defer further upgrades, but is this enough? Please kindly describe exactly what has to be done. Thank you.

 

[endeavor]

@ Haunted,
There is a thread over in the TenForums for WinMail and I talk about that, and give a link to how to shut WU off

Basically I turn my WU down by setting it disabled in Services, and it never checks for updates, I don't have to defer anything. I used Brinks Option #2 reg file: Never_Notify_or_Check_for_Updates.reg
I never even think about it anymore actually, just occasionally every few months I manually download and install the latest Cumulative for build v1607, and on my main tower I have stayed v1607

@ yako2k3,
I don't have any 'thought out' suggestions yet what to use. I really haven't fully researched or thoroughly tested many other clients yet since I'm not planning on going anywhere, and will stay with WinMail for the foreseeable future.

 

[Haunted]

@ Endeavor,

Thanks for reply. Do you, hmm, consider to figure out what code has been removed in order to maybe reinstall it again for any further versions of Win 10? Staying with v1607 seems to be good for intermediate solution...

 

[endeavor]

Yes I certainly did spend a lot of time to try and do it, and I talk about it back in this forums previous posts. If you read each of my posts in succession from back then, I don't know what else I could add to that.

I boot to and continuously use Windows 7 and Windows 8 and Windows 10 almost daily, and occasionally Vista, WXP, and if necessary Win98SE to test softwares - everything after Vista uses WinMail installed. And so you see from those eyes and perspective I personally do not feel pressured At All about WinMail and any Windows 10 new versioning

Happy Holidays Everyone

 

[Rousseau]

If you really like Windows Mail and Windows 10, you can install Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB (Long Term Servicing Branch) and not worry about the 1703 upgrade for at least another year or 2. It's also a way to avoid a lot of the bloat like modern apps and most of the telemetry.

Also, did everyone know you can replace the toolbar background in windows mail with a registry entry? I use a 64x64 grey gradient bitmap which I've included but you can make your own. Just add the bitmap file WinMail.bmp to your Windows Mail folder or change the path in the registry file to your desired location, and merge.

[ATTACH]69282.vB[/ATTACH]

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[endeavor]

Hello Rousseau and welcome to the Eight Forums.

Yes most techies understand about the LTSB version, and a few of us here have used and tested it with WinMail ..it's nice yes and the article is a good resource, and explains also about the licensing for it; however for the most part I personally prefer to stay with the most popular Pro version to service, and keeping it tamed is not a problem for those who know what to do. Shutting off WU stops any version upgrades, etc, which is covered on the first post tutorial and elsewhere.

Yes about the GUI modification, nice job, but you know I personally really like and prefer the color shades of the original for sure, but thank you for your offering it's neat.

Thank you for your post and interest

 

[kelliann]

Endeavor,
At the moment I am helping a friend with Windows 10 64 bit on an HP laptop who is wanting to install Winmail - their version and build of Win10 are version 1607, build 14393.1358.

From what you said, I think Winmail should install on that.

I use Win7 64 bit with Winmail on my own laptop and no problems. My only huge annoyance is the constant request to compact the emails which I don't want to do because when I allowed it on OE with XP, it lost emails. Which reminds me: Can you make Winmail stop asking me if I want to compact the emails?

I might want to buy Win10 for my own computer - and if I did, I don't know what version and build I'd end up with. Does the change to 16199 happen through using the Windows Update service? Or is MS constantly putting new versions/builds out there for sale so that if someone were to buy Win10, it would always be the most recent version and build?

On the friend's computer, I have disabled the Windows Update Service, hoping that if the new versions and builds are pushed out to computers with older versions of Windows 10 installed, I can prevent Winmail from being disabled. Is that the best way to protect Windows Mail?

I have one more question: If MS removed the legacy code from the newest version(s) of Windows 10, but you take the entire Winmail folder and put it into your Windows 10, why wouldn't it work? Obviously I know zero about coding. Is this because you are not "installing," you are just copying over some files? If this is right, is there an "installer" out there that can be used to install Winmail anywhere you want? Or has someone come up with Winmail under a new name? I know about Thunderbird but thought I heard it is no longer being produced, and when I did check it out years ago I thought Windows Mail was superior.

Thank you!

 

[kelliann]

I wanted to edit the above post to ask if copying the Winmail files over to Win10 + copying the registry keys over would make Winmail work on a newer build of Win10.

 

[endeavor]

Hello kelliann and welcome to the EightForums

Endeavor,
At the moment I am helping a friend with Windows 10 64 bit on an HP laptop who is wanting to install Winmail - their version and build of Win10 are version 1607, build 14393.1358.
From what you said, I think Winmail should install on that.

Yes,

I use Win7 64 bit with Winmail on my own laptop and no problems. My only huge annoyance is the constant request to compact the emails which I don't want to do because when I allowed it on OE with XP, it lost emails. Which reminds me: Can you make Winmail stop asking me if I want to compact the emails?

Yes sure, however in the long run I do not recommend stopping compacting Completely, because when it's compacted it removes the stored data for messages that have been deleted, etc, since there is no need to retain that information. The compaction will reduce the size of the index. The WinMail messagestore is a type of index that keeps track of the messages like where they are stored, deleted, etc; however the index does not contain any messages and messages are stored as individual .eml files. The point is, in the very long run, eventually with no compacting ever done, it's likely to slow down WinMail's operation when it reaches it's index saturation point, that point depends on a number of factors, but all of which in itself could cause future problems leading to a greater chance for store corruption.

I might want to buy Win10 for my own computer - and if I did, I don't know what version and build I'd end up with. Does the change to 16199 happen through using the Windows Update service? Or is MS constantly putting new versions/builds out there for sale so that if someone were to buy Win10, it would always be the most recent version and build?

Well whatever version of Win10 it comes with no problem, you could just make a backup partition image of its original OS partition, format it, and then reinstall the Win10 version you want in its place; for a seasoned computer user it's just a another software install. This would give you the ability at a moments notice to restore back (byte for byte) to what was previously installed if you wanted it, but also let you move forward with your own Win10 version clean install, no limitations. It all depends on your abilities. I do it all the time. Of course only use RTM versions and not Previews, etc, and their updates are mainly pushed through WU yes, but not exclusively. For me on my RTM setup used for WinMail, with WU services set disabled, it never sees WU. I only Manually update it when needed.

On the friend's computer, I have disabled the Windows Update Service, hoping that if the new versions and builds are pushed out to computers with older versions of Windows 10 installed, I can prevent Winmail from being disabled. Is that the best way to protect Windows Mail?

That's what I successfully do.

I have one more question: If MS removed the legacy code from the newest version(s) of Windows 10.....
<snip>

I wanted to edit the above post to ask if copying the Winmail files over to Win10 + copying the registry keys over would make Winmail work on a newer build of Win10.

...Use the procedure from post #1

 

[johninstalbans]

Today's Windows 10 Update (to v1709) has indeed killed access to WinMail for me in UK. I tried your ever-reliable fix (which failed) and then tried to roll-back the Update to check that that was the cause - but Update ref KB4054022 does not respond to 'uninstall' click! So not only have MS taken WinMail away, bu they have removed the option to roll-back the system to a point where it did work! That seems mean - but I suppose it would be unsustainable for long, given further updates.
What a shame, for those of us who only choose to operate one OS (and keep it fully updated). I will miss Outlook Express/WinMail as over c.20 years I've structured it with about 30 Inboxes (within several layers of folders) - although it was not always reliable in applying my rules to distribute incoming mail!
I've begun to use Windows Mail occasionally as it just pops up and seems to work in terms of seeing everything I send or receive, although I don't think I've ever set it up! Now I must investigate how it can be personalised to suit my needs. In a way, I'm quite glad to be forced to finally make a switch which was always in the back of my mind!
Can I finish by expressing colossal gratitude to endeavor for providing the opportunity to get one over on MS and allow people to use what they want? Perhaps someone will offer another route - and thanks for the suggested alternatives.

 

[endeavor]

Hello john and welcome the the Eight forums

Today's Windows 10 Update (to v1709) has indeed killed access to WinMail for me in UK. I tried your ever-reliable fix (which failed) and then tried to roll-back the Update to check that that was the cause - but Update ref KB4054022 does not respond to 'uninstall' click! So not only have MS taken WinMail away, bu they have removed the option to roll-back the system to a point where it did work! That seems mean - but I suppose it would be unsustainable for long, given further updates.

This is why I push so hard for people to use OS partition imaging instead. Not just for your issue with MS, but if you have any kind of corrupted or unwanted install, virus, etc, ..you can always restore back to your last OS (or any) partition image saved byte for byte to what it was before you started. Even if you HD goes bad, no problem, restore that image over to the new HD. ...iow, Nothing can stop you - you are king and ruler of your own OS and that's how it should be!

fwiw, I noticed this Post over in the Seven Forums one day and it got me to briefly look into it, is made by Microsoft and one day I did install it over WinMail and noticed it immediately picked up and iirc imported pretty much everything (except some of the folders were in different places) It's called Windows Live Essentials 2012 i think but specifically it's v14.0.8117.416 (and only use its Off-Line installer) wlsetup-all.exe (it took me a while to sift through the maze of searched out incorrect downloads and false download links, to finally get the right one downloaded)
Looking at the installer now is aprox 130 MB
Checking it's hash is
MD5: 906689A666D3D9AB4CC951ED6354D0B1
SHA-1: 14E848BD6B69C4C94C65DD87C1CF70BF8F00992D
(of course don't test install this (or anything really) unless you have a way to totally restore it back to the way your OS was before you started the test)
I don't have the exact link where I got it, but this link ...in a round-a-bout way, lead me to search it out on the web and find it. Anyway I have the right one now saved aside. ...importantly iirc you have to uncheck everything else listed in the installers options - and only install that older version of Live Mail.
Anyway it looked like and may be ? a possibility close to WinMail, but again I did not fully test it and this is not an endorsement from me because I just honestly don't know. Besides I like WinMail too much and I don't have to change. ymmv

Can I finish by expressing colossal gratitude.....

Thank you so much for your appreciation and it's that appreciation that moves me onward... not everyone seems to express their appreciation at all ..and so when I see it whether it's by clicking the thumbs-up icon on the bottom of the post that has helped someone, or if they post like you did and express it, or rating the thread - it's always greatly appreciated. Thank you! and Happy Holidays to Everyone!

 

[johninstalbans]

Thanks endeavor for all the suggestions. I might have a look at Mozilla Thunderbird (from another recommendation), but I feel that the time has come to reluctantly move on with Microsoft - perhaps the cloud is the future?
However, although Windows Mail is properly handling current emails, I've found the following problems:
a) its history is limited to the past few months - perhaps dating back to when I (somehow) linked it to my email account; however, I can access the hiistory through the cloud-based version provided in parallel by my ISP (does everyone have this?);
b) it completely lacks my folder structure and rules - and it's unclear whether it can be suitably personalised (there's no Settings function!);
c) all my contacts are missing! Luckily the Contacts from WinMail are still stored on my PC, so I just have to figure out how to import them into Mail.....and just before sending out our Christmas letter!

 

[endeavor]

I saw the mentions of Thunderbird over in this TenForums WinMail thread
Windows Mail - Page 11 - Windows 10 Forums
...Just out of curiosity a few months ago, on my test bench, I installed it to check it out.
After installing, no where could I find a button to import from WinMail ?
I also could not see how this email client looked like WinMail at all, but no problem you can blame it one me for not knowing how to set it up is fine. Even Billg226 from that thread via PM expressed the same sentiment to me. I did not test it for long though, and so don't go by my experience.

Anyway I have no problems with WinMail with the things you mention. I have many folders/subfolders, rules, contacts, and many different newsgroups I belong to, etc. I have carried my whole message store from so many years ago, right along with me from every single OS I use. However I Don't use it in tandem with any other email software or for sure! any online cloud programs like you've mentioned.

..but I feel that the time has come to reluctantly move on with Microsoft

I support your decision then..

At this point in time I have no concrete recommendations to what that is though, only because I have not researched it enough; besides, everyone will have a different opinion on what they like anyway, just like with what car they like best, or foods, movies, beer, etc, etc...

 

[johninstalbans]

I can't track down a (free) link to wlesetup 2012 version 14 you mention, but what's wrong with the latest (easily available) v16.4.3528.331 ?

 

[endeavor]

I can't track down a (free) link to wlesetup 2012 version 14 you mention,

I gave you the Hash from mine for a reason so that You could search it out.
I ask everyone to be their own tech support
In two seconds I entered the Hash into Google search and came up with this
..and on the first link it gives, I came up with this link to download it; however yes it's tricky to get the right file and installer yes. On that guys (DriftN2Forty) message his gives a link where he says and I quote:
" Or I filedropped Windows Essentials 2012 Installer "
I downloaded it via its captcha, and yes the files Hash matches the offline installer I have.
Realize I am not recommending this version, I only point out what Collin2011 likes and uses.
Again if anyone tests it, only install 'Mail' and un-check all the rest, and only test it if you have a way to Completely restore what you install. Partition imaging is the only thing I will use, ymmv.

...but what's wrong with the latest (easily available) v16.4.3528.331 ?

Nothing if that's what you want. There are differences though, search out the answers that interest you.
Also you can ask Collin2011 since he's the one who posted this version in response to WinMail alternatives.
Outlook Express was discontinued, WinMail replaced OE in Vista but that was discontinued, then came Windows Live Essentials to replaced that but was replaced by just Windows Essentials 2012 where the Live was dropped, but that 2012 version was discontinued too. They all have differences yes, search out the answers. I do not have a completed list on them all. This is a Windows Mail thread and that's all I work on and have focused on and reply to in all our forums for the past many years.
As I said Everyone has their own email client operational needs, wishes, desires, and favorites, and usually each person differers from everyone else. What one person may want in features and needs the other may not. There is no way I can navigate that for anyone but me.
For instance importantly my focus is I'm so used to WinMail and like it that I don't feel the need to change what works so well for me with its familiarity. I also don't want my email client having to log-on to my own MS or any MS account to get my mail, and even though I love MS I don't want to use MS to manage my emails either, but ymmv. I have my own dot com for my own private network, and the only installed email client I use is WinMail and certainly I do Not sync with or have Any other online accounts connected to it like you prefer to do. Yes sure I have other online email accounts I use for general things, yahoo, gmail, etc, and that's all well and good; I don't sync them with WinMail and prefer not to. It was my understanding that I can setup that installer to do all the things I want similar to WinMail while somewhat having the same general WinMail GUI layout, and not having to let it connect to my MS account, etc, and that's why I tested it; however I tested that months ago for a total of 5 minutes and then saved it aside for a maybe later. I tested it Only for the down-the-road thought of a WinMail replacement and just for the later versions of Win10 which at that time it installed fine. My initial thought was not a perfect looking replacement for WinMail, but if I could work out any details it 'may' be okay.

I have WinMail working fine on all our OS's in my network and am satisfied for our needs and wants, and have no plans to change that for the foreseeable future.

I am not recommending anything! Proceed at your own risk, or reward.
Proceed with and for your own desired outcome.
Always have backups in your software travels and installs, always being able to click and totally reverse anything you don't like!

Good Luck,

Happy Holidays Everyone!



.

 

[yako2k3]

There is no import from WM to Thunderbird. I'm running WM and TB sametime. TB's manamgement logic is slightly different from WM. But when you use it for a while; TB is perfect alternative fro WM. (as i see for now)