You can save the address book from the old PC and import it into the new PC. Those wanting to do a fresh install of Windows 7 will also find these steps helpful. These steps will also work basically for Outlook Express and Outlook.

To save the address book, go to File in Windows Mail. Choose Export and then Windows Contacts. Choose CSV, (creates a file you can look at your contacts in Excel or other spreadsheet programs) and click the Export button.

Now, click the Browse button in the CSV Export window. Pick a name for the file, (do not use periods or spaces in the name; Windows will automatically add a .csv extension) and choose where to save. Remember both of these. You can save to a diskette or a flash drive so you can easily import on the new operating system. The default location for saving the file is Documents. Click the Save button. Click the Next button. I suggest checking all boxes in the Select Fields box so you save all information in the address book. Notice there is a scoller on the right to more fields. Click the Finish button. Then click OK and Close. If you did not save the file to an external device such as a flash drive, copy the file now to your external device (flash drive, CD, diskette, etc) so you can either take it to another machine or when you do the installation of Windows 7 (or whatever OS) you still have your address book.

To install the address book on the new PC (or PC with a new OS), go to File in Windows Mail. Choose Import and Windows Contacts. Click CSV, (Comma Separated Values) and click the Import button. Click Browse, and go to the drive you saved the address book on to find the file. Then, click the Open button and the Next button. Choose (box says Map) all the fields and click the Finish button.

You may get a message about replacing existing entries. Since you are importing your current address book answer Yes to All.

You should now have your address book available in the new PC.

You can open the CSV file also in a spreadsheet and find all your contacts and their address information.

Thank you, Warren, for the question this week.

Dwight Watt is a computer instructor at a technical college in northwest Georgia and also does computer work for businesses, individuals and organizations in the Swainsboro area. His webpage is www.dwightwatt.com.