My son is getting a new latop for Xmas which has Vista and Office
professional 2003. I need to move his contacts (address book), calendar and
all his emails from his old desktop which has Windows XP home and Office
professional 2003. Can you tell me the best way to do this? Thank you

We can. Or you can read one of the daily posts here that tell you how to do
this.
The file you need is your Personal Folders file (*.pst) It's where all the
mail, calendar, contacts etc are stored.

Take a look at these pages for info on Outlook data backup or transfer:
http://www.slipstick.com/config/backup.htm
http://www.howto-outlook.com/Howto/backupandrestore.htm
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA010771141033.aspx

--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
"sheila4typing" discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:9D063372-46DA-4A37-9ED4-BBD1D354A8C6@microsoft.com...

Thank you.
I located the outlook.pst and mailbox.pab and copied them to my thumb drive.
I believe I copy both these files in
C:\Users\%%username%%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\ since the new laptop
has Vista correct? Also I am a little confused as to the pab file because I
thought the pst file contained mail contacts calendar etc. The pab file is
only 265kb whereas the pst file is much much larger. Do I really need the
pab file?

"Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]" wrote:

It is highly unlikely that you need the PAB file since Outlook has not used
PAB files in a decade.
You should _not_ copy the PST file to the default location because there is
a good chance you will overwrite another data file. Copy it anywhere else.
Most users put it with their other data. Just make sure you remember where
you put it so you can then open it easily in the new installation of
Outlook.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
"sheila4typing" discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:B0541DEC-29F9-441F-A746-34D03A646D8F@microsoft.com...

Sorry I am a little lost. Since this is a brand new laptop and nothing is on
yet what data would I override? I would have thought when I sent up the
email account and it sent a test email that would have created one. I looked
at the location I mentioned below and there is not a pst file in that folder,
only outcmd.dat, outlook.srs. and outlook xml document.

"Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]" wrote:

The moment you opened Outlook and created an email account, it created a new
PST file. If you can't find it, it just means you haven't searched correctly
or haven't enabled the display of hidden file and folders, but it is there.
When you copy another PST file to the default location, it is very likely
you will overwrite that file since Outlook gives the same name to every PST
file it creates. If you overwrite a PST file, there is a 100%% chance you
will corrupt your Outlook profile, and also a chance you will corrupt your
PST file.
The instructions I posted take all that into account. I would suggest
reading them and following them. This is Microsoft Outlook. None of the
assumptions you might make on how to handle data files apply to Microsoft
Outlook. Migrating Outlook data abides by no conventions and drives everyone
crazy. There is no excuse for this state of affairs, but it is reality.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
"sheila4typing" discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:CB7F8750-98D5-46D6-9E53-4DB20ED06B50@microsoft.com...

Thanks for your help. I made another folder for the .pst folder and directed
Outlook to that folder and I now see all emails. However, I now have 2
personal folders and if I open up contacts it is empty.

"Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]" wrote:

Open up Contacts where?
State how you followed the directions I posted.

--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
"sheila4typing" discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:BEF72C8C-95A7-4CA2-AEF5-E6565171DFC3@microsoft.com...

I made a folder called .pst file and that is where I put the .pst file from
the old computer. I then went to File menu, Open, and then clicked the
folder where the pst file is. Right clicked on the Personal Folder I wanted
to keep and changed the name. Went to email accounts, view or change exiting
email accounts, in the Deliver new email to the following location I selected
what I called the folder. Now I can start a new email and open the
to/address book and there are no entries in this address book or if I open up
the address book icon on the toolbar and it says the same thing. Did I do
something incorrect?

"Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]" wrote:

No. You just didn't finish. You now need to set the address book view to use
your current Contacts Folder. It is still looking for your old one.
Remember, Outlook is deeply dumb.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;287563&Product=ol2002
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
"sheila4typing" discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:5F319936-0FCE-4C6D-A022-7028154DCFDC@microsoft.com...