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Is it possible to install Outlook Express in Windows 7? Problem is, that my sister is visually impaired and needs to use email client together with AI Squared Zoomtext 9 ReaderMagnifier (aka ZT 9).

We already tried these email clients:

Mozilla Thunderbird 10 (not compatible), 2.00 - partially works, but has problems Seamonkey - not usable Koma Mail - not usable eMClient - partially works, but has problems

  • in most cases, ZT 9 simply does not read the list of emails displayed in inbox etc. - this is crucial for her
  • Windows Live Mail is using that stupid ribbon interface with icons using faded colors and uses some small font for email lists - inbox etc.

So I am thinking about possibility to somehow install OE in Win7 as I know from some mailing lists, that it was fully usable with ZT 9. Is there any way to do it?

Dave M
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Juhele
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  • I’ve been trying to find a way to get OE to run in Vista+, but unfortunately, like IE and WMP, it is so tightly integrated into Windows, that it is very difficult to get it to run on another version of Windows (e.g., it demands XP’s kernel, etc.) I’m looking at virtualizing it like with ThinApp, but I’m doubtful that would work. I considered running it in a VM, but that is incredibly un-ideal in so many ways. In the meantime, I boot into XP ~99.5% of the time and my 7 installation is stagnating from lack of use (I *have* to run XP to run OE so that my emails don’t pile up too much). – Synetech Dec 03 '12 at 00:26
  • As an alternative to OE, would the mail utility in Microsoft Live be an acceptable replacement? The Live install prompts individually for any of the utilies in the Live suite, and it can be installed with just the mail utility. As a former OE user, I'm pretty satisfied with reading mail with Live on Win7. – jdh Dec 03 '12 at 15:25

4 Answers4

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Outlook express itself can not be installed in Windows 7. But if you have Windows 7 Professional, you can run windows XP mode, and then install OE from there. Once installed there is an option to link XP mode apps from the Win 7 start menu, but its not exactly a fast startup (for the app) as the Virtual emulator has to boot up in the background first. Alternatively, some ZT users have downgraded their Windows 7 license to XP.

jdh
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Yes it is possible, first you need to follow these steps :

  1. Install Windows XP mode on your PC.
  2. Install Microsoft Virtual PC.
  3. Run XP Mode in Virtual PC.
  4. Open Outlook Express in virtual pc.

There you got Outlook Express running on Windows 7.

Reference : http://techsultan.com/outlook-express-windows-7-guide/

Cixxty Fine
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Outlook Express installer for Win7/8/10:

ftp://80.235.43.141/AJUTINE/OE6WIN7/oe6_1.6.7.exe

After installation is done, the launcher is not necessary. I usually remove the automatically created shortcut and make a direct shortcut to the Outlook Express executable (C:\Program Files (x86)\Outlook Express\msimn.exe). I also recommend to run it under Windows 2000 compatibility mode so to avoid the UAC prompt on each run (modern Windows releases do not have this mode in the properties dialog but it can be enabled using Microsoft Compatibility Manager).

Anixx
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Outlook Express cannot be installed on Windows 7 because it is integrated into the operating system and expects certain files to be at specific locations. Common solution to have it on Windows 7 or others is to install it within virtual machine. Other programs that can be used as virtual machine are VirtualBox or VMware Fusion which are both free and I would recommend over the already suggested Virtual PC (XP-mode) which is quite limited.

There is also a replacement program OE Classic which largely resembles the looks of Outlook Express and seems to be modern replacement so you may want to examine if it will serve your needs although free version has some limitations. Unlike Mozilla Thunderbird which uses Gecko/Firefox, OE Classic uses Trident/Internet Explorer control as HTML component just like original Outlook Express so it may make it more compatible with ZT.

Coder12345
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  • thanks I will check the OE Classic. Additionally I obtained an Office 2003 which includes Outlook so it could be solution for her. – Juhele Apr 05 '14 at 23:17
  • Remember to select one of these answers as correct if possible. It often frustrates users who replied to see that there is no answer selected as correct. – Coder12345 Apr 25 '14 at 19:22