Windows Mail (WinMail) was replaced by Windows Live Mail (WLM) in Windows 7. Microsoft no longer supports WinMail, furthermore, Microsoft is abandoning the Windows Live (WL) brand entirely in Windows 8. See Windows Live is Dead

It is strongly recommended that you use what is supported by Microsoft or another vendor. There are many free eMail clients available. See the search results for email on c|net download.com. Try a few - they're free. Keep in mind that a lot of, but not all, free software is supported by advertising. Also be aware of the add-ons that might be included at install time; such as browser toolbars - just be mindful to clear that sort of Checkbox when you install any software (unless you really want it installed). Most of these add-ons are from reputable companies: Adobe, Google, AOL, Yahoo, etc. and you can usually uninstall them in Control Panel.

If you decide to complete this tutorial, you accept the fact that you are using WinMail as-is, with diminishing support ; even on this forum. Updates from Microsoft or utilities might invalidate WinMail entirely or make it necessary to run the tutorial again. The System File Checker (SFC) tool is a good example - it checks to see if system files are in the right place and are the correct version. SFC is recommended by other tutorials and by members in many posts on this forum, so there is a good chance that you will run it. SFC is an excellent tool to fix many problems in Windows, but it only knows about standard Windows - it doesn't know what users have done to their systems, nor should it. It is beyond the scope of this tutorial to hack Component Based Servicing to prevent SFC undoing the steps outlined in the tutorial, steps that essentially roll back the WinMail dynamic load libraries.

You have to decide if you want to be your own customer support for WinMail, especially as Microsoft moves forward with other eMail clients. Remember, there have been a number of iterations already, Outlook Express became Windows Mail which became Windows Live Mail which will become MailApp, and there will always be more in the future.

With those things in mind, this tutorial was written so that you can repeat it without affecting user data. Some customization might be lost, but data and core functionality should be retained.

The reader has basic knowledge of the following concepts and terminology.

The tutorial uses the conventions YourNameHere and your user to convey locations specific to your machine. For example:

Every effort has been made to make this a step-by-step process, however, it is beyond the scope of a single tutorial to provide information on every command or concept. Search the tutorial section if you need greater detail on a concept or command presented in this tutorial.

1. Windows Mail creates the per-user registry keys the first time it is launched
   • Windows Mail might prompt you with the "Windows Mail is not the default Mail handler" dialog
     Leave the Checkbox marked for "Always perform this....."
     Answer Yes to make it the default program for Mail
   • Now that you have the base Windows Mail, restart your system to cement the per-user keys in the registry.
     • After you restart your system
       Confirm the settings for eMail in Control Panel ==> Default Programs
       1. Control Panel ==> Default Programs ==> "Set your default programs"
          Select Windows Mail
          Select "Choose defaults for this program" and mark the Checkbox "Select All"
          Click the Save button.
       2. Control Panel ==> Default Programs ==> "Set program access and computer defaults"
          Expand Custom, under the heading "Choose a default e-mail program
          Click the Radio button for Windows Mail
          Click the OK button.
       3. You're done setting defaults
     • It might be necessary to Uninstall Windows Live Mail to resolve conflicts reported in some environments.
   • Customize Windows Mail. In most cases this is done using the options, preferences, or layouts in Windows Mail.  A few customizations are not present in those menus and require a registry change to implement.  If a member created a registry file and it is included in this tutorial, it can be found in your user Downloads\TutReWinMail\Customization.

     The naming convention used by this tutorial for custom reg files is WM_FeatureState.  For example, controlling the splash screen displayed when Windows Mail is launched.  The two possible states for this feature are 'on' and 'off'.  So, the reg files for splash control are: WM_SplashOn and WM_SplashOff.

   • Settings: If you can't get a preference to 'stick' try changing it to some other value (red to blue), restart Windows Mail, then change it to the value you want (blue to black) and restart Windows Mail again! It might take a bigger hammer to make it 'stick' - you might have to restart Windows between value changes.
2. If you ran SFC and WinMail stops working, try this first:
   To restore WinMail after System File Checker "repairs" your system (restores msoe.dll)

   1. Open an elevated Command Prompt
   2. Change directories (cd) to your user Downloads\TutReWinMail\Customization
   3. Launch the batch file to post-SFC restore Windows Mail.  Execute ONE and only ONE of the special batch files.  Launch ONLY the batch file that is specific to your system

      32 bit	Windows type this:	WM_PostSFC32
      ||||		-- OR --
      64 bit	Windows type this:	WM_64PostSFC

      Note: These batch files are basically the same as the ones used in the "Launch the batch file to..." tutotial step except they do NOT merge the reg file, and they do NOT make WinMail.exe visible.

3. Additional tutorials and posts relative to Reinstating Windows Mail
   1. Enable Windows Calendar in Windows Mail  - Follow this Tutorial
   2. Contacts, Accounts, Folders, and eMail messages: import to Windows Mail  - See this Post