My computer died suddenly and I had to get another. I can read the hard disk of the old machine via USB, but how do I get at emails and the address book? Alec Williams
You should be able to copy the old data from your backup CDs or external hard drive! Since the hard drive still works, however, you can copy the data to your new PC in the usual way and then import it. You can find the data by running a disk-wide search for the types of storage file your software uses. If you used the Windows address book, search for *.wab (with an asterisk) files. If your email program was Outlook Express, search for the Inbox.dbx and Folders.dbx files and copy that whole folder across. For help, read the Microsoft Knowledge Base articles on How To Import Contacts into Your Address Book in Windows XP and How to back up and to restore Outlook Express data.
Backchat: John Davies says: "I bought Transfer MyPC from Dell to move all my old data across. It did the job very well." Windows Vista has a built-in program, Windows Easy Transfer, and you can download Windows Easy Transfer Companion to move programs.
Update: Sorry, Microsoft has withdrawn Windows Easy Transfer Companion. A Microsoft staff member said in a forum: "I think the download link is removed because [it] is not compatible with Windows Vista Service Pack 1 or Windows XP Service Pack 3."
