Outlook (Express) not saving passwords after Vista upgrade – Solution

When Windows Vista was released on January 2007. everyone wanted to have that new operating system. It was suppose to be so good and better than anything else at that time. But, soon after the release, Windows Vista users have discovered that Vista isn’t everything that they have expected. Actually, it wasn’t even close to the great operating system that Microsoft was trying to convince everyone.

The problem with Vista is that, especially back than, but today also, Vista is not compatible with a lot programs that work perfectly with Windows XP. And of course no one expected that Vista is not going to be compatible with a lot of programs, because that does not match the description – a good/great operating system.

One of the problems back then and one of the biggest problems with Vista today, that really bothers Vista users, is a problem with Outlook Express 2002. To work with Outlook you first have to set up your account, type in all of your user information, e-mail addresses, passwords and servers. Then, you check for your password to be saved. Once completed everything works perfectly. The problem starts when you close your Outlook and then re-open it. When a send/receive takes place, you get an annoying Network Password pop-up that shows the server name as well as your user ID and a blank password. You enter the password but it will fail your send/receive. And than, when you go into your account settings in Outlook, it doesn't show your password that you saved in the initial setup as saved. In other words, you have to type all of your passwords each time you close/open your Outlook Express.

This is a huge problem which was discussed dozens of times on many computer (software/hardware) based forums. And there are not many solutions to fix this problem. Someone would tell you not to use Windows Vista, maybe that is the best option, but that’s your call. Even Microsoft is aware of this problem and you can find an official explanation on their official Help and Support page. However, solutions written on that page aren’t helpful for everyone but there are alternative solutions found around the internet and written by several different users. Again, not every method works for everyone.

Here is one solutions for this problem:

Create a new Outlook profile or a new Outlook Express identity

The first thing that you should try is to create a new Outlook profile if you are using Outlook or to create a new Outlook Express identity if you are using Outlook Express. To do this, see either the "Create a new Outlook Profile" section or the "Create a new Outlook Express identity" section later in this article.

Create a new Outlook Profile

Create a new Outlook profile, and then configure the new profile to use the personal folders (.pst) file that was used by the damaged profile. To do this, follow these steps

1. Locate the .pst file

To locate the .pst file that your profile uses, follow these steps for the version of  Outlook that you are using.

            For Microsoft Office Outlook 2007

                1. Start Outlook.

2. On the Tools menu, click Account Settings.

3. On the E-mail tab, click your e-mail account.

4. In the Account settings dialog box, under Selected e-mail account delivers new e-mail messages to the following location, you will see the path and the file name for the .pst file that is associated with your e-mail profile. For example, the path and the file name may resemble the following:

            C:Documents and Settings user_name Local SettingsApplicationDataMicrosoftOutlookPersonal Folders(1).pst

5. Note the path and the file name for the .pst file that is associated with your e-mail profile.

            For Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 and Microsoft Outlook 2002

            1. Start Outlook.

            2. On the Tools menu, click Options.

            3. On the Mail Setup tab, click Data Files.

            4. Note the path and the file name for each .pst file that is associated with your e-mail profile. For example, the path and the file name may resemble the following:

            C:Documents and Settings user_name Local SettingsApplicationDataMicrosoftOutlookPersonal Folders(1).pst

2. Create a new e-mail profile in Outlook

After you locate the .pst files, create a new e-mail profile in Outlook. To do this, follow these steps.

            For Outlook 2007

            1. Start Outlook.

            2. On the Tools menu, click Account Settings.

            3. Click the E-mail tab, and then click New.

            4. Follow the instructions in the Add New E-mail Account wizard to create the new account.

                        Note If you do not have the account information that the Add New E-mail Account wizard requires, view the settings for your existing account. To do this, click the account on the E-mail tab in the Account Settings dialog box, and then click Change. Note each setting in the Internet E-mail Settings dialog box.

                        If you do not know the password for your e-mail account, contact your Internet service provider (ISP). Or, if your mailbox is not associated with your ISP, contact the network administrator of the server on which your mailbox is located for help with your password.

3. Configure the new profile to use the .pst file that was used by the damaged profile

After you create the new profile in Outlook, configure the new profile to use the .pst file that was used by the damaged profile. To do this, follow the steps for the version of Outlook that you are using.

For Outlook 2007

            1. Start Outlook.

            2. On the Tools menu, click Account Settings.

            3. On the E-mail tab, click your e-mail account.

            4. Click Change Folder under Selected e-mail account delivers new e-mail messages to the following location at the bottom of the Account Settings dialog    box.

            5. Click New Outlook Data File, click Office Outlook Personal Folders File, and then click OK.

            6. Locate and then click the .pst file that was used by the damaged profile, and then click OK.

For Outlook 2003 and Outlook 2002

            1. Start Outlook.

            2. On the Tools menu, click Options.

            3. On the Mail Setup tab, click E-mail accounts, click View or change  existing e-mail accounts, and then click Next.

            4. Click New Outlook Data File, click Personal Folders file (.pst) under Types of storage, and then click OK.

            5. Locate and then click the .pst file that you want to use, and then click OK two times.

            Note If you want to use more than one .pst file, repeat steps 4 and 5 for each .pst file that you want to use with the new e-mail profile.

            6. In the Deliver new e-mail to the following location list, click Personal Folders, and then click Finish.

            7. Click OK if you receive the following message:

                        You have changed the default deliver location for your e-mail. This will change the location of the Inbox, Calendar, and other folders. These changes will take effect the next time that you start Outlook.

            8. On the File menu, click Exit.

            9. Start Outlook. Then, click Yes to update the Outlook Bar shortcuts to point to the .pst files if you receive the following message:

                        The location that messages are delivered to has changed for this user profile. To complete this operation, you may need to copy the contents of the old Outlook folders to the new Outlook folders. For information  about how to complete the change of your mail delivery location, see  Microsoft Outlook Help. Some of the shortcuts on the Outlook Bar may no longer work. Do you want Outlook to re-create your shortcuts?

Create a new Outlook Express identity

To create a new Outlook Express identity, follow these steps:

1. On the File menu in Outlook Express, point to Identities, and then click Add New Identity.

Or, on the File menu, point to Identities, click Manage Identities, and then click New. The New Identity dialog box will open.

2. Type your name in the Type Your name box.

3. Click to select the Require Password check box if you want to set a password for this identity, and then click OK.

4. Click Yes in the Identity Added dialog box. Outlook Express asks whether you want to log on as a new user.

If you click Yes, you will be prompted for information about your Internet connection. If you click No, the current user remains logged on.