Hard drive failed, reinstalled on new drive, can't find old email.

[Guest]

I was forced to reinstall Windows and Outlook on a new drive because the old
drive wouldn't boot, but the drive still works. How can I get my email back
from the old install of Outlook and import it into the new one? I can see
all the files, but don't know what to look for and can't open them. When I
try to open the old install of Outlook, the new one opens, and it only has
new emails that just came in from my ISP. My existing email from my inbox,
sent folders, and folders I had saved are all inaccessible. I also have lost
my calendar entries and Contacts.

 

[Brian Tillman]

I was forced to reinstall Windows and Outlook on a new drive because
the old drive wouldn't boot, but the drive still works.

I would have first tried to recreate the Master Boot Record before replacing
the drive.
For Windows XP, you can use the fixmbr tool in the Windows Recover Console.

How can I
get my email back from the old install of Outlook and import it into
the new one? I can see all the files, but don't know what to look
for and can't open them. When I try to open the old install of
Outlook, the new one opens, and it only has new emails that just came
in from my ISP. My existing email from my inbox, sent folders, and
folders I had saved are all inaccessible. I also have lost my
calendar entries and Contacts.

Your old data is in your old PST on the old drive. For Windows XP, you can
usually find it in
x:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Application
Data\Microsoft\Outlook, which is a hidden folder. See
http://www.howto-outlook.com/howto/backupandrestore.htm