Article ID: 171163 - Last Review: September 21, 2011 - Revision: 6.0

How to configure Outlook Express 6.0 for Internet mail

System TipThis article applies to a different operating system than the one you are using. Article content that may not be relevant to you is disabled.
This article was previously published under Q171163
For information about the differences between Microsoft Outlook Express and Microsoft Outlook e-mail clients, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
257824  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/257824/ ) Differences Between Outlook and Outlook Express

On This Page

Expand all | Collapse all

SUMMARY

This article describes how to configure Microsoft Outlook Express 6.0 to add a new Internet e-mail account. You must obtain information from your Internet service provider (ISP) to complete the steps in this article.
Back to the top

Information that you must obtain from your ISP before you configure Outlook Express 6.0

  • E-mail address. An example of an e-mail address is "someone@example.com."
  • Username. For example, if your e-mail address is someone@example.com, your username is "someone."
  • Password.
  • Incoming mail server name. An example of an incoming mail server is "pop.microsoft.com."
  • Incoming mail server type. Is the incoming mail server type a POP3 server?
  • Outgoing mail server name. An example of an outgoing mail server is "smtp.microsoft.com."
  • Does your account require that you use secure password authentication?
  • Does the ISP use any non-standard e-mail ports?
Note Microsoft Network (MSN) Hotmail no longer lets you use Outlook Express to access free e-mail accounts. If you want to use Outlook Express to access your MSN Hotmail account, you must have a Hotmail Plus account.

For information about how to upgrade your MSN Hotmail account, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
 http://windowslive.com/desktop/messenger (http://windowslive.com/desktop/messenger)
This article is intended for a beginning to intermediate computer user.
You may find it easier to follow the steps if you print this article first.
Back to the top

MORE INFORMATION

Guided Help to add and to configure a new Internet e-mail account in Outlook Express

Guided Help
Guided Help is available to add and to configure a new Internet e-mail account in Outlook Express 6. Guided Help can guide you through the steps, or Guided Help can automatically perform the steps for you.

The actions that this Guided Help performs can be undone after Guided Help is finished. To undo the actions that this Guided Help performs, manually remove the Outlook Express account that you used Guided Help to create. For more information about Guided Help, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
915092  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/915092/ ) Description of Guided Help for Microsoft Knowledge Base articles

Requirements to install and to use this Guided Help

To install and to use this Guided Help, you must be running an English version of one of the following operating systems:
  • Windows XP Home Edition
  • Windows XP Professional
  • Windows XP Media Center Edition
  • Windows XP Tablet PC Edition
You must first download Guided Help. To do this, click the following link:
Download Guided Help

(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/171163/ )
Back to the top

MORE INFORMATION

For step-by-step instructions about how to manually create a new Outlook Express account, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/ie6/using/howto/oe/setup.mspx#E6D (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/ie6/using/howto/oe/setup.mspx#E6D)
Back to the top

REFERENCES

883081  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/883081/ ) How to configure an AOL e-mail account in Outlook Express
220852  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/220852/ ) How to configure Outlook Express to use a Hotmail account
For more information about how to obtain e-mail and news with Outlook Express, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/ie6/enthusiast/videos/email.mspx (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/ie6/enthusiast/videos/email.mspx)
Back to the top
Keywords: 
kbresolve kbceip kbhowto kbacwsurvey kbgraphxlinkcritical kbinfo KB171163
Back to the top