OK, my vista laptop crashed and i have some very important emails on it. I have its hard drive connected to my pc via a usb cradle and can access it ok.
i have recovered all the email and they are .mbx files. couldnt get them into XP OE so I installed vista because i thought it would be compatible.
I still cant import them!!
Its driving me nuts
please help!

what mail are you using.. if windows mail.. here you go
Restoring Email


To restore your previously backed-up Windows Mail email:

1. From the Tools menu, select Accounts.
2. Select your PO mailbox.
3. Click Import.
4. Locate the Mail Backup folder on your storage drive (location you previously backed up to).
5. Select the mail account that you want to import, and then click Open.
6. Repeat these steps for each mail account that you want to import.
7. Click Close.
   Result: Your backed-up mail has been restored.

Backing Up Contacts (Address Books)


To export/copy your Windows Mail Contacts (address book):

1. On the File menu, click Export, and then click Windows Contacts... .
   Result: The Export Windows Contacts dialog box appears.
   
   
2. Select CSV (Comma Separated Values), and then click Export.
   
   
3. Click Browse.
   
   
4. At the top of the Save As dialog box, select the location where you wish to store the backup (CD, USB drive), and in the File Name field, type "backup_contacts." Then click Save.
   Result: The "CSV Export" window re-appears, displaying the file name and location you have selected for your export file.
   
   
5. Click Next.
   Result: The CSV Export dialog box changes to display a list of field names that can be exported.
   
   
6. Click to select the check boxes for the fields that you want to export,and then click Finish.
   Result: The Windows Contacts dialog box validates that the export has been successful.
   
   
7. Click OK and then click Close on the Export Windows Contacts dialog box.
   Result: Your address book has been successfully exported to the specified location.

Restoring Address Books

1. On the File menu, select Import.
2. Click Windows Contacts .
3. Click CSV (Comma Separated Values), and then click Import.
4. Click Browse.
5. Locate the backup folder, click the address book backup_contacts.csv file, and then click Open.
6. Click Next, and then click Finish.
   Result: If the Confirm Replace dialog box appears asking whether to replace certain Contact entries, read the dialog box tax and respond accordingly by either clicking Yes, Yes to All, No, or No to All.
7. Click OK, and then click Close
   Result: Your Contacts (address book) have been restored from backup

ohh hang on.. the mbx files are outlook files.. were you using outlook previously or windows mail??

i was using windows mail. some of the emaila had been imported from outlook but most were windows mail. they were'nt restored, Ive just managed to find the folder they were held in on the old hard drive so I copied them into a folder on my new PC desktop. so they are in a big list there. I can open them in worddpad but cant really understand the text. i really need them back into windows mail, thanks

Try to import one by one and see if it works.. perhaps one of those files are not in the right format which is stopping the others from restoring.. check that one by one thingy and see if it works

nah! it can see the folder but not the files or an individual either. read only checked and unchecked.
any other ideas?