Windows Mail - Can I use two PCs on one mailbox?

I'm just in the process of upgrading. I have a new laptop on Vista Home Premium and will shortly have a new tower PC. I'll move my mailbox from the old desktop (XP and Outlook Express) onto the new tower PC.
Since the laptop is connected to the network, it would be nice if I could work with one mailbox - the one on the tower PC, but be able to see the emails from my laptop. Also if I could send new emails from the laptop with them actually being stored on the tower PC.

Thanks for any advice

 

No.

Outlook Express & Windows Mail do not allow mail folders to be kept on LAN/removable drives.

You could try Thunderbird, but even then you would have to store mail folders on one computer only & share that folder.

 

I only want to store the mail on one machine (the tower pc) - but I would like to be able to work with it from either machine. So I would want the tower/network to be switched on - then open my mail in the laptop and actually be seeing the folder on the tower. Then if I send an email it gets stored on the tower pc.

thanks

 

Here is a compromise, using mail boxes on multiple computers:

You can receive email on more than one machine if your ISP allows mail to be left on their server. It's a simple procedure. Open Windows Mail then:
1. On all PCs:
Tools > Accounts > Mail [mail account(s)] > Properties > Advanced Tab > Delivery and put a check in ‘Leave a copy of messages on server‘.

2. On one PC:
Tools > Accounts > Mail [mail account(s)] > Properties > Advanced Tab > Delivery and select ‘Remove from server after XX days’ (choose as appropriate)

3. Optional on one PC (if you delete mail when closing the program on Tools > Options > Maintenance Tab):
Tools > Accounts > Mail [mail account(s)] > Properties > Advanced Tab > Delivery and put a check in ‘Remove from server when deleted from Deleted Items‘.

4. Send an email to yourself to check that it's working on all machines.

5. Unfortunately, Sent Items cannot be synchronised with a POP account but you can circumvent this by including your email address in the Cc or, preferably, the Bcc box. Then, as the mail is received, simply drag it from the Inbox to Sent Items.

You will have to be careful if filtering/rules are used. The simple way is to do it manually, e.g. drag specific emails to specific folders. If you do this on all PCs they will stay synchronised.

 

thanks guys for your responses - but I think I'll pass on this one. I can see how the compromise would work, but I was hoping for an easy-win since it was just an idea rather than a real must-have.
With so many people having home networks these days I thought this would be a popular request - maybe Microsoft spent all the budget on making my Vista windows transparent

 

I can’t ever see Microsoft making mail boxes accessible on a shared folder or network drive! If you think about it for a moment, it requires that either a drive or a computer has to be switched on all the time. Not a good idea for home users.

Do it my way, it works perfectly. All you need to do is export the Messages, Addresses and Account Details from Outlook Express and import them to Windows Mail. Then follow my instructions to save messages on the server.

The added benefit of this is, if you have a wireless laptop and you visit a friend/relative/cafe who has the same ISP as you, you can retrieve your mail.