Use Windows Live Mail in Outlook

While Hotmail was originally intended to be a web-based email system, it is possible to use Microsoft Outlook 2003 and 2007 to gain access to Windows Live mail accounts and to check and organise mail. What's more, you don't need to be a premium subscriber!

First thing is to download and install the Microsoft Office Outlook Connector 12.1. This allows Outlook to connect to a Hotmail account.

After installation, restart Outlook and a wizard pops up for the completion of account details..

A separate set of Hotmail folders is nested into Outlook's mail folders, where copies of messages can be managed as per normal.

Note that retrieving Windows Live emails may not delete them from the server. It is still necessary to log-in through a web browser in the usual way to check the status of your messages.