Lost All My Contacts in Outlook
 

I need help with getting all my contacts back. A few months ago they switched me from Hotmail to Outlook and I don't like it but was given no choice. About a week ago for no good reason, I lost access to all my contacts. When you try to type in a person's name in the "to" box, I get nothing. Since I didn't memorize all my e-mail users addresses, I am really stuck.

I am not computer literate and all the 'fixes" on the forum are like Greek. I found a message that they are working on the problem but a week without access is really inconvenient. I have Windows 7.

Anyone else having this problem?

If you are using Internet Explorer (IE), close out and try opening your Outlook account in a different web browser (Chrome, Firefox, etc.). That may take care of your issue.

Good luck.

I don't like Outlook either, but I have not lost my contacts. I wonder if this can happen or why it did happen to you.

Greek????
 

Your response is certainly appreciated, but I have no idea what you're talking about. How do I get a different web browser? Chrome? Firefox? I am clueless. I just want Microsoft to just fix it since they broke it. I am using Internet Explorer. If I was still working, I'd get the I.T. folks to help; but over the years they spoiled me. Thank you again.

It's not really a quick-fix, but do you still have your old emails? Either in a folder or in the trash or deleted items possibly? If so you could reply to those emails (from friends, etc.) and also start rebuilding your address book.

1. Click on this link: https://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/browser/
2. Click on the "Download" button
3. When it is completed, open the browser by clicking on the icon (red, yellow, green, blue circle)
4. In the URL (web address), type in the Outlook address (www.outlook.com)
5. Type in your user name and pasword and click the "sign in" button

This should get you in your email account. Hopefully your contacts will re-appear. :pray:

My contacts are in a folder called Contacts in My Documents. I don't know how you put them in Outlook, but you can at least make a list of email addresses.
Do a search
for Contacts with the Start button. just type in Contacts in the little search box at the bottom

What will a new browser do?
 

How will a new browser help the OP find her lost contacts?

Why are you making the OP jump through hoops for something not related to the problem?

The OP has an app specific problem.

Just asking.

Z

I was just trying to assist the original poster as I know this has helped others with the same problem. The Hotmail conversion to Outlook has been problematic.

Here is a link to the Microsoft Community where the problem is discussed extensively, and you can see this browser switch to Chrome is one of the solutions.

all my contacts have gone .anyone know how i can get them back ,if i - Microsoft Community

Of course, if you have a better and easier idea please do share. I know it can be frustrating.

To make it so that everybody is comparing apples and apples, the OP is using Outlook.com, not the Microsoft Outlook program. Outlook.com, its emails and contacts are resident online only unless you choose to back them up on your hard drive. If you are using Microsoft Outlook, then everything is resident on your hard drive.

Microsoft has a very special ability to create the basis for confusion with all of their program names, often renaming old programs at will.

ok- . I couldn't find my contact either but they were there click on the little down arrow next to the word outlook in the upper left click on people ahah there they were. If not here is an ehow fix it thing from the internet http://www.ehow.com/how_5597679_reco...ts-folder.html
Instructions
1 Launch the Microsoft Outlook application and log in to your email account.

2 Open the "File" menu at the top of the window and choose "Import and Export."
(If you don't see "file" right click between the back arrow and the address box in explorer at the way top left and click on the box next to menu bar that will bring back the menu)

3 Select the "Import from another program or file" option and click "Next."

4 Choose "Personal Folder File (.pst)" from the list of file types and click "Next" again.

5 Hit the "Browse" button and navigate to the C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook directory. Then look for a file called "Outlook.pst" and double-click on it.
6 Click on the "Finish" button to restore the contents of your Outlook data file. Once the recovering process finishes, your contacts folder will appear again.

Maybe one of these kind people on TOTV will act as tech in exchange for lunch. If that doesn't work try
answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windowslive/forum/hotmail-people . It is an online Microsoft help site, found it when I typed lost "lost Hotmail contacts in outlook" in the Bing search engine.

I freeked out over those outlook emails and did nothing the label on my account changed to outlook and the look of the thing changed, things not in the same places but I DID NOT HAVE TO CHANGE MY EMAIL ADDRESS it is still Hotmail.com

I could be wrong but as I understand it the old Microsoft Hotmail saved the old emails and contacts to your hard drive. They merged a couple of their products and labeled them outlook this system stores old emails and attachments in the internet cloud unless you ask it to download to your computer they did this because tablets don't have much storage space and a lot of people use their phones for emails which also have little memory.

Jayhawk,
If I do this, will I then have a different e-mail address? I want to keep my Hotmail address. Will I have to get rid of Chrome whenever Microsoft fixes the problem? I have everything you said written down and when you respond to these "new" questions, I will give it a try. Thank you so much - you actually made sense and made it easy (if it works).

It will not change your email address at all. I currently have 2 browsers open on my computer that I am using. One has Internet Explorer (IE) and the other has Chrome. Some applications work better in Chrome even though I am more comfortable with IE.

It is just the quirkiness of the different browsers that cause some of these issues. But you will still have IE on your computer. Adding Chrome does not remove IE.

I would also recommend that you read those stories on the earlier link for Microsoft Community. It may give you some comfort to know this is how others resolved their problem. It is no guarantee it will work for you but hopefully it will.

An indirect way to import isn't it?
 

I assume that when you clicked the little arrow to the right of the word "outlook" and the people folder it was empty.

Jayhawk you are hoping that if you install Chrome as a browser when it pulls info in from her hard drive it will reimport her contacts list, maybe yes maybe no.

Trying to Re-import them directly from her hard drive would I think be step two for me. I put in step by step instructions that worked for me once before that I copied off ehow see my post.

If the contact list is no longer on her hard drive she is going to have to get Microsoft to download it from their cloud. As I understand it that is what happened they moved everything off to the cloud because peoples computers and phones didn't have the memory for the amount of emailing we do.

Do a search for the file "Outlook.pst." Most likely on your C drive, then Users, then Your User Name, then Local, then Microsoft, then Outlook, then look for .pst files. There may be more than 1 as often an archive or backup file is stored.

If no Outlook.pst files are found anywhere. probably cannot restore.

It's not really a quick-fix, but do you still have your old emails? Either in a folder or in the trash or deleted items possibly? If so you could reply to those emails (from friends, etc.) and also start rebuilding your address book.

My contacts in my hotmail/outlook do not show either.
This is what worked for me so that I could at least email someone.
You will see this little "V" click on that.....
http://i415.photobucket.com/albums/p...ps15d2f52c.jpg
Then this group of squares show
http://i415.photobucket.com/albums/p...ps690ac1ad.jpg
Click on the "people" one and your contacts will show(but not there actual email address).
Pick out the person you want to email and a screen comes up with their name and email address click on send email and you can send them your email.

Another thing that worked for me was(read what I printed in box below)
http://i415.photobucket.com/albums/p...ps6c47757b.jpg

That is what I was trying to say about the arrow next to the word outlook. You explained so much better than I did and with screen shots aren't you just the smartest. Thanks for making sense of what I was trying to say and failing.

Frustrating is the correct word. This new Outlook program makes me feel like Microsoft doesn't like me and a million other people anymore.

I for one will start going to the computer club meetings on Friday afternoons. I understand they have various work shops after the meeting and the experienced folks who run them do not make you feel like an idiot for asking a "dumb" question.

I learned to do screen shots a long time ago, because my sister couldn't understand anything I tried to tell her. LOL

Contacts Back YEA!
 

I just got home and before I tried installing Chrome, I went in to get any messages in Outlook. All of my Contacts are back just as mysteriously as they disappeared a week ago.

Most of your responses had already been tried by me. There was nothing in the "To" box, nothing in the "People" area, and nothing in the other places that one would find them. It was like half of the tools and all of the contacts were gone so that a lot of the "fixes" just weren't possible. Very, very frustrating.

You people are simply amazing with all your assistance. I appreciate your interest and kindness shown. I hope I don't ever have to ask for help, but it's comforting knowing it's out there. Thank you, thank you.

Depends.
 

To answer your question about the 'To' drop down menu.. this can happen if the cache gets cleared.. and will take time to start doing it again..

Do you know if you deleted your data file associated with your account?

#Eddie

Since I don't know what "cache gets cleared" even means, I guess I didn't do that. I did nothing but open up Outlook one day as I do a million times and everything was gone. I didn't do a thing to erase it nor did I do a thing to bring it back. Microsoft was working on the problem and they finally fixed it.

Here's my address jeg1098@gmail.com
Jane and Jim Garrison Bokeelia Villas. We haven't met yet but we will be living in our place for 3 months Sept and can't wait to meet some of my Gilly friends.

If I were you I'd open a gmail account (on google). No spam gets through and you can import any contacts from your old account.
Bye for not J