OK, I was able to create a POP account through the account settings instead. For some reason it wouldn't work the other way through Outlook.com. The new POP account seems to be working properly - ie. the incoming emails haven't disappeared, and they've been the inbox for a few hours now. So fingers crossed. Don't know if I should have a POP account in the day and age of IMAP accounts; but it clearly wouldn't work with one POP account as the server and the other as IMAP.

Hi, back again, having gotten sidetracked researching a new computer system. I bought a Maxtor external Drive but I am taking it back after reading many many posts suggesting they fail more often than others. I also am finding that even when you use an external drive, that most people recommend that you back up to DVD/CD as well. So I am wondering if you have to back up the external drive, then why have one at all? I didn't want to spend the money on small flash drives to 'store' my data on, because it would not be cheap in comparison to much more storage space on an external drive for the money. But I think I would like to use ONE flashdrive? memory stick? [Are they the same, btw?] just to transfer my data from the old computer to the new. They can be written over repeatedly, correct? After I am finished transferring, I would like to use the flash drive to put my most valuable docs and photos onto the flash drive and use it to store in a safety deposit box. Is that possible? I am thinking that once I get onto a new machine with a new DVD player that would also allow me to write to a DVD, that I could back up that way. Am I making sense? Any experiences that would suggest I should think of doing something else? Oh, btw, I do have a wireless home network and two laptops use the network. One is a Macbook and at the moment one is a PC. Is there anything I should know about formatting my data so it can be used by both Win/PC and Mac? Any storage media I can get that will allow me to use it on both? Thank you all for the input... :-) pm2

yes when it says RW it will write to it also but yes it will play them too. So the write part is the same as burn. I did get an external drive that does cd read and write and dvd read and write it has come in quite handy since I can use it on all of my computers and my new netbook which does not come with any type of cd/dvd drive, I got mine on a clearance rack at staples for very cheap. It was an older model but that did not really matter much to me for my needs and works great. Having the usb plug in makes it very simple to use. I just googled and found some external ones for under $40 with free shipping so not too bad.

I have been without a kitchen for 5 months already, and we have been lucky because it really has not been bad at all. I live in a very old house, and we had a small sitting room at the top of our stairs on the second floor, where we had built in bookcases. It is not really a separate room, per se. It is almost like a very wide hallway between all the bedrooms, and it has a fireplace and two bright windows, and built in floor to ceiling bookcases. So we moved the loveseat out from that small area, and it was just big enough for a kitchen table. We rearranged the books to clear up a couple of shelves for paper plates, cereal, etc. We also used the fireplace mantel for storage. We cleared an area at the top of the stairs for a small refrigerator, and a small cabinet that had been in the basement. We still have our full size fridge/freezer downstairs, but wanted a small fridge nearby for essentials. We put a microwave and a two burner unit on the top of the cabinet. The toaster is on the bookcase. The only thing we really miss a LOT is the sink. So we mostly use paper everything, and wash what we must in our bathroom sinks, which are too small. It is a pain. I highly recommend finding a place to set up your kitchen table somewhere in the house, even if it is in the basement. I think we would be going crazy if we had to eat on coffee tables, etc. And if you can set up far away from where the work is being done, as we did, that is even better. We stored our kitchen stuff mostly in brown boxes in our dining room and in another small parlour on the first floor. We shoved a lot of stuff into our china cabinet, too. We can access things if we need to. And we can still eat at our dining room table if we have a lot of people over. It has not been that big a deal at all. My house looks like hell, but we can cook almost anything we need to between the burners, microwave and toaster oven. We can still sit at the table in a civilized way. In fact, I'm going to miss having my kitchen on the same floor as my bedroom. It is so much easier getting ready for work in the morning, not running up and down the stairs all the time. Don't forget to keep plastic containers handy, and real knives, and a few large bowls. Aluminum foil and plastic bags also. I never dreamed it would be five months later with no kitchen, and I'm very glad we went through the trouble of moving furniture around to accommodate an almost real kitchen.