How do I synchronise my Windows Live Mail email on two computers?

Q I have a notebook computer running Windows 7 on which I have successfully installed and configured Windows Live Mail for email. I also have a desktop PC running Windows XP.

I have installed Windows Live Mail and subsequently duplicated the settings from the notebook, hoping it would replicate the setup and show all my emails on both computers. Unfortunately this did not function as anticipated.

Basically, I would like be able to access the latest emails from either PC but this does not seem possible. My email address ends in @sky.com, reflecting my internet service provider. Is there any way to achieve what I want?

Robert Oliver

A What you want to do is indeed possible but it is worth understanding why what you have tried so far has not worked as expected.

Traditionally, email programs and servers have communicated using a system called Post Office Protocol 3 (or Pop3). When set up in this way, an email program (such as Windows Live Mail) downloads messages from the server. Typically, the email program will finish each such synchronisation with an electronic signal that deletes the downloaded messages from the server, to save them being downloaded again next time.

This system works sufficiently well when there is only one computer and one email program in the mix but, as you have seen, it starts to unravel when you try to synchronise messages across multiple PCs and programs.

There are workarounds, including changing the setting in the email program that tells the server to delete downloaded messages. In this way, another computer/email program can connect to download the latest messages, because they will remain on the server.

With additional tweaking, it’s possible to have the server delete such messages after a set period – a week, say – so new messages remain available to download from the server for a while.

Frankly, though, this is all rather cumbersome and there is a better email-synchronisation method called Imap.

This is a more modern system that leaves the server to manage messages, while allowing any number of authorised email programs to sign in and download the latest emails.

More than this, if you read a message on one email program it will still download to others, but will be marked as read. Similarly, delete an email on one PC and it will disappear from the inbox of others. So, by using the Imap protocol the email programs on your two PCs will be truly synchronised.

The good news for you is that Sky’s email service does support Imap. Setting it up in your email program should be straightforward, though you must first enable Imap for your Sky email account.

To do this, sign in to Sky Email at Sky's website, click Mail Settings, followed by Forwarding and Pop/Imap and finally Enable Imap. Save the changes.

Now change Windows Live Mail’s email-synchronisation setting to fetch messages using Sky’s Imap server, rather than its Pop3 one. You will find full instructions in the Help section of the Sky website.