90 Day Challenge – Day 13 – The email changeover

We are upgrading our email server to Microsoft Exchange Server overnight on Monday, October 20, 2008.  This is a real upgrade and you all will really enjoy all of the new features.  Here are some answers to help you along in the transition.

What about the timing?

We will be switching over on Monday, October 20, 2008.  You may notice an overall outage as the domains switch over , but nothing will be lost – it may just be delayed.

Do I have to change anything on my computer?

If you access your email through the internet – you will still go to mail.ewm.com.  The log in screen may look a little different, but your username is your full email address – [email protected].  You will need to change your password when you first log in.

If you use outlook on a personal computer or cell phone, your settings will need to be modified slightly.  Anywhere where you see just your lastname.firstinitial you will need to add @ewm.com. (unless you are staff… more about that later) After we get settled into the new system you might want to change your current settings on your computer or phone to fully sync with Exchange so that your contacts and calendar will sync as well, but for now let’s just focus on the email component.

Will all my mail appear in my old mailbox?

Your last 6 months of email will port over to the new system.  Not to worry, we will leave your existing mailbox in place for 30 days or so.  You can find your old mail at oldmail.ewm.com.

What about my contacts?
As I understand it your contacts will be porting over to the new system.  If for some reason, this does not happen we will teach you how to export them out of the old mail into the new email system.

What about my mail folders?
You will need to set up new folders, they will not migrate over.

What about my forwarding info?
You will need to set up new forwarding information in the new system.

What’s different for staff?

Since the staff is already on an exchange server, your settings will change.  IT will help you connect to outlook, in the meantime , you can access your email through the website mail.ewm.com – log in as you always have and use the mail that way until we can get the settings changed on your computer.

Your cell phones will need to be changed as well.  IT will help you through that too.

How do I get all of my old mail ?

Do this before the changeover:

Most windows PC’s come with Outlook or Outlook Express.  Follow these simple steps which should apply to most mail programs.:

1.  Open Outlook
2.  select the Tools menu
3.  select accounts
4.  add new account – You might want to call this OLD EWM Mail
5.  you will be prompted to add things like you email address and password -do so
6.  at some point you will need this info:

Incoming mail server: mail.ewm.com
Outgoing mail server : mail.ewm.com

Type of account IMAP (as opposed to POP3)

it should connect and download.  The first time may take a while because you are downloading the entire box.

You may then archive off your mail by following the instructional video.  If you use Outook express, just Choose the file menu and then Folder and then Compact all files.

If you use a MAC, all MACS come with Mail.  The instructions are basically the same, under the file menu chose Add account and the prompts are as described above.  To archive, go to the mailbox tab and select Archive Mailbox.

After the changeover – you go through the exact same steps to set up the new account.

Here are some videos to help you along:

How to set up an email account in Outlook:

[googlevideo]http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2338744888376587750&ei=9Gj7SM_aJJCYrAKhtozrDg&q=setting++mail+accounts+in+outlook&hl=en[/googlevideo]

How to set up an email account in Outlook Express:

[googlevideo]http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6419125243786740806&ei=3fH7SP6EKZycrAK1xpSbBQ&q=setting++mail+accounts+in+outlook+express&hl=en[/googlevideo]

Looking for a new mail application?  Try Thunderbird.  Good Luck and we will keep you posted along the way.