LiveContactsView is a free, portable utility developed by NirSoft that reads the database file (contacts.edb) used by Windows Live Messenger and Windows Live Mail to extract information. It allows you to view contact lists and export details even if the primary email or messenger application is corrupted or unbootable.
Below is the step-by-step process to extract and save your contact data using this tool. 1. Locate Your Contacts Database File
LiveContactsView requires access to the contacts.edb file. If you are extracting contacts from the local computer you are currently running, the software will usually detect this automatically.
If you are recovering data from an external hard drive or a failed PC backup, you must manually navigate to the storage path:
Windows 7 / Vista / 10 / 11 Path: C:\Users[Username]\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Live Contacts[GUID]\DBStore
Windows XP Path: C:\Documents and Settings[Username]\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Windows Live Contacts[GUID]\DBStore
(Note: The [GUID] folder is a random string of numbers and letters unique to your user profile). 2. Open the File in LiveContactsView
Download and open the utility from the official NirSoft LiveContactsView Page.
If the utility boots up empty or you need to target an external backup, press F9 or go to Advanced Options.
Choose the option to select an external folder/file, browse to the contacts.edb file location you identified in Step 1, and click OK.
Your contacts—including nicknames, real names, email addresses, and phone numbers—will populate the main display window. 3. Select and Export Your Contact Details
Once the contacts are visible in the user interface, you can extract them into a usable file:
Exporting to a File: Highlight the contacts you want to pull (press Ctrl + A to select all). Click the Save Selected Items icon (or press Ctrl + S). Choose your preferred export format from the dropdown menu, such as CSV (Comma Delimited), Tab-Delimited, XML, or HTML.
Copying Directly to Excel: Highlight your target contacts and press Ctrl + C. Open Microsoft Excel or any spreadsheet application and press Ctrl + V to cleanly paste the columns directly into rows. Troubleshooting Tips
Locked Files: If LiveContactsView displays an error or fails to populate, make sure Windows Live Mail or Windows Live Messenger is completely closed. If the background process locks the database, LiveContactsView cannot read it.
Database Parsing Errors: If the data appears corrupted or missing, go to the Advanced Options window and use the /UseDll command-line option to force the application to use Windows’ native esent.dll engine to read the database structure.
To help you get the exact results you need, could you share if you are trying to move these contacts into a specific modern app (like Outlook or Gmail), or if you are running into a specific file error?
View/export contacts of Windows Live Messenger (contacts.edb)
Leave a Reply