Can't access my original Outlook account. (Outlook, not old Hotmail)

Add the original provider’s email address to Outlook as a separate account; signing in to Outlook with a Microsoft account only opens its Outlook.com mailbox and does not automatically restore a Gmail, Yahoo, ISP, or custom-domain mailbox.

Add the original account to Classic Outlook

1. Open Outlook (classic).
2. Select File → Add Account.
3. Enter the complete email address from the original provider, then select Connect.
4. Complete the provider’s sign-in and any two-factor authentication prompts.
5. Select Finish. The provider’s mailbox should appear as a separate folder set in Outlook’s left pane. ^1^

For Gmail, Outlook should open Google’s own sign-in window. Enter the Google password and select Allow when asked to grant access. ^2^

For Yahoo, use File → Add Account, complete Yahoo’s sign-in and two-factor authentication, and select Agree on the permissions screen. ^3^

For an ISP or custom-domain address, try automatic setup first. Use advanced POP/IMAP setup only if automatic setup fails and the provider has supplied the incoming server, outgoing server, port, and encryption details. If Outlook specifically requests an app password, generate one through the email provider and enter it instead of the normal password. ^1^

If this is New Outlook instead

If there is no File → Add Account command:

1. Select View → View settings or File → Account info.
2. Open Accounts → Your accounts.
3. Select Add Account.
4. Enter the original provider address and select Continue.
5. Complete the provider’s sign-in prompts. ^1^

If Classic Outlook is required but is no longer installed, install or reinstall it using Microsoft’s Classic Outlook installer. ^4^

Recover the old messages

First, sign in directly at the original provider’s webmail site.

• Messages are present there: adding the account to Outlook should synchronize them. IMAP keeps messages on the mail server and makes them available across devices. ^5^
• Messages are absent there: they may have been stored only on the previous Windows installation, particularly if the account used POP. POP can download messages to the original computer and remove them from the provider’s server. ^5^

If the old installation, drive, or backup remains available, search it for files ending in .pst, especially under:

• Documents\Outlook Files
• AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook

Then, in Classic Outlook:

1. Select File → Open & Export → Open Outlook Data File.
2. Select the old .pst file.
3. Expand the newly displayed folder set in the left pane to access its messages. ^6^

A .pst is commonly used for POP accounts and locally archived Outlook data. An .ost from an IMAP account is only a synchronized cache and normally is not transferred; Outlook recreates it when the provider account is added again. ^7^

If Windows was erased and no backup or old .pst exists—and the messages are also absent from the provider’s webmail—Outlook cannot reconstruct mail that had existed only on that previous installation.

References

1. [Classic Outlook](https://support.microsoft.com/outlook/getstarted/add-an-email-account-to-outlook-for-windows#troubleshoot)
2. [Classic Outlook](https://support.microsoft.com/outlook/getstarted/add-a-gmail-account-to-outlook-for-windows)
3. [New Outlook](https://support.microsoft.com/outlook/getstarted/add-or-manage-a-yahoo-email-account-in-outlook)
4. Install or reinstall classic Outlook on a Windows PC | Microsoft Support
5. What are IMAP and POP? | Microsoft Support
6. [Classic Outlook](https://support.microsoft.com/outlook/open-and-find-items-in-an-outlook-data-file-pst#open-an-outlook-data-file-in-classic-outlook)
7. Create an Outlook Data File (.pst) to save your information | Microsoft Support