In Windows 7, Outlook Express has gone away. MS wants us to use a Live account, or Hotmail, or Exchange, however some folks still like the Outlook Express look and feel and simplicity.
Since OE is not included in Win7 (or 8) you may want to use an alternative like Mozilla Thunderbird, which is a good choice. The issue you will find quickly is that there is no way to easily import your OE address book into Thunderbird without having OE installed.
Here’s how you do it:
Copy your Address Book file (.wab) to the new computer.
Once there click on the Start button (Orb), and in the search line type “wab” and hit enter.
This will start the Windows Contacts.
Once this starts, you can import your .wab file into the windows contacts. – click import, browse to your OE (Wab) file, and let it go.
Now, open Thunderbird and go to the address book, click Tools, import, and choose OE file. It will import the contacts from Windows Contacts. This will also keep whatever groups you have. Enjoy!
Technogizmo - Small Biz IT Blog 
Thank You!!!!!!!! I’ve been looking for a way to do this all over google search and finally ended up here. Worked like a charm!!!
When you suggest, “Copy your Address Book file (.wab) to the new computer” …where exactly, or to what folder do you copy the wab file on Windows 7?
thank you so much…so great to find simple, well-organized information for free. Appreciate the help!! Small Biz Rocks!
Thanks a lot for your useful hint. it works perfectly!!
so far it works but does not import the address in the groups, just the group name
I’ve found that Windows Address Book must be closed for the import to succeed.
Thank you so much! I’ve tried a lot of ways to get this to work and your site is the only one that worked!