Message can't be displayed in Live Mail

JOHN CASKINETTE 0 Reputation points
2026-07-23T19:31:42.8933333+00:00

I just upgraded from windows 7 to windows 10. My live Mail gets my E-Mails and shows me my messags but when I try to open the message I get "Message could not be displayed". When I upgraded from 7 to 10 did something in Live Mail get turned off? How can I turn it back on?

Windows for home | Other | Email and communications
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  1. Emma1-N 10,135 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-07-24T02:04:54.6566667+00:00

    Welcome JOHN CASKINETTE,

    I understand how frustrating it can be after upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 10, Windows Live Mail can receive emails and display them in the message list, but opening an email results in the error “Message could not be displayed.” 

    Before proceeding, could you please clarify: 

    • Which version of Windows Live Mail are you using (for example, Windows Live Mail 2012)? 
    • Does this happen with all messages or only certain emails? 

    Since Windows 7 is EOS since 2020, and Windows Live Mail has also reached End of Service, you can still try these workarounds instead.  

    Option 1: Repair Windows Essentials  

    • Open Control Panel > Programs and Features 
    • Select Windows Essentials 
    • Choose Repair all Windows Essentials programs 

    Option 2: Check the message store  

    • Close Windows Live Mail. 
    • Navigate to the Windows Live Mail storage folder 
    • Verify that the folder is not set to Read-only 

    Option 3: Rebuild the message database  

    • Close Windows Live Mail 
    • Rename the folder named Mail.MSMessageStore to Mail.MSMessageStore.old 
    • Start Windows Live Mail and check whether messages open correctly 

    Option 4: Run Windows Live Mail as Administrator  

    • Right-click the Windows Live Mail shortcut 
    • Select Run as administrator 

    Option 5: Create a new Windows Live Mail account profile  

    • Temporarily remove and re-add the email account 
    • Check whether newly downloaded messages open normally 

    I hope the steps above help you deal with your issue.  

    If the answer is helpful, please click "Yes". If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".   

    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread. 

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