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Outlook 2013 Absolute Beginner's Guide Diane Poremsky [Outlook MVP]


Outlook 2000 on Windows 7: Missing WAB.dll

Outlook 2000 in Internet Only mode errors on Vista and Windows 7 because the WAB (Windows Address Book) it uses for its address book is missing.

You can try copying the WAB.dll and registering it. This will fix one error but you may have other issues.

Browse to C:\Program Files\Common Files\System (on your Vista or Windows 7 computer) and copy wab32.dll and wab32res.dll to C:\Windows\System32

Register the DLL's by copying the following commands and pasting into the Run prompt (press Windows key + R to open Run):
First type or paste into the Run command and press Enter

regsvr32 wab32.dll

then repeat with
regsvr32 wab32res.dll

We highly recommend not doing this unless there is some compelling reason why you need Outlook 2000 installed on Vista or Windows 7. Vista's Mail and Calendar programs are a viable replacements for Outlook 2000. (Windows 7 doesn't include a mail client.)

If you are using Outlook because you like Word's spell check as you type, the Windows Live Desktop Mail client provides "spell check as you type". It also includes a calendar.

Mail or Live Desktop Mail do not support Archiving but you can use rules to move messages based on conditions or drag them to another folder to archive. There may be 3rd party Archiving tools you can use to archive email.

Published January 16, 2011. Last reviewed on May 3, 2017.

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36 Comments on "Outlook 2000 on Windows 7: Missing WAB.dll"

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Bill
I'm pulling an all-nighter with this wab32 problem. I suspect the wab hack you've given is for Win7-32 bit. I'm trying OL2000 on Win7-64 bit machine. wab32.dll is all over the place on my machine (program files\common files, program files(x86)\common files, etc.). Since I've got 64-bit and OL is 32-bit, I copied the wab32 files from program files(x86)\common files (32-bit) to windows\syswow64 (for 32-bit) and NOT to windows\system32 (for 64-bit). Running regsvr32 from the windows\syswow64 folder, I got the DLLRegisterServer error. However, starting Outlook, I did not receive the wab.dll error and got into OL. Of course, I've got the… Read more »
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February 6, 2016 4:22 am
Diane Poremsky

Did you also try putting it in the system32 folder? It's been a very long time since I tested this hack, but I believe it needed to be in the system32 folder regardless of the OS bitness.

If you aren't wedded to Outlook (need it's programming capabilities for example) I highly recommend eM client. It's free if you only have 1 or 2 accounts to set up and works with all account types.

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February 6, 2016 8:16 am
Charlie

I see that all the posts here are over 3 years old, so I hope it's still being monitored.

I just tried the instructions above and each time I went to register the DLL's, I got the following (or similar) error:

"The module "wab32res.dll" was loaded but the entry-point DllRegisterServer was not found.
Make sure that "wab32res.dll" is a valid DLL or OCX file and then try again."

Did I do something wrong? Is there something more I need to do? Thanks!

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November 2, 2015 10:11 pm
Diane Poremsky

Are you using the Corporate/workgroup mode? wab.dll is not used with corp/workgroup mode. Outlook 2000 in corp mode should work better (although not perfect) with Windows 7/Vista.

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November 3, 2015 8:36 am
Charlie
Unfortunately, no. Of the 3 options offered, I selected "No email" when I first tried setting it up. I copied and registered the wab.dll yesterday and got that error when I registered each wab.dll. I just tried to open Outlook again (before seeing your reply), and chose "No email" again. As you might expect, I got the "can't find wab.dll" error again. I found your reply and tried to re-open Outlook to make the change but, of course, it didn't give me the option because it's already set up in "no email" mode. How do I get back to where… Read more »
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November 3, 2015 12:40 pm
Diane Poremsky

Choose Mail Delivery tab, click Reconfigure Mail Support (http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/2000/choosing-an-outlook-2000-mode/)

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November 3, 2015 1:01 pm
Charlie
Thanks for your reply. This time when I opened Outlook to Reconfigure Mail Support, I got the setup dialog box again. I had shut down the computer and restarted it, so maybe that's why. I chose corp mode and that required access to the Office 2000 Pro disc, which went okay. After it finished setting up Outlook, the next dialog box I got asked if I would like to register Outlook as the default manager for Mail. I clicked NO. The next dialog box was in regard to Macros. I selected "Enable Macros." I thought everything was going well until… Read more »
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November 3, 2015 2:05 pm
Diane Poremsky

It sounds like there is a problem with the profile. I would go to Control panel, find Mail and delete the profile and add it back. If you have a pst that contains the addresses, add it to the profile, don't let outlook create a new pst.

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November 4, 2015 10:07 am
John

"You are not eligible to download Windows XP Mode. You must have Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate to run Windows XP Mode." so the VM is not available to Win 7 Home edition users.

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October 17, 2012 8:09 am
Warren
No one has mentioned this workaround, so I thought I'd add it. You can run Outlook 2000 in a Windows XP virtual machine (VM) which itself runs on top of Vista or Win 7. In fact Win 7 has a virtual environment (apparently it amounts to an XP system) you can download from Microsoft for the purpose of running older programs. Personally I use the free VMWare Server or VMWare Player but there are other solutions too. Server can create and run a VM; Player can only run it. You can use the VMWare Converter Standalone to create a VM… Read more »
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April 25, 2012 7:33 am
Diane Poremsky

Running a VM can really slow the computer down. (I know because I have just about every version of Outlook and config available on VMs.) The Win7 virtual environment would be the least "weighty" and easiest to use for most people - and you won't feel like you are in a virtual machine. It also won't require a license for XP.

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April 25, 2012 10:05 am
Jessie Balsamo

Really informative article.Really looking forward to read more. Awesome.

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February 24, 2012 4:51 am
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