How to Reinstall an EarthLink Mailbox

EarthLink provides both dial-up and high-speed Internet service for homes and offices. When you sign up for Internet service through EarthLink, you have the opportunity to create an EarthLink email account as well. The email account used to be managed through the EarthLink Mailbox feature included with EarthLink's free Access software. According to the EarthLink website, Mailbox is no longer an actively supported program but can still be downloaded if you need to reinstall it.

• 1

  Make sure you didn't just delete the EarthLink mailbox shortcut from the desktop. To check for the program on your computer, go to "Start" and type "EarthLink" into the search box in the "Start" menu in a Vista system, or go to "Start," "Search" and enter "EarthLink" into the search window that comes up. Then, press "Enter" to search for the application.

• 2

  Restore the EarthLink mailbox desktop shortcut if you find Mailbox still installed to your computer. To create the shortcut, right-click on the EarthLink Mailbox entry that came up in the search results and choose "Create Shortcut." When the shortcut for EarthLink appears at the bottom of the result list, drag the shortcut onto the desktop.

• 3

  Download the EarthLink Mailbox again if you cannot find the EarthLink Mailbox anywhere on your computer. EarthLink provides a download of Mailbox on the Mailbox FAQ page under "Where Can I Download EarthLink Mailbox?" (see Resources).

• 4

  Go to the folder into which the EarthLink Mailbox .exe file downloaded from the EarthLink website saved. Unless you have changed the default download settings on your computer, the .exe file can be found by going to the "Downloads" folder for the user account under which Mailbox was downloaded.

• 5

  Double-click the Mailbox .exe file. This launches the EarthLink Mailbox installation wizard. Follow the screens through the EarthLink Mailbox installation wizard. When you click the "Install" button on the final screen, the installation wizard reinstalls all of the necessary components for EarthLink mailbox onto your computer.