Setting up Windows Live Custom Domains for your Email

Author:Daniel Wissa

This article explains how you can set up your email with Windows Live Custom Domains. It’s easy and can be done in less than 10 steps! In a nutshell, all you need to do is have your personal domain name and point your MX/TXT records to the Windows Live (Hotmail) MX servers. The details on how to do this are explained below

 
Step 1: Register your domain name if you don’t have one
 
There are a lot of places where you can do that, for a list of several options to choose from you can go to http://www.icann.org/registrars/accredited-list.html
 
Step 2: Head to domains.live.com to register

Click the Get Started button, this will take you to the screen below

 
 
If you have already registered a domain name enter that name in the area shown above, otherwise you can click the I need to purchase a domainlink, and then come back to this page when a domain has been registered. Then click Continue
 
This will then take you to the page below to assign a domain administrator you can sign with an existing Windows Live ID if you have one and make that the login administrator for this domain or create a new email address for the domain you are configuring and assign that as the administrator. If you have an existing Windows Live Hotmail or another Live ID account this should be sufficient and you can use that instead of creating a new one.
 
Step 3: Assign a domain administrator
 
 
Once you click continue you will be sent to a sign in screen to sign in with your Windows Live ID.

 Step 4: Review settings and accept agreement

You will then be asked to review your settings and accept the agreement as shown below
 
 
Step 5: Finalizing Settings
 
Once you’ve accepted the agreement above you will be presented with settings similar to the following which you need to apply at your domain name registrar/host to finalize the transfer.
 
 
After heading to your registrar/host and modifying your settings go back to the page above and click the refresh button, Windows Live Custom domains should pick up the new settings and be ready to use!
 
 Step 6: Adding Member accounts
 
When Windows Live picks up the adjusted settings for your domain after you click the Refresh button you can then start adding accounts from the Member Accountslink as shown below.
 
 
Step 7: Start using your email
 
Now that all the settings are complete you can login to your email by going to http://login.live.com and typing your email address. Or you can set your email up with Microsoft Outlook as explained in the next step.
 
Step 8: Using Live Custom Domains with Outlook
 
To use your Windows Live Custom Domains email with Microsoft Outlook you will need to download and install the Office Outlook Connector, information about Outlook connector and the download can be found here http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/HA102225181033.aspx
 
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