Reactivating a Hotmail account?

jkassis

I made a Hotmail account back in late 2006 in order to register for an online game that only accepted Hotmail accounts, and I've recently decided to play that game again. However, I forgot the password to the game account, and when I tried to have it sent to my email and check that email, I was told either the email address or the password was wrong. I'm sure the email address is correct, even though I haven't checked it in a few years, and I'm almost positive I have the right password, so would it say this if the address was deactivated? I've tried using Hotmail's private forums and such, but I haven't gotten anywhere because I don't remember my secret question. I really don't care about anything on the email, but I need to check it to get that one email, so remaking the email address would work, but when I tried, it said it was unavailable.
Can anyone help me?

Snowbat

Around 2006/2007, Hotmail had the following policy:

• If you create a new Hotmail account, and then don't use it for 10 days, your email and contacts are deleted.
  
• If you've been using your Hotmail account and for some reason fail to login for 30 days, your email and contacts are deleted.
  
• If you fail to login for 90 days the account name will be deleted - meaning that someone else could come along and create a new account, reusing that same name.

If noone else has taken up the account name, it should be free to re-register. If it's in use, you could email the current user, explain the situation, and ask them to forward the 'online game' emails to you.

Tallon

You can just request your account to be reset.

They'll just ask you questions like, your name, what folders you have, what should be in your inbox etc.

https://windowslivehelp.com/PasswordReset.aspx


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jack presley

Snowbat wrote: »

Around 2006/2007, Hotmail had the following policy:

• If you create a new Hotmail account, and then don't use it for 10 days, your email and contacts are deleted.
• If you've been using your Hotmail account and for some reason fail to login for 30 days, your email and contacts are deleted.
• If you fail to login for 90 days the account name will be deleted - meaning that someone else could come along and create a new account, reusing that same name.

If noone else has taken up the account name, it should be free to re-register. If it's in use, you could email the current user, explain the situation, and ask them to forward the 'online game' emails to you.

Surely it's more than 10 days? Sometimes I go on holidays for 2 weeks and don't access my emails when I away and everything's grand when i get back.

Snowbat

http://help.msn.com/%28cHJvamVjdD1ob3RtYWlscGltX2ZhcSZtYXJrZXQ9ZW4tVVMmY3U9JnRtdD1Ib3RtYWlsUElNX0ZBUSZmb3JtYXQ9%29/help.aspx?querytype=topic&query=PIM_PROC_CloseAcct.htm

A free Hotmail account becomes inactive if you do not sign in for 30 days, or within the first 10 days after signing up for an account.

Above is for MSN Hotmail. Windows Live Hotmail differs:
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/newsroom/msn/factsheet/hotmail.mspx

Account expiration. In Windows Live Hotmail, customers have four times longer than with MSN Hotmail before their account expires: 120 days of inactivity instead of 30 days.

Whichever type of Hotmail account jkassis had, if it hasn't been checked in a few years, I expect it's long gone, and unless it was an unusual username, someone else has probably registered with that username by now.

jkassis

Tallon wrote: »

You can just request your account to be reset.

They'll just ask you questions like, your name, what folders you have, what should be in your inbox etc.

https://windowslivehelp.com/PasswordReset.aspx


_

That's actually what I tried to use, but when I gave all the information I had about the account, which is even more than my name, folders, inbox information, and address, they said I didn't have sufficient information to prove the account belonged to me.

jkassis

Snowbat wrote: »

http://help.msn.com/%28cHJvamVjdD1ob3RtYWlscGltX2ZhcSZtYXJrZXQ9ZW4tVVMmY3U9JnRtdD1Ib3RtYWlsUElNX0ZBUSZmb3JtYXQ9%29/help.aspx?querytype=topic&query=PIM_PROC_CloseAcct.htm


Above is for MSN Hotmail. Windows Live Hotmail differs:
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/newsroom/msn/factsheet/hotmail.mspx


Whichever type of Hotmail account jkassis had, if it hasn't been checked in a few years, I expect it's long gone, and unless it was an unusual username, someone else has probably registered with that username by now.

It was actually a very unique and unusual username that I doubt anyone would have. It was Orangevest93@hotmail.com, which sounds completely random, but whenever I try to remake the email address, it says that name is unavailable.

Tallon

jkassis wrote: »

That's actually what I tried to use, but when I gave all the information I had about the account, which is even more than my name, folders, inbox information, and address, they said I didn't have sufficient information to prove the account belonged to me.

Did you get an email from the Windows Live Team telling you that? or jsut a generic message?

jkassis

Tallon wrote: »

Did you get an email from the Windows Live Team telling you that? or jsut a generic message?

It was a generic message, but it was in one of Hotmail's private threads that you need a pin to access.

Tallon

jkassis wrote: »

It was a generic message, but it was in one of Hotmail's private threads that you need a pin to access.

Follow the steps in the link I provided. It will get you your account back. Trust me

jkassis

Tallon wrote: »

Follow the steps in the link I provided. It will get you your account back. Trust me

It didn't work. That's what I originally used, and they told me my information wasn't sufficient to verify the ownership of the account.