Backing Up Outlook and Outlook Express

Considering the vast amount of data people keep in their email and address book, it’s fairly surprising how few of us backup this information.  Unfortunately, in a data recovery situation, like a busted hard drive, this is usually one of the items people are most concerned about, as they may never have backed up years and years of correspondence.

That said, if you’re a user of the most popular email programs, Outlook and Outlook Express, in a few paragraphs you will be able to complete this important task. The steps outlined below are for users of Windows XP and Windows 2000, but should work for users of Windows Millennium Edition as well.  Users of Outlook should find the process a little simpler, though with either program there are a couple of things you need to keep in mind:

A Cautionary Note

If you have no prior backup of these files, take care. In particular, if you backup through a “copy” and “paste” method, do not use “cut”, as any sudden computer failure could result in the loss of those files.

Hide And Seek

By default, Windows hides some of the files you need to back up, and some users will need to turn on the “Show Hidden Files” feature if it isn’t already enabled:

·        Go to “My Computer” and select “Tools”

·        Select “Options”

·        Select “View”

·        Scroll down and click on the option to “Show Hidden File and Folders”

·        Click “Apply”

Now you should now be able to find your email and address book files.  The next step is to close your email program if it is open.

Outlook Vs. Outlook Express

If you’ve read this far and are a user of Outlook Express, you may want to consider switching to Outlook sometime. Managing Outlook is a little easier as you will see. Another advantage is that the latest version, 2003, contains a fantastic spam filter. Finally, in addition to advanced email functionality, Outlook is a full-fledged personal information manager; integrating calendar, contact, and other vital information into one database. Below you’ll find the simple steps to upgrade to Outlook – but don’t do this until you’re done backing up Outlook Express.

Backing-Up Outlook

The main reason that Outlook is easier to backup is that all of the key information is kept in one place. These files can be found at the following path, where username is whatever your windows username happens to be.

C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook

If more than one user is setup on the computer, each one using Outlook will have a unique set of files. Find the folder(s), backup using whatever method you normally use and you’re good to go.

However, another advantage to Outlook is that you can move these files somewhere more convenient like the “My Documents” folder and than can include them as part of your regular backup. Here’s how it goes:

·        Navigate in Explorer to the same path above and copy the entire Outlook folder into “My Documents”.  After that is done, rename the old Outlook folder.

·        The next time you open Outlook, it will notice the files are missing, and open up a window, which you will allow you to navigate and select the moved files. In particular, Outlook is looking for the outlook.pst and archive.pst that comprise your database.

·        You may need to open and close Outlook once more, and it may ask you a couple of simple questions relating to the process. Once this is completed, Outlook will function exactly as it did before.

Entire Document (print, email, or web page) Copyright 2004 by Steven M. Lastoe. All rights reserved.