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Technology

Windows: Backing Up Your Email

If you use "IMAP" and leave all of your messages on the email server, all of your email is automatically backed up.

However, most people store many of their older email messages "locally" on their computer hard drives.  This means that if the hard drive fails, all of the old messages and accompanying attachments will be lost.  Make a habit of backing up the directories listed here regularly, whether to your folder on the file server, or to some other storage device.

Mozilla Thunderbird

C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\Application Data\Thunderbird

Microsoft Outlook

  1. From the File menu, click Import And Export
  2. Click Export To File, and then Next
  3. In the window that says "Create a file of type," click Personal Folder File (.pst), and then Next
  4. In "Select the folder to export from," click the folder you want to export. To create a backup of all the information you store in Outlook, including your mail, select Personal Folders, and, while it's still highlighted, click Include Subfolders.
    personal folders and include subfolders shown selected
  5. Click Next.
  6. In "Save exported file as," click Browse to select the location where you want to store the .pst file, and give the .pst file a name (perhaps incorporating today's date).  If you are on campus, select a location on the file server; otherwise, remember the location where you save the file, and copy it to a backup storage device when you are finished.
  7. Click Finish.
If something happens to the "active" version of your mail system, you can restore your last backup by going to Import and Export, and locating the .pst file you saved above.

If you are curious where Outlook stores your email and other Outlook data, here it is: C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook\.  Note: If you cannot see the Application Data folder, click on Tools - Options - Show Hidden Files and Folders.

For more information about backing up and restoring data using Outlook, search the Microsoft Knowledgebase.C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook\

Microsoft Outlook Express

C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\Application Data\Identies\{##########_########}\Microsoft\Outlook Express\
The "###" represents a string of random numbers that Outlook generated for your identity.