-=PCTechTalk=- more from lavasoft newsletter - OE backup
- From: "cris" <cris@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "PCTechTalk" <PCTechTalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 2 Dec 2003 11:39:47 -0500
I know people have asked about backing up Outlook Express. This was in the
lavasoft newsletter also.
I haven't done it personally - but it seemed like a pretty thorough explanation.
crisS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Trick: Back up your Microsoft Outlook Express Email
Kevin Hickey - Research & Development
Users of the Microsoft Outlook Express program may have long noted the lack of
an easy method to back up their email history. Backing up your email is quite
easy, once you learn the method described in this trick. If you're upgrading
your computer, you can also use this trick to transfer your email from the old
PC to the new one! This trick shall assume you're running the latest version of
Microsoft Outlook Express, which is currently version 6.
Microsoft Outlook Express stores your email in a series of files, each having a
name that matches the folder they're in. For example, messages in Inbox are
stored in 'inbox.dbx', messages in your Sent Items folder are stored in 'sent
items.dbx', and so on. The trick is to locate these files, and then make a copy
to another location, such as to a different folder, a floppy, or a CD.
It should be noted that if you are using multiple identities in Microsoft
Outlook Express, each identity will have its own storage location, and therefore
you'll have to perform these steps for each identity. (For most users, you'll
only have one identity. If you're running an operating system in which multiple
people can log in, such as Microsoft Windows XP, then each user will need to
perform these steps to back up their email.)
First, you have to ensure that hidden files and folders are set to be shown. To
do this, Microsoft Windows 2000 and Windows XP users should
Open My Computer.
Click Tools, then Folder Options.
Then click the View tab.
Under Hidden Files and Folders, click the radio button next to 'Show all files
and folders.'
Make sure that 'Hide file extensions for known file types' is unchecked.
Click OK.
Don't close the My Computer window. We'll need this later.
Microsoft Windows 98, Windows Millennium Edition, and Windows NT users should
Open My Computer.
Click View, then Folder Options.
Then click the View tab.
Under Hidden Files, click the radio button next to 'Show all files.'
Make sure that 'Hide file extensions for known file types' is unchecked.
Click OK.
Don't close the My Computer window. We'll need this later.
Next, we need to locate where these files are stored.
Open Microsoft Outlook Express.
Click Tools, then Options.
Click the Maintenance tab, and click the Store Folder button.
You should now see the path to the location of these stored files. The easiest
way to open this store folder is to perform the following:
Right-click the path and click Select All.
Right-click the path again and click Copy.
Go back to My Computer
Right-click in the Address bar and click Paste.
Then press the Enter key on your keyboard.
You should now be at the location where these files are stored.
It is very important at this point that Microsoft Outlook Express be closed. If
the back up is performed while Microsoft Outlook Express is open, it could cause
the backup files to be corrupt. Go back to Microsoft Outlook Express, click the
Cancel button on the Store Folder dialog box, and then click Cancel on the
Options window. Exit Microsoft Outlook Express, and ensure that all email
transfers have completed before proceeding.
Now you can back up these files to any location just as you would anything else.
Just make sure that you copy them, and not move/delete them. You can back up to
another folder, or to a floppy or CD-ROM drive, or to a device or location of
your choosing.
You just finished the hard part, making the backup. If the need arises to
restore these files into Microsoft Outlook Express, follow these steps:
Open Microsoft Outlook Express.
Go to File, then Import, then Messages.
In the Import Wizard, click 'Microsoft Outlook Express 6' in the list, and click
Next. Then click the radio button next to 'Import mail from an OE6 store
directory.' Click the Browse button, and navigate to where the backup files are
stored, and click OK. Click Next, and choose which folders you'd like to import
(or all of them, even!), and click Next. Click Finish on the next screen, and
you're done!
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