Computer experts recommend regularly backing up your important data, but we often forget to include emails in the list as well. For many users, e-mail messages and contacts are not the most important information on their computer. Backing up your Outlook data is very simple, just like copying a single file.
Steps
Part 1 of 2: Back up Outlook
Step 1. Understand where Outlook stores user data
All your information in Outlook, including emails, folders, contacts, calendars and appointments, is stored in a single file in the format .pst or .ost. By copying this simple archive, you will have backed up all your data in Outlook.
Step 2. Navigate to the system folder where this file resides
To do this, you need to go to the following directory C: / Users \% username% / AppData / Local / Microsoft / Outlook \. To open the path in question, you can use two methods:
- You can use the "Explorer" window, but first of all you need to enable the display of hidden files. To do this, go to the "View" tab, then select the "Hidden items" checkbox. Alternatively, press the "Folder Options" button and select the "Show hidden folders, files and drives" checkbox located in the "Advanced Settings" section of the "View" tab. This way you will be able to access the "AppData" system folder for your account.
- Alternatively, you can press the ⊞ Win key, type the following keyword% appdata% and press the Enter key. This will automatically open the "Roaming" folder. From here you will have to go up one level to access the "AppData" folder and be able to open the "Local", "Microsoft" and "Outlook" directories in succession.
- If you are using a Windows XP-based system, you will need to refer to the following path C: / Documents and Settings \% username% / Local Settings / Application Data / Microsoft / Outlook \.
Step 3. Locate the.pst and.ost files
They are the files that contain all the data stored in Outlook. The name of these archives is characterized by the e-mail address to which they are associated. In most cases there will be files in "PST" format, while users using an Exchange server will normally find a file in ".ost" format.
Copy the file in question by selecting it and pressing the hotkey combination Ctrl + C, or select it with the right mouse button and choose the "Copy" option from the context menu that appeared
Step 4. Choose where to save the target file
There are several solutions in this regard, according to your needs. Creating multiple backups keeps you safe from any data loss in case something goes wrong.
- You can copy the file to USB media. Most "PST" format files have a variable size of around 20-100MB, which can therefore be handled without problems by the vast majority of USB storage media.
- You can burn it to optical media. This solution allows you to keep the disc in a safe place, but given the relatively small size of the files in question, it is certainly not the best choice in terms of optimizing the space available on the optical media used for backup. See this guide for more details on how to burn data to CD-ROM / DVD.
- You can upload this file to a clouding service, such as Google Drive or OneDrive. This solution has the benefit of giving you access to your backups from anywhere you connect to the internet. Check out this guide for more information on how to use a clouding service.
Part 2 of 2: Restore a Backup
Step 1. Copy the backup file to your computer
If the backup file is stored on USB, optical media or a cloud service, the first step is to transfer it back to your computer. You can store it anywhere on the system, for example on your desktop or in the "Documents" folder.
Step 2. Go to the "File" tab or press the "Office" button
If you are using "Outlook 2003", go to the "File" menu.
Step 3. Choose the "Open and Export" or "Open" item
Several options will be displayed.
Step 4. Choose the "Open Outlook Data File" item
This will bring up a system window.
Step 5. Navigate to the folder where the target file resides
Open the folder on your computer where you saved your backup file. Select the file in question, then press the "Open" button.
Step 6. Use your backup
Outlook will load all the data in the object file, including folders, e-mails, contacts, calendars and appointments.
