Compare the ways to back up items in MS
Outlook
Do one of the following:
If you want to create a folder to which you can drag items for safekeeping or to
distribute to another computer
Create a new data file Personal Folders file (.pst) (Personal Folders file (.pst): A Data file that stores
your messages and other items on your computer.) and drag items to it. If you used the default name for
the folder when you created the data file, the folder will be called Personal Folders. In the Folder List (The
Folder List displays the folders available in your mailbox. To view subfolders, click the plus sign (+)
next to the folder. If the Folder List is not visible, on the Go menu, click Folder List.), drag any item
from your current folders to the new folder. Press CTRL while dragging to copy items instead of moving
them.
If you want to create a .pst containing Outlook items but still keep the original
data in your default folders
Export (copy) items to a Personal Folders file (.pst) . You can only export one folder at a time, but you can
include the subfolders under that folder. For example, you can export your entire [Mailbox - Username]
including all subfolders.
If you want to automatically back up or delete items that are over a certain age
Use AutoArchive to move items to an archive Personal Folders file (.pst) . Unlike exporting, where the
original items are copied to the export file but are not removed from the current folder, archiving copies
items to the archive file and then removes them from the current folder. AutoArchive allows you to set
up a schedule and archive multiple folders at the same time at set intervals
The following is a list of data store and configuration files used by Microsoft Outlook. Some of the folders
might be hidden folders. To view them, do one of the following:
Windows XP
1.
Click Start, and then click My Computer.
2.
On the Tools menu, click Folder Options, click the View tab, and then click the Show hidden
files and folder option.
Windows 2000
1.
Double-click My Computer on your desktop.
2.
On the Tools menu, click Folder Options, click the View tab, and then click the Show hidden
files and folder option.
Your configuration may not include all of the following files. Some files are created only when you customize
Outlook features.
Outlook data files (.pst)
drive:\Documents and Settings\<user>\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
Offline Folders file (.ost)
drive:\Documents and Settings\<user>\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
Personal Address Book (.pab)
drive:\Documents and Settings\<user>\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
Offline Address Books (.oab)
drive:\Documents and Settings\<user>\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
Back up Outlook e-mail messages
Applies to
Microsoft Office Outlook® 2003
Making regular backup files of any important data you have is always a good idea. One way to back up email messages is to use the Outlook AutoArchive feature. Archiving means moving messages to an archive
folder at regularly scheduled intervals.
Another way to make a backup file, which is described in this article, involves exporting (copying) the
contents of the message folder to a Personal Folders file (.pst) using the Import and Export Wizard. This
creates the backup .pst file. You can then copy the .pst file onto a CD or DVD for safekeeping or to move the
data to another computer with Outlook installed.
Back up messages to a .pst file
IMPORTANT You should not export items (Items include e-mail messages, appointments, contacts, tasks,
journal entries, notes, posted items, and documents.) that were created in multiple languages or in a
language that is not supported by your system code page to a file type that does not support Unicode. For
example, if you have items that were created in multiple languages in a Microsoft Outlook Personal Folders
file (.pst), you should not export the items to a Microsoft Outlook 97-2002 Personal Folders file (.pst). The
latter file type does not support Unicode. Therefore, all items that contain characters in a language other
than those supported by the system code page in text fields other than the body of items, such as To,
Subject, and ContactName and BusinessTelephoneNumber properties of Contact items, will be
interpreted incorrectly and displayed as question marks (?) and other unintelligible text.
1.
On the File menu, click Import and Export.
2.
Click Export to a file, and then click Next.
3.
In the list, click Personal Folder File (.pst), and then click Next.
4.
Click the folder that contains the messages you want to back up. If the folder contains a
subfolder that you want to include, select the Include Subfolders check box, and then click Next.
5.
Under Save exported file as, click Browse, and then specify a name and location for your
backup file, for example, Mail Backup.
6.
If you back up a .pst file that you have backed up to before, click one of the following:
Replace duplicates with items exported Existing data will be overwritten with the information in the
file being exported.
Allow duplicate items to be created Existing data will not be overwritten, and duplicate information
will be added to the backup file.
Do not export duplicate items Existing data will be kept, and the duplicate information in the folder
will not be copied to the backup file.
7.
Click Finish.
Other things you might want to do
Now that you have a backup file of your messages, the following are some things you might want to do:
Open the data file to see its contents in Outlook. (instructions are under the section “Open a
Data File”)
In case anything happens to your hard disk, you might want to make a copy of your backup file
to a CD, a DVD, or other removable media. The backup files are exact copies of the original files and
are saved in the same file format. You can receive periodic reminders to back up your files.
If you have an existing .pst file to which messages are being delivered, and you want to add the
messages in your backed up .pst file to this .pst file, use the Import and Export Wizard to import the
backed up .pst file. As follows:
1.
On the File menu, click Import and Export.
2.
Click Import from another program or file, and then click Next.
3.
Click Personal Folder File (.pst), and then click Next.
4.
In the File to import box, specify the path and file name of the .pst file you want to
import.
5.
Click one of the following:
Replace duplicates with items imported Existing data will be overwritten with the information
in the file being imported.
Allow duplicates to be created Existing data will not be overwritten, and duplicate information
will be added to the current Outlook folder.
Do not import duplicate items Existing data will be kept, and the duplicate information in the
file will not be copied to the current Outlook folder.
6.
Follow the remaining instructions in the Import and Export Wizard.
IMPORTANT You should not export items that were created in multiple languages or in a language
that is not supported by your system code page to a file type that does not support Unicode. For
example, if you have items created in multiple languages in a Microsoft Outlook Personal Folders file
(.pst), you should not export the items to a Microsoft Outlook 97-2002 Personal Folders file (.pst). The
latter file type does not support Unicode. Therefore, all items that contain characters in a language
other than those supported by the system code page in text fields other than the body of items, such
as To, Subject, and ContactName and BusinessTelephoneNumber properties of Contact items, will
be interpreted incorrectly and displayed as question marks (?) and other unintelligible text.
If you just bought a new computer and want to use the .pst file that you backed up to create a
new e-mail account, you can reconnect the backup data from your old computer to the new one.
Open a data file
A data file is a Personal Folders file (.pst) .
1.
On the File menu, point to Open, and then click Outlook Data File.
2.
Click the .pst file you want to open, and then click OK.
The name of the folder associated with the data file appears in the Folder List . To view the Folder
List, on the Go menu, click Folder List. By default, the folder will be called Personal Folders .