MS Office Forum / Outlook / General MS Outlook Questions / March 2008
How do I back up my e-mails onto CD
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SandyBa - 04 May 2005 21:54 GMT I have a large number of important business and personal e-mails on my desktop. I want to safeguard against a hard disk crash (or stolen computer) by copying these e-mails onto a CD. How do I do this?
wayfarrer - 04 May 2005 23:48 GMT All of your Outlook data (including your address book which is called Contacts) is contained in one file, usually named outlook.pst. If you search using *.pst, you may also find archive.pst, which is where the content of user designated folders are archived. You may have to allow hidden files to be shown via Folder Options to find these files.
As an alternative, see this link for a free backup utility for Outlook 2000 and later versions:
Outlook 2003 Add-in: Personal Folders Backup http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=8b081f3a-b7d0-4b16-b8af -5a6322f4fd01&displaylang=en
For non-networked stations the most common transfer can be made by burning a copy of the pst file(s) to a CD-R or CD-RW disc, and then copying the file to the other system, remove the read-only attribute of the file, and then use the import feature to transfer the data. Be sure to clear the read-only attribute of the pst files, if required.
See this link for info regarding the location of many other Outlook files you may want to transfer:
Outlook & Exchange/Windows Messaging Backup and Dual-Boot http://www.slipstick.com/config/backup.htm
> I have a large number of important business and personal e-mails on my > desktop. I want to safeguard against a hard disk crash (or stolen computer) > by copying these e-mails onto a CD. How do I do this? Sandy Barnes - 21 May 2005 20:16 GMT A belated thank you for your suggestion. It has solved my problem.
regards
Sandy Barnes
> All of your Outlook data (including your address book which is called Contacts) > is contained in one file, usually named outlook.pst. If you search using *.pst, [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > > desktop. I want to safeguard against a hard disk crash (or stolen computer) > > by copying these e-mails onto a CD. How do I do this? KB - 13 Mar 2008 05:28 GMT  Signature KB, Atlanta, GA
> A belated thank you for your suggestion. It has solved my problem. > [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > > > desktop. I want to safeguard against a hard disk crash (or stolen computer) > > > by copying these e-mails onto a CD. How do I do this? Brian Tillman - 05 May 2005 15:11 GMT > I have a large number of important business and personal e-mails on my > desktop. I want to safeguard against a hard disk crash (or stolen > computer) by copying these e-mails onto a CD. How do I do this? http://www.howto-outlook.com/howto/backupandrestore.htm
 Signature Brian Tillman
Sandy Barnes - 21 May 2005 20:15 GMT THank you for your suggestion. It helped me solve my problem.
regards
Sandy Barnes
> > I have a large number of important business and personal e-mails on my > > desktop. I want to safeguard against a hard disk crash (or stolen > > computer) by copying these e-mails onto a CD. How do I do this? > > http://www.howto-outlook.com/howto/backupandrestore.htm Pamela - 05 Jun 2006 22:49 GMT > http://www.howto-outlook.com/howto/backupandrestore.htm I'm checking out these instructions for backing up my emails, and have a few questions before I go any farther (but this certainly looks like what I need).
In my "Inbox" I have quite a few folders, and within these folders are MORE folders containing emails with attachments. I need to retain that folder structure AND the attachments. In the past when I've tried to save or back up this material, the individual emails all went into one long text file, and the attachments disappeared, so I'm a little paranoid about this now.
Does the backup and restore procedure listed on this link retain that folder structure and the attachments?
Also, if I need to find a certain email once it's been backed up, can I go onto that CD where I've saved it, browse through and find it, or does it all need to be Imported back into outlook?
Thank you for any help! Pamela
Roady [MVP] - 05 Jun 2006 23:51 GMT "Does the backup and restore procedure listed on this link retain that folder structure and the attachments?"
Yes, use the method to backup (copy) the entire pst-file when Outlook is closed.
"Also, if I need to find a certain email once it's been backed up, can I go onto that CD where I've saved it, browse through and find it, or does it all need to be Imported back into outlook?"
No on both. You'll need to copy it back to the hard disk (remove "Read Only") and connect to it in Outlook by File-> Open-> Outlook Data File...
 Signature Robert Sparnaaij [MVP-Outlook] Coauthor, Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003 http://www.howto-outlook.com/ Outlook FAQ, HowTo, Downloads, Add-Ins and more
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"Brian Tillman" wrote:
> SandyBa <SandyBa@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote: > http://www.howto-outlook.com/howto/backupandrestore.htm I'm checking out these instructions for backing up my emails, and have a few questions before I go any farther (but this certainly looks like what I need).
In my "Inbox" I have quite a few folders, and within these folders are MORE folders containing emails with attachments. I need to retain that folder structure AND the attachments. In the past when I've tried to save or back up this material, the individual emails all went into one long text file, and the attachments disappeared, so I'm a little paranoid about this now.
Does the backup and restore procedure listed on this link retain that folder structure and the attachments?
Also, if I need to find a certain email once it's been backed up, can I go onto that CD where I've saved it, browse through and find it, or does it all need to be Imported back into outlook?
Thank you for any help! Pamela
Richard Burfitt - 23 Aug 2006 16:11 GMT Relocating the .pst file is all OK up to the point where you say "If all is successful . . ." But it isn't (or it isn't in XP anyway).
I got right through to the end of point 5 and thought that I had directed OUTLOOK to the new location (actually in C:\My Documents\My outlook in my case as my D-drive is to a CD).
When OUTLOOK opened it is now totally devoid of any content.
I then went back to the previous file (now labelled .old) and re-labelled that .pst, with no better result.
How do I now get my OUTLOOK data back into OUTLOOK please ??
Regards Richard Burfitt
> > I have a large number of important business and personal e-mails on my > > desktop. I want to safeguard against a hard disk crash (or stolen > > computer) by copying these e-mails onto a CD. How do I do this? > > http://www.howto-outlook.com/howto/backupandrestore.htm Brian Tillman - 23 Aug 2006 16:31 GMT > When OUTLOOK opened it is now totally devoid of any content. > > I then went back to the previous file (now labelled .old) and > re-labelled that .pst, with no better result. > > How do I now get my OUTLOOK data back into OUTLOOK please ?? Without starting Outloook, add the PST you want to your mail profile using the Data Files button in Control Panel's Mail applet. Make that PST the default delivery location using the E-Mail Accounts button, selections View or change existing e-mail accounts>Next, drop-down "Delivery new e-mail to the following location" at the lower left.
 Signature Brian Tillman
Richard Burfitt - 24 Aug 2006 11:19 GMT Thanks for your help Brian but I'm not quite with you all the way. There seems to be 2 parts in what you say I need to do.
The first part is : Control Panel>Mail Applet>Data files.
This gives me 3 files listed : Archive folders in C:\Docs & Settings\Local Settings\App. Data.\Ms\Outlook Personal Folders in C:\ Docs & Settings\Outlook Back-up Personal Folders in C:\ Docs & Settings\Richard\My Documents I cannot change any of these. The latter is the one used for mail delivery and is working. This a .pst file. The original OUTLOOK file (in C:\Docs & Settings\Local Settings\App. Data.\Ms\Outlook) is now a .old file.
When you say that I need to "Add the PST I want to my mail profile . . . " there are 2 points : What PST do I want that is not there already ? And how do I actually add this PST ?
The second part of your advice is to "Make that PST the default delivery location using the E-Mail Accounts button, selections View or change existing e-mail accounts>Next, drop-down "Delivery new e-mail to the following location" at the lower left.
This "Deliver new e-mail to the following location" bit already has 3 entries (Personal Folders;Archive Folders;Personal Folders). New e-mail is already being correctly delivered to OUTLOOK.
What I cannot get back is all the 32 individual folders that I had previously, in which 6-years messages are filed and stored.
When I opened OUTLOOK for the first time I go a message saying "You may need to copy the contents of the old OUTLOOK Folders to the new OUTLOOK Folders.
I do - but how do I do this please ?
Still Confused
Richard Burfitt
> > When OUTLOOK opened it is now totally devoid of any content. > > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > or change existing e-mail accounts>Next, drop-down "Delivery new e-mail to > the following location" at the lower left. Brian Tillman - 24 Aug 2006 16:15 GMT > When you say that I need to "Add the PST I want to my mail profile . > . . " there are 2 points : > What PST do I want that is not there already ? When you said your Outlook was "totally devoid of any content:, that is a fair indication that you created a new PST, which would be the one in My Documents, probably, because you say that's your current delivery location. Obviously, then, your old data must be in some other PST that is not currently in your mail profile. Search your hard drive, making sure you have enabled showing hidden files and folders, fior any other PSTs.
> And how do I actually add this PST ? With the Add button in the Mail app. Don't you see it there? It's below "Open Folder" and above "Remove".
> The second part of your advice is to "Make that PST the > default delivery location using the E-Mail Accounts button, [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > entries (Personal Folders;Archive Folders;Personal Folders). > New e-mail is already being correctly delivered to OUTLOOK. By your own admission It's being delivered to the PST in your "My Documents"
> What I cannot get back is all the 32 individual folders that I had > previously, in which 6-years messages are filed and stored. They're probably in the PST you renamed to .old back in %UserProfile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook. You said yourself that "The original OUTLOOK file (in C:\Docs & Settings\Local Settings\App.Data.\Ms\Outlook) is now a .old file." Rename that back to .pst and add it to your mail profile with the Add button on the Data Files dialogue.
> When I opened OUTLOOK for the first time I go a message saying "You > may need to copy the contents of the old OUTLOOK Folders to the new > OUTLOOK Folders. It's fairly obvious you did not move your PST correctly. If you wanted to move the PST that was in the original folder to, say, your My Documents folder, you just move it with Outlook closed and then start Outlook. It would have complained that it could not find your folders and present to you a browser window that you could have used to browse to the new location of your PST, select it, and then click OK. Outlook would then have given you all your original folders.
 Signature Brian Tillman
Richard Burfitt - 26 Aug 2006 10:50 GMT Thank you for all that Brian - - - I finally got everything back to where it was, but I'm still not too sure that I want to start trying to back-up my OUTLOOK folders onto a CD again. I'm sure that something as important as that needn't be quite as difficult as all this.
I think that I did manage to get the move to MY DOCUMENTS done correctly because the size of the file in MD was the same as that still in the original location. Somehow though I wasn't able to understand the computerese to get the files back into OUTLOOK.
Never mind - there're there now.
Many Thanks
Richard Burfitt
> > When you say that I need to "Add the PST I want to my mail profile . > > . . " there are 2 points : [quoted text clipped - 44 lines] > your PST, select it, and then click OK. Outlook would then have given you > all your original folders. John - 01 Sep 2006 15:42 GMT I never backup my pst-file: all my important e-mail is saved on the file system (c:\data\projects\). And of course, I backup that folders every day on a external hard disk. Sometimes on a DVD. Big profit is that i can find and open every document on the backup: e.g. every single e-mail is saved as a msg file. Easy to find and recognise, and i can open it directory from cd!
boyshanks - 05 Sep 2006 16:27 GMT Thanks so much for the info John!
Would you please share some more details on how I can do this?
Thanks in advance.
> I never backup my pst-file: all my important e-mail is saved on the > file system (c:\data\projects\). [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > e.g. every single e-mail is saved as a msg file. Easy to find and > recognise, and i can open it directory from cd! John - 09 Sep 2006 10:32 GMT > Thanks so much for the info John! > > Would you please share some more details on how I can do this? > > Thanks in advance. I found the perfect solution: MailToFile, an addin for Outlook. www.MailToFile.com/en Good luck, John
TH - 18 Sep 2006 21:41 GMT John, I have a question for you. When you save these as MSG files, (including attachments), is the size of the data the same as the PST file? I am trying to find out if the PST file compresses the MSG files and attachments inside. I have a cient for whom we electronically extracted PST information and the file size went from 3 GIGS to 10 GIGS after the extraction. This seems to me that there is some sort of compression inside the PST. Thanks for any information! Tina
> I never backup my pst-file: all my important e-mail is saved on the > file system (c:\data\projects\). [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > e.g. every single e-mail is saved as a msg file. Easy to find and > recognise, and i can open it directory from cd! John - 18 Sep 2006 22:34 GMT What is bigger in size? The pst file? In that case, did you compact the pst file after extracting the emails out of the pst file? Compacting is an option of Outlook itself.
Or do you mean the storage of all msg files is bigger (more GIGS) than when the e-mail is in the pst file?
By the way, how did you extract them? Did you use MailToFile?
TH schreef:
> the file size went from 3 GIGS to 10 GIGS after the extraction. TH - 19 Sep 2006 01:25 GMT When the MSG and attached files are extracted, the file size of the folder containing them is larger than the PST. Here is an example: Original PST = 137MB. Emails and attachment folder = 267 MB. That is almost double in size. I extracted using a VERY expensive software our company purchased for electronic data discovery processing.
> What is bigger in size? The pst file? > In that case, did you compact the pst file after extracting the emails [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > TH schreef: > > the file size went from 3 GIGS to 10 GIGS after the extraction. John - 19 Sep 2006 19:29 GMT This is very interesting. I did a test. I started the special function of MailToFile to archive bulk email to a directory: I archived all e-mail of all Outlook folders to c:\test\
The results are: size of the original PST = 1.5 GB size of all archived 17.000 emails: 1.8 GB. This is 300MB extra for 17.000 files = 0,0176MB extra per file or 17,6 kb per file. That difference will be the file system information about the start and end of the file, e.g. a Worddocument with no words in it counts 20 kb. By the way, the size of my PST didn't change. In case I had checked the option Delete after archiving, the PST would be empty (or with a full trash) :)
Maybe the attachments were archived separately?
I can do that as well, so I did another test. I took a little PST file, size 10MB I archived all email, attachments separately as well (they were not deleted from the message itself!!) The size of all 56 archived email (including attachments): 10MB The size of the 70 attachments: 9 MB Total size of all archived files: 19 MB
What's your conclusion?
KB - 13 Mar 2008 05:34 GMT  Signature KB, Atlanta, GA
> I have a large number of important business and personal e-mails on my > desktop. I want to safeguard against a hard disk crash (or stolen computer) > by copying these e-mails onto a CD. How do I do this? Brian Tillman - 13 Mar 2008 16:23 GMT >> I have a large number of important business and personal e-mails on >> my desktop. I want to safeguard against a hard disk crash (or stolen >> computer) by copying these e-mails onto a CD. How do I do this? Did you intend to include anything of your own in these replies or do you simply like quoting messages back to the newsgroup?
 Signature Brian Tillman [MVP-Outlook]
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