Backing up Outlook Express E-mail messages and
address book.
Taken from the Web site: http://support.microsoft.com:80/kb/270670
This
article describes how to back up and restore your messages, Address Book, mail
accounts, and news accounts in Outlook Express 5 and later. If multiple
Identities are in use for Outlook Express, these steps should be repeated for
each Identity and the backup data segregated accordingly. This will facilitate
restoration of each Identity.
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Copy
Mail Files to a Backup Folder
To make a
backup copy of your Outlook Express e-mail message files:
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1. |
On the Tools
menu, click Options. |
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2. |
On the Maintenance
tab, click Store Folder. |
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3. |
Select
the folder location, and then press CTRL+C to copy the location. |
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4. |
Click Cancel,
and then click Cancel again to close the dialog box. |
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5. |
Click Start,
and then click Run. |
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6. |
In the Open
box, press CTRL+V, and then click OK. |
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7. |
On the Edit
menu, click Select All. |
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8. |
On the Edit
menu, click Copy, and then close the window. |
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9. |
Right-click
any empty space on your desktop, click New, and then click Folder. |
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10. |
Type mail
backup for the folder name, and then press ENTER. |
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11. |
Double-click
the Mail Backup folder to open it. |
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12. |
On the Edit
menu, click Paste. |
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13. |
Close
the Mail Backup window. |
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Export
the Address Book to a File
NOTE: This step is very important when
multiple Identities are in use. A .WAB (Windows Address Book) file is used by
Outlook Express 5.x and 6.0 versions, even if multiple Identities are used. The
individual data for each Identity is stored in a folder, by user name, within
the .WAB file in use.
Exporting this data, while logged in to a specific Identity, is the only means
of segregating the Address Book data. If the .WAB file becomes dissociated from
the user Identities, the data can only be exported in total - not folder by
folder.
Another reason to export the .WAB file to a .csv file is that if the .WAB file
is shared with Microsoft Outlook, the addresses are stored in the *.pst file in
Outlook. When you export the file from the Outlook Express File menu to a *.csv
file it exports the correct contacts. If the Address Book is shared with
Microsoft Outlook, you are not able to export from within the Address Book on
the File menu. This option is dimmed or not available.
To export
your Outlook Express address book:
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1. |
On the File
menu, click Export, and then click Address Book. |
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2. |
Click Text
File (Comma Separated Values), and then click Export. |
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3. |
Click Browse. |
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4. |
Locate
the Mail Backup folder that you created. |
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5. |
In the File
Name box, type address book backup, and then click Save. |
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6. |
Click Next. |
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7. |
Click to
select the check boxes for the fields that you want to export, and then click
Finish. |
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8. |
Click OK
and then click Close. |
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Export
the Mail Account to a File
To make a
backup copy of your Outlook Express mail account:
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1. |
On the Tools
menu, click Accounts. |
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2. |
On the Mail
tab, click the mail account that you want to export, and then click Export. |
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3. |
In the Save
In box, locate the Mail Backup folder on your desktop, and then click Save. |
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4. |
Repeat
these steps for each mail account that you want to export. |
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5. |
Click Close. |
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Export
the Newsgroup Account to a File
To make a
backup copy of your Outlook Express news accounts:
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1. |
On the Tools
menu, click Accounts. |
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2. |
On the News
tab, click the news account that you want to export, and then click Export. |
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3. |
In the Save
In box, use locate the Mail Backup folder on your desktop, and then click
Save. |
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4. |
Repeat
these steps for each news account that you want to export. |
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5. |
Click Close. |
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Importing
Outlook Express data
To
restore data, you may need to re-create the Identities for each user, prior to
using the following steps. Repeat each step, as needed, for each Identity.
Import Messages from the Backup Folder
To import
your Outlook Express e-mail messages from the Backup folder:
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1. |
On the File
menu, point to Import, and then click Messages. |
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2. |
In the Select
an e-mail program to import from box, click Microsoft Outlook Express 5 or Microsoft
Outlook Express 6, and then click Next. |
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3. |
Click Import
mail from an OE5 store directory or Import mail from an OE6 store directory, and then click OK. |
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4. |
Click Browse,
and then click on the Mail Backup folder on your desktop. |
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5. |
Click OK,
and then click Next. |
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6. |
Click All
folders, click Next, and then click Finish. |
Import the Address Book File
To import
your Outlook Express address book:
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1. |
On the File
menu, click Import, and then click Other Address Book. |
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2. |
Click Text
File (Comma Separated Values), and then click Import. |
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3. |
Click Browse. |
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4. |
Locate
the Mail Backup folder on your desktop, click the address book Backup.csv
file, and then click Open. |
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5. |
Click Next,
and then click Finish. |
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6. |
Click OK,
and then click Close. |
Import the Mail Account File
To import
your Outlook Express mail account file:
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1. |
On the Tools
menu, click Accounts. |
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2. |
On the Mail
tab, click Import. |
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3. |
In the Look
In box, locate the Mail Backup folder on your desktop. |
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4. |
Click
the mail account that you want to import, and then click Open. |
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5. |
Repeat
these steps for each mail account that you want to import. |
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6. |
Click
Close. |
Import the Newsgroup Account File
To import
your Outlook Express news account file:
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1. |
On the Tools
menu, click Accounts. |
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2. |
On the News
tab, click Import. |
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3. |
In the Look
In box, locate the Mail Backup folder on your desktop. |
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4. |
Click
the news account that you want to import, and then click Open. |
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5. |
Repeat
these steps for each news account that you want to import. |
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6. |
Click
Close. |