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General discussion

What would be an easy way back up files in outlook express?

by raddman May 8, 2008 12:41AM PDT

Hi, I had a post last week about losing all of my outlook express email files, their gone but I don't want this to happen again if it does happen, what would be the easiest way for me to copy and backup these files say I have a file with all my ebay emails in OE, could I copy/save the whole file in outlook express to say my desk top or somewhere safe and easy to get to and keep adding important emails to it as I get them? thanks

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18 Posts
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Backup OE Express Files And Address Book
by Grif Thomas Forum moderator May 8, 2008 1:28AM PDT

Unfortunately, you didn't tell us which operating system you're using or which Outlook Express version you have installed but...the link below provides good information from Microsoft about such backups:

How to back up and to restore Outlook Express data

Hope this helps.

Grif

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Or, go to my site. . .
by Coryphaeus May 8, 2008 9:16AM PDT
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Personal Folders Backup
by etrace May 9, 2008 11:57AM PDT

Microsoft offers an Outlook plug-in for backing up all of your Outlook information. From the download site:

"Each .PST file contains all of your Outlook folders, including the Inbox, Calendar, and Contacts. You can have a single .PST file (usually called "Internet Folders" or "Personal Folders" in your Folder List), but you might also have an additional .PST file that you use for archiving ("Archiving Folders"). Personal Folders Backup lets you back up any or all of these .PST files."

This link
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/238782
suggests the tool will work in versions of Outlook as old as 2000, but the download page
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=8b081f3a-b7d0-4b16-b8af-5a6322f4fd01&displaylang=en
states for versions 2002 and later.

And this link
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/HA010875321033.aspx
has information and directions for using the plug-in.

The advantage here is that PF Backup can be configured to automatically backup all of your Outlook folders at regular intervals. So you'll always have a recent copy of everything.

Good luck!

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Outlook Express was referred to, not Outlook
by 67cougar May 9, 2008 12:05PM PDT

To above, he was specifically addressing outlook express and not outlook. Very different animals a single pst file is much easier to deal with than a slew of dbx files.

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Right...
by etrace May 9, 2008 12:14PM PDT

I realized that about two seconds after I hit the submit button.

Sorry for any confusion.

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One of the best programs for backing up Outlook Express...
by sjulty May 9, 2008 12:17PM PDT
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anyone remeber the old fashioned way?
by ellis feigenbaum May 9, 2008 12:44PM PDT

go to the store folder, path can be found in outlook express tools menu and just copy it.
do this one a week or every day as need be and save the folder on an external drive.
no need for external software at all.
if you are using outlook express I assume you are using win xp as well, in which case download the synch toy from windows.make sure that system files are not hidden first , then
select outlook express store folder on one side and the back up folder on external drive or thumb drive- you can set this to run every hour if you like, using the windows task manager.

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If all you want to do is save certain emails....
by 4Denise May 9, 2008 5:39PM PDT

Then you can drag and drop them out of the Outlook Express interface into any other folder on your hard drive (My Documents is a good place to set up a folder for this). To back up all of your emails, the suggestions already mentioned work as well.

If you drag and drop, you will get a separate file for each email, which you can rename any way you like for identification. You might want to consider doing this for anything particularly valuable. To open it, just double click on the file.

4denise

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Outlook Express Backup
by Nicholas Jackson May 9, 2008 5:48PM PDT

I have used Express Assist for years to back up my e-mails and settings. It is simple to use and the tech support when you need it is excellent.
It backs up all your Firefox, IE, Favourites, email accounts, Address Books, etc. I highly recommend it. http://ajsystems.com
Nick Jackson hnsjackson@gmail.com

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Try 'Express Assist' from AJ Systems
by oxfamqc May 9, 2008 8:14PM PDT

I'm a big fan of AJ Systems programs. I used to use Outlook Express and loved Express Assist - backs-up all your Outlook Express preferences, folders, IE preferences and so on. Super easy to restore afterwards, partially or completely:

http://ajsystems.com/expressassist/ea.html

Now I'm using Outlook and their equivalent product is called Outback Plus:
http://ajsystems.com/outbackplus/obp.html

Either way, download the trial and see for yourself!

All the best,

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Use a Batch File
by skycatcher May 9, 2008 9:12PM PDT

Having had poor results ( or total failure ) from various backup programs I decided to write a batch file - and it works perfectly.

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Re: batchfile
by Kees Bakker May 10, 2008 4:11AM PDT

You could add a line to copy the address book. That's a .wab file somewhere.
And it won't harm to export your account data (that becomes a .iaf file) and backup that also.

Things are somewhat more complicated if you work with multiple identities.

Kees

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Easiest way to back-up Outlook Express
by terri13th May 12, 2008 3:16AM PDT

Ok, I really am a 'newbie,' and wd love it if one of the 'Oldsters' could tell me which of these methods wd be the easiest to do? My goal is to copy my O.E. contents to thumb drive as back-up device. I use XP, and O.E. version 6. I'm sure all the answers are great solutions, but which wd be simplest for newbie? Thanks!

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Easiest way to back-up Outlook Express
by alex65001 May 13, 2008 2:37AM PDT

Search the web for a free file called "EZ email backup".I believe it comes from the company that has the email client "Mail Navigator".
This has a wizard to make it simple.It is totally free and works
very well. I use it always.
P.S. I have 25 years of computer experience.

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Easiest way indeed!
by terri13th May 13, 2008 3:34AM PDT

Thanks Alex--just finished backing up my entire O.E. on 1 gig thumb drive, after dl-ing your recommendation(EZ Mail Back-up) from cnet's download site. Very simple, even for newbie, just as advertised!

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Back up OE
by alex65001 Jun 17, 2009 12:26AM PDT

I am glad to have been of assistance.
It took me 1 yr to
find this good utility.

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how to find where your address book file is
by carpe-dm May 12, 2008 3:42AM PDT

To find where your .wab file is stored, simply open the Address Book, go the the Help menu, and select "About Address Book".

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Backing up Files in Microsoft Outlook Express
by JeffreyLHook May 13, 2008 10:06AM PDT


I "lost" all my Microsoft Outlook Express E-mail messages years ago when I first upgraded my browser, Internet Explorer. I'd been storing the messages then in folders which were displayed "within" the MSOE GUI. I ultimately managed to recover most of the "lost" messages from various DBX files, etc. However, that one bad experience left me without any confidence that messages which were left "in the GUI" would be secure. For example, it seems that browser upgrades were known to cause this "disconnection" of stored messages from the Outlook Express GUI. I've also occasionally seen comments from experts who stress that Outlook Express isn't "a reliable custodian" of stored messages.

Other users may not think this revelation is so important, but it was "a big deal" for me to realize that MSOE E-mail messages are simply **files**, just like word processing files or image files, or any other type of files. I hope most users don't think they need to file all of their images in one directory, or all of their word processing files in one directory. I guess most users realize that, as long as they're running the software which is "associated" with given types of files, those programs can "read" their own files wherever the files might be stored. I use the "Windows Classic" display mode in Windows XP Home. That's the two-pane display in Windows Explorer, where I do **ALL** of my navigation of my system. (I "live" in Windows Explorer!) I create "Correspondence" folders throughout my data directory. I use the abbreviation "Crrs" as the name of all of those folders, and I guess I have thousands of "Crrs" folders in my gargantuan data directory. I save E-mail messages from MSOE's *unreliable* GUI to my many "Crrs" folders, using the messages' own "Save Message As" dialogues. (You can reach that "dialogue," or, as Microsoft prefers to spell it, "dialog"..., from the messages' "Save As" button on the messages' "button bar" or by using the "Save As" option in the messages' "File" menus.) I then navigate to my desired "Crrs" destination folder in the "Save In" field of the "Save Message As" dialogue, using the drop-down display of my data hierarchy at that field. Notice you can also *create* destination folders for your messages in that "Save In" field. If I find that I've not yet created a "Crrs" folder (or any other type of folder) in which to "store" a given message, I can create that folder in the "Save Message As" dialogue; it's not necessary to create such folders directly in Windows Explorer. (I do appreciate that Windows generally allows alternate means of managing folders and files like this.)

As one other user commented, you can name the messages however you wish in the "File Name" field of the "Save Message As" dialogue. I prefer to use leading-zero numerical prefixes. When I set Windows Explorer to display all of my files by order of their names, these prefixes assure that stored E-mail messages will appear in chronological order. I can therefore "code" information into the file names which I use for the messages, such as "001 JH AsksHT-FileMsgs" and "002 JB A 001": which would be "001 Jeff Hook asks how to file messages" and "002 Joe Blow answers 001," etc.

Is this reply irrelevant to the question about how to back up Outlook Express E-mail messages? I don't think so!:

1. Experts seem to agree that MSOE isn't a reliable custodian of stored messages, and that suggests it's not a good idea to leave messages in MSOE's own folders. (It seems more likely that MSOE will "dump" the contents of those folders if the folders become numerous and if the total number of stored messages grows large.)

2. Getting the messages out of the MSOE GUI seems to be wise.

3. The messages are only files, and they can be "read" by MSOE wherever they may be stored in your system. Why not "disperse" them throughout your data directory, filing them *topically*, in those file paths to which they relate, rather than leaving them in the GUI of the "E-mail client"?

4. What's the "pay-off" of all of this? Once the messages are "interfiled" with all the rest of your data, they can be *backed up* with all of those data, in your regular data backup.

This may not be right for everyone, but it seems to work for me, it's simple, it's based on a helpful insight about the nature of E-mail messages, it doesn't require any special backup software or procedures, etc.

Jeff Hook, East Orange, NJ
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