Introduction

It is important to make a backup copy of your e-mails regularly, as with all your important files. You can keep a copy of your files in another folder on your PC, or back up to a CD for extra peace of mind.

This guide shows you how to make a copy of the files Outlook Express uses to store your mail data, and then how to import this saved information back into Outlook Express later.

Find your Store Folder

First, you need to find the location on your PC where Outlook Express stores your files.

Start Outlook Express and on the menu click Tools then Options. Click on the Maintenance tab then the Store Folder button.

This shows you where your messages are stored. Right-click on the location text and choose Select All, then right-click on the text again and choose Copy.

Click Cancel, then Cancel again to close the Options windows. Now exit Outlook Express.

Click on your Start menu and then click Run. Right-click anywhere in the Open box and Paste the location you copied into the box. Click OK.

Back up your e-mail files

In the new window you can see the files Outlook Express uses to store your information.

From the menu at the top click Edit then Select All. The files in this folder should all now be highlighted. Click Edit again and this time choose Copy.

Now you need to find somewhere to keep your backups. In this example you will create a new folder in My Documents. For extra safety you may want to store your back up on a CD or another PC.

Open My Documents, click the File menu and choose New then Folder. Give this folder a name such as 'email backup'.

Double-click this new folder to open it. Now click on the Edit menu at the top and then click Paste. This will copy your e-mail files from the Outlook Store folder into your new backup folder.

Restore your mail from a backup

You can retrieve mail you have saved in your backup and import it back into Outlook Express.

Start Outlook Express and from the menu select File then Import and choose Messages. Select the e-mail program that you backed up from (for example, if you used Microsoft Outlook Express 6, choose this from the list). Click Next.

Select Import mail from an OE6 store directory and click OK. Click the Browse button and find the backup folder you created (or the CD or other location where you have stored your backup). Click to highlight this folder then click OK. Click Next to proceed.

You can now select All folders (to import all the mail from the backup) or Selected folders (to restore only specific mailboxes). Click Next then Finish to complete the importing of your data.

If you see an error message such as 'No messages can be found in this folder', make sure the files you are trying to import are not read-only. This can happen if you are trying to restore mail from a CD-ROM.

You can check this by opening the folder or location of your backup files, selecting Edit from the menu at the top and then Select All. Now click File then Properties. Make sure the Read Only box is not checked and click OK. Now try restoring the backup files again.