How To Backup Outlook Mail

Learning how to backup Outlook mail is a good idea for anyone that uses Microsoft Outlook. The process is easy enough for most people to do. This should be done to prevent losing e-mails or other Outlook information due to computer failures. Follow these steps to backup outlook mail:

What you will need:

• A computer with Microsoft Outlook installed
• A place to backup the mail, such as a recordable CD

If you are using Outlook 2003:

1. Open Outlook on your computer.
2. Go to the File menu at the top of the window.
3. From this menu, find the option labelled Data File Management and click it.
4. In most cases, there will only be one file listed in the Data File Management window that opens. If you have more than one e-mail account setup in Outlook, simply repeat this process for each account. Make a note of the file path that is listed for your personal data file.  
5. Outlook mail and data is stored in one personal data file. This is the file that will be backed up. Go to the location from the last step on your computer.
6. Right-click (or Ctrl + click on a Mac) the Outlook Data File and select copy.
7. Copy this file to the place you are backing it up. You can burn this file to a CD or DVD, or copy it to some other location for backup.
8. Remember to make future backups of this file to copy new e-mails.

If you are using Outlook 2007:

1. Open Outlook on your computer.
2. Go to the Tools menu at the top. 
3. Go to Options and click mail setup.
4. Click e-mail accounts. The account settings window opens.
5. Click data files. Note the location of this file.
6. Outlook mail and data is stored in one personal data file. This is the file that will be backed up. Go to the location of the file on your computer from the last step.
7. Right-click (or Ctrl + click on a Mac) the Outlook Data File and select copy.
8. Copy this file to the place you are backing it up. You can burn this file to a CD or DVD, or copy it to some other location for backup.
9. Remember to make future backups of this file to copy new e-mails.

• Tip: A good idea for storing your backups is to keep a copy both with the computer and on an off-site location. This way, if there is a natural disaster, robbery, or other related event, you will have another copy. If your computer is at home, consider keeping another backup at your office or at a friend's house.

Reference:

Consumer Reports