7 Easy Steps to Backup Outlook Email / Rebit Blog

When it comes to protecting valuable data on a computer, Email is undeniably one of the most valued types of data. Periodically copying the Email file for backup to another disk drive or USB flash drive is well worth the time and effort, especially if your livelihood depends on the information found in Emails or contact lists.

The easiest and simplest way to backup Outlook Email files is to purchase a reputable backup system with automatic backup of open files. Many backup applications are unable to back up Outlook Email files (Outlook.pst files) unless Outlook is shut down. Some applications, like the one from my company, copy open files automatically. But, recognizing that not everyone has reliable backup software, the following 7 steps to backup Outlook Email may be useful.

For the sake of this discussion, I assume that you have a USB flash drive plugged into a USB port and that the drive has sufficient unused space to hold your Email file.

For Windows XP, follow these steps to backup Outlook Email pst file to your USB flash drive:

1. Open a "My Computer" window
2. Double-click the "C:" drive icon
3. Click "Search" and then click "Files and folders"
4. Enter "Outlook.pst" in the search field and click "Find"
5. When search is finished, right-click on the "Outlook.pst" file icon and select "Copy"
6. Open another "My Computer" window
7. Right-click on the drive icon for the USB flash drive and select "Paste"

For Windows Vista or Windows 7, follow these steps to backup Outlook Email pst file to your USB flash drive:

1. Open a "Computer" window
2. Double-click the "C:" drive icon
3. Locate the "Search" field
4. Enter "Outlook.pst" in the search field
5. When search is finished, right-click on the "Outlook.pst" file icon and select "Copy"
6. Open another "Computer" window
7. Right-click on the drive icon for the USB flash drive and select "Paste"

In addition to protecting your Outlook Emails from loss, you may also find the above steps useful for the following:

1. If you leave a job, keep a copy of the Outlook.pst from your work computer and take your contacts information with you.
2. Transfer your Email data to a replacement computer, reverse the above process to copy the Outlook.pst file from the USB flash drive to the other computer. Use the search feature to find the location of the Outlook data, and then replace the existing file with the backup of Outlook Emails.
3. Copy the Outlook backup file to another computer in a folder such as "Documents" and then open the file in Outlook (File -> Open... -> Outlook Data File...) to make the Emails and Contacts available for future reference.