|
Note: Please visit http://www.iopus.com/guides/oe-backup.htm
for the updated version
of the following content:-
How
to backup Outlook Express
(OE) Email and transfer
settings to another PC:
Introduction
, Backup, Restore &
Problem Solution
Microsoft
Outlook Express (OE)
is a powerful FREE email
client that (in most
cases) comes already
with your Windows installation
In the following text
we share our experiences
to help you to make
most out of this tool.
Disclaimer:
The Tips & Tricks
in the following are
based on our knowledge
and experience. However,
since we - just like
you - are only users
of this software you
should consult with
Microsoft
if you need reliable
advice or support. Nevertheless,
if you should spot any
error and omissions
in this text, we would
like to hear from you
at our feedback
form so that we
can improve this page.
The
following article describes
the manual backup of OE
data:
Backup
your Outlook Express Data:
Step by Step...
Outlook
express data consists
of the several parts.
- Email
messages
- Account
settings
- Address
Book (if used)
- Mail
rules (if any)
- Passwords
1.
Email Messages:
From
the Outlook Express menu
select Tools | Options
| Maintenance and click
the StoreFolder button.
You see a dialog with
the name of the directory
that has your mail files.
If you look in that directory
you find files named after
your mail folders and
news groups. They all
have a .DBX suffix. Outlook
Express keeps all messages
in these database files.
If you make copies of
these files regularly,
you'll have a safe backup
of your OE mail.
I created a "Outlook
Express Backup" directory
to store all the dbx files
regularly.
Tip:
Search for files with
extension .dbx.
These
dbx files reside in this
directory:
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local
Settings\Application Data\Identities\{830C9EE0-FBCF-4493-8792-A92A42F81DAC}\Microsoft\Outlook
Express\
Restore
(if necessary): To restore
the backup data, just
copy it back to the directory.
You can selectively restore
folders by just copying
specific files back. Alternatively,
you can use OE's File
| Import | Messages
feature to import one
or more of the backup
folders.
Select Outlook Express
6, Import mail from an
OE6 store directory, Browse,
All folders
As
far as we know, the procedure
works for all kind of
email: The regular SMTP
/ POP3 based email, MAPI,
IMAP or even the free
Hotmail Account, that
is built into Outlook.
For Hotmail, however,
some messages and settings
might be stored only at
the Hotmail server ( =
somewhere at Microsoft
!) and not on your local
PC.
2.
Account settings:
Data
about your mail and news
accounts are stored in
the registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet
Account Manager. To
save this data, start
RegEdit and select that
key in the left-hand pane.
Then from the menu select
Registry | Export Registry
File. Save the file
to a name like "outlook.reg".
Restore
(if necessary) To restore
the account settings,
right-click the .REG file
and select Merge.
Note:
As an alternative, you
can save the data one
account at a time through
Outlook Express: click
Tools | Accounts |
Export and specify
the name of the file to
save the settings. Be
sure to save this information
for every account. The
account info are stored
in .IAF files.
3.
Address Book
Getting
the data out of your address
book for safekeeping is
relatively easy. From
the menu select File
| Export | Address Book
and select the comma separated
text file as your output
format. Then select the
fields you want to export.
To make sure you know
where the backup is going,
give a full path name.
To restore the address
book or to get your addresses
onto a new system, the
process is not quite symmetrical.
Select File | Import
| Other address book
and select the text file
option again. You'll be
given a list of fields
to import. Since you're
importing a file that
was created by Outlook
Express, you usually don't
need to make any changes
here. After that, click
your way on through the
wizard and you'll get
your address book back.
Alternatively,
Open
Address book, select File
| Export | Address Book
(WAB)
To restore, File | Import
| Address
Book (WAB)
The
address book is a file
with extension wab. It
can be found in C:\Documents
and Settings\username\Application
Data\Microsoft\Address
Book.
Tip:
Search for files with
extension .wab.
4.
Mail Rules
The
mail rules are stored
at HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Identities.
If you run Regedit and
export this entire subkey
to a file the same way
you did with account settings:
from the menu select Registry
| Export Registry File.
Save the file to a name
like "rules.reg".
Restore
(if necessary):
Under the Identities key
each subkey has a long
number that looks similar
to {36753740-2WEE-781D3-89B1-00A0C9900DSA}.
So if you have five different
identities in Outlook
you will have five of
these long numbers. Below
the numbers are all the
settings specific the
the identity (signatures,
mail rules,...). If you
are restoring without
reinstall and on the same
PC these numbers do not
change (as far as we know
!) and you can just restore
the registry entries by
clicking on the reg file.
| Moving
OE settings to
a NEW PC: |
|
If you're moving
to a new system
or doing a clean
install, the
{...} numbers
are be different
and you may
have to manually
move the entries
to the differently
numbered entries
that are actually
being used.
How
to do this?
This is the
method that
we use in our
office:
1.
Export
the registry
branch on the
old PC to a
*.reg file.
2.
Transfer
this "reg"
file to the
new PC
3.
On
the new computer
search for the
(still empty)
settings of
your new Outlook
Express installation.
Once you find,
you have the
new {...}
number!
4.
Now, open the
transfered*.reg
file with a
text editor
and make a "Search
and Replace":
Replace
the old {....}
value with the
NEW {...} that
you just located
in the registry.
5.
Save this file
and then click
on it. This
will import
your old settings
in the NEW registry.
|
5.
Passwords
Outlook
Express, along with those
of most other Microsoft
applications such as Internet
Explorer, stores its passwords
in .PWL files in
your Windows directory.
There's a separate file
for each username on the
system. Backup the files
frequently. You can view
the content of these files
with the FREE
"Write All Stored Password"
utility from iOpus
Software.
6.
Recommended Reading:
Last
but not least: Microsoft
official information on
this topic can be found
in the following knowledge
base articles:
7.
Related Websites
Last Updated:
October 31, 2004
|
