Mail files in outlook express

[inqztive]

Can someone please tell me the name of mail and adressbok files in outlook express? I need to reload my OS and want to back it up. I am using XP professional.

 

[burnedout]

Sure.

Open up your Outlook Express. Right click on Inbox. Go to properties. Copy the path which should look something like this:

E:\Documents and Settings\XXXl\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities\{BA1514B8-9B3B-40EA-B9F2-9DA12F56DFF0}\Microsoft\Outlook Express\

(Your path will prolly have a C:\ . I'm using a dual boot machine)

Close Outlook Express. Then open an Explorer window and paste the path. Hit enter.

There in that folder, you should find all of your files. Just copy them all with your preferred method of backup. When you have your new OS installed, start OE, go through the wizard. Then find the path for that Inbox. Shutdown OE. Open an explorer window, find the folder and paste everything into it. Make sure you shut down OE each time or you'll get share violations.

One extra little bit you may want to do is export your address book. File -> Export -> Address book.

 

[Doh!]

IF you have more than one partition, you can designate a partition (other than the OS partition) to store all e-mail messages (and other settings - this requires extra work). This will avoid the repetitive copy/paste procedure everytime you reinstall the OS. To designate a storage location, go to Tools->Option->Maintenance->Store Folder, and change the default location which is the same as what burned out said above.

Once you change the store folder location, all past/future e-mails will be saved in the new location, and when the disaster strikes (i.e., OS corruption), your e-mails will be safe.