Tips & Tricks

Saving Your E-Mail

Does your e-mail program hold valuable e-mail messages? You know, the kind of stuff you hang onto and don't want to lose?

I personally use Outlook Express more than any other program on my computer. The messages I receive are the lifeblood of this business. So what do I do when I re-format my hard drive, change computers, or need to do a backup? I save all those little e-mails of course!

(Before we go on, I want to mention that the example below is for Outlook Express, since that's what the majority of you use. However, you should be able to back up your e-mail from just about any e-mail client using a similar procedure. Web based e-mail is another matter though - the ability to save / backup varies from service to service.)

The biggest trick (problem) is figuring out where your particular e-mail program keeps all your messages. Outlook Express uses small databases to store your information. Once you figure out where those databases are, you can copy them, back them up, or do whatever else to it your little heart desires.

If you are running a newer version of Outlook Express, it's fairly easy to figure out where your e-mail databases are. Just hit the Tools menu, Options. On the screen that pops up, click the Maintenance tab, then click the Store Folder button. Outlook Express will show you where it's keeping your e-mail databases.

Note that you can also change this location should you want it to be easier to find. I keep mine in a folder named "outlook express" in the "My Documents" folder. That way, all I have to do it back up my "My Documents" folder and I automatically have my e-mail backed up.

If you don't have that option, don't worry. Outlook Express usually keeps your e-mail database(s) in the following location:

C:\Windows\Application data\Microsoft\Outlook Express

If you have your computer set-up for multiple users, your Outlook Express mail is probably in:

C:\Windows\Application data\Identities\ID NUMBER\Microsoft\Outlook Express

Note that the ID NUMBER folder above will probably be a folder that uses an alphanumeric code for it's name.

If for some reason you don't see the Outlook Express folder in the above location, right-click your Start button, select Find (or Search), and enter *.dbx in the Named field (make sure you select your C drive from the "look in" drop down box). This will bring up these "dbx" files, which live in the folder you're looking for. Note that on some older versions of Outlook Express, these may have been "mbx" files, so if you can't find *.dbx files, try *.mbx.

Here's a screen shot of a Win XP search:

Once you've located these files, keep in mind that all of this information may not fit onto a floppy. You may need either a zip disk or CD-R for storage. My e-mail files are 246 meg in size!

As for getting the e-mail restored, just copy and paste it back into whatever directory it's stored in on the new (or newly formatted) computer. If for some reason your information doesn't seem to transfer despite being in the folder, delete your Local Folders folder (on the new machine / install) and re-start Outlook Express. That should do it.

Bonus Tip!
If you are wondering how much space all this e-mail is taking up, right click the folder that contains the e-mail database files and select "Properties" from the menu that pops up.

And my e-mail takes up:

--Steve

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