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How to Backup Windows Mail for Windows Vista

Submitted by Alvin Nyau on April 25, 2008 – 4:00 pm3 Comments

backup-email-outlook-windows-mailIt is wise for you to backup your emails regularly, so that you don’t lose your important emails if your Windows Mail goes bad or your computer crashes. This tutorial will lead you through the steps of how to backup emails from Windows Mail.

Find where your emails are stored (Store Folder)

Depending on your operating system and upgrade history, your Store Folder might be located elsewhere. To determine the location of your store folder, you must first open Windows Mail.

Click Tools from the menu bar and then click Options. The Options window will pop up, click on the Advanced tab. Under “Maintenance and Troubleshooting” at the bottom, click on the Maintenance button and then click on the Store Folder button. A new window will pop up and shows the location where your emails are stored. Copy the entire location by right-clicking on the location texts and choose Select All, then right-click on the texts again and choose Copy. Click cancel and cancel again to close the Options window, then exit Windows Mail.


To access to your Store Folder, click on the Start menu button and then click Run. Right-click anywhere in the empty text box of the Run option and then click Paste. Click on Ok button and a new window should shows up now.

Backup your email files

Press CTRL+A to select all files and then press CTRL+C to copy the files you’ve selected. Go to the place that you want to store your backup files, you can just store them in My Documents. Open My Documents, click on the File menu and select New then Folder. A new folder will appear, give this folder a name such as “my email backup” by right clicking the new folder and click rename. Double click this folder, right click anywhere in the folder and then click paste. The entire files from Store Folder are now copied to this new folder as a backup. It is preferable to burn this folder to a CD, external hard drive or any media disc just in case if your computer or your internal hard drive crashes.

Restore email from backup

Please read How to Restore Email from Backup.

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3 Comments to "How to Backup Windows Mail for Windows Vista" - Add Yours »
  • [...] Re: Importing Mail & account data "m1234" <m1234> wrote in message news:Oh%23cxmcbJHA.1528… >I have recently had to reinstall Vista from scratch. I have a full copy of >AppsData on an external hard drive. > > I cannot see how to reconnect Windows mail to all the existing past > account connection data, mail inbox and outbox data, contacts list and > folders. > > Can anyone help me please? > > Here’s hoping… > > Michael See this link, below: http://www.ontechnews.com/computer-t…windows-vista/ [...]

  • Nancy says:

    I thought the backup procedure automatically backed up emails when the box for emails was selected. This worked before, however, on my last backup I lost 2 months worth of email as for some reason it was not backed up when I did my backup.

    Has the file been put somewhere else??? Is there a reason the emails were not backed up?
    Thanks.

  • Alvin Nyau says:

    Dear Nancy,

    It depends on what email / backup software you were using previously. For most of the email backup software, the backup files should be stored somewhere in the My Document file.

    Yes, it is possible that your emails were not backed up due to system failure or other possibilities.

    If you’re using Windows Mail, always backup your emails manually as described above to avoid unnecessary lost of emails.

    Thank you. smiley

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