How to Take Backup of Outlook Emails Manually?

Microsoft Outlook is one of the most popular desktop email clients in the world. Both home users and corporate users use Outlook mainly to send and receive emails. Unlike other desktop email clients, it works as a personal information manager. And that is why it is often referred to as “ more than just email client&rdquo. The features that you get in Microsoft Outlook other than emails include calendar, contact management, task management, note-taking, journal, and a web browser. Microsoft Outlook stores all your email messages, email attachments, contacts, appointments, notes, tasks, journals, etc. in one of the following two locations:

1. In a PST file, also known as a personal storage table or personal folder file, on a local computer.
2. In a mailbox located on the Exchange Server. If you are using Microsoft Outlook with Exchange Server, the Exchange mailbox will be created on a Server.

We all know that data corruption is an inevitable occurrence. There is almost no computer file immune to corruption. And if we talk about the PST file that contains your Outlook emails and other data, it is highly prone to corruption. There are various reasons that can cause corruption in PST files. The most common reason is the PST file size limit. A PST file has a definite size limit. Whenever it reaches the maximum size limit, it starts creating performance issues. And when the PST file crosses its maximum size limit, it becomes prone to corruption. Other reasons for PST file corruption include virus infection, abrupt system shutdown, hard disk failure, software malfunction, etc. Whenever a PST file gets corrupted, you cannot open it. In case of minor corruption, you can repair the PST file using the Inbox Repair tool. But if the corruption is severe, there is nothing you can do except using a professional recovery tool.

Use of Outlook Backup File

Backup plays an important role in an event of data loss due to corruption or accidental deletion. If you have the backup of your Outlook emails and other data, you can successfully restore all your lost data from it without using any 3rd party software. That is why it is strongly recommended to take the backup of everything including your Outlook emails. Since a PST file is prone to corruption, you should definitely take its backup.

1. If you accidentally delete your emails or any other data from the PST file or you empty the Deleted Items folder, it is very difficult to recover them back. But if you have the Outlook backup file, you can easily restore your deleted items back.
2. A valid Outlook backup file can also save your crucial mailbox data from being lost due to corruption. If your PST file gets corrupted, you can use the Outlook backup file as your main PST file.
3. An Outlook backup file can also be used to move your mailbox data if you face any hardware failure issue. You can also use the Outlook backup file to transfer Outlook data from one computer to another.

How to Take Backup of Outlook Emails?

It is very easy to backup Outlook emails. Generally, there are two ways to do that: either you can use automated software to backup Outlook emails or you can try a few easy manuals solutions. The manual solutions require some extra time and effort, but they are very effective. And they do not require any 3rd party software. So I would suggest free manual solutions instead of using professional software.

If you are using Microsoft Outlook as a stand-alone application, i.e. not using it with Exchange Server, all your emails and other mailbox data will be saved in a PST file. In order to create an Outlook backup file, you can simply create a copy of your whole PST file along with all the default items contained in the file. And later this backup copy can be used to restore your Outlook emails and other data if the original PST file gets corrupted or lost due to any reason.

Method #1 for Outlook Email Backup

In order to backup Outlook emails and other data, follow the steps given below:

Note: Before you can start the backup process, make sure no messaging program like Outlook, Microsoft Window Messaging, or Microsoft Exchange is running on your computer.

1. First, click Start (Win+R) and go to the Control Panel. If you are asked to pick a category, click User Accounts.
2. Now look for the Mail icon. Double-click it.
3. On the Mail Setup – Outlook dialog box, click Show Profiles and choose the appropriate profile. Then click Properties.
4. This will take you to the Account Settings window. Click the Data Files tab. Now select the personal storage table (.pst) file that you want to back up. Note: Make sure
   1. If you have more than one PST file in your Outlook profile, you need to take the backup of each PST file separately.
   2. If you do not see any personal storage table (.pst) file within the Data Files tab, this means you have not stored any information such as emails, contacts, appointments, etc. in Outlook yet. You need to enable the Personal Folders Service. To get information about how to create a PST file, move to the References section.
   3. If there is no Personal Folders Service associated with your Outlook profile but still you can store emails, contacts, appointments, etc. in Outlook, maybe the information is being stored in the mailbox of an Exchange Server. In such a situation, you need to follow the steps given in Method #2 to backup Outlook emails and other data stored in Microsoft Exchange Server.
5. Click Settings right under the Data Files tab. A filename and the path will appear. Note it.
   Note: The size of the PST file might be large because it contains all the mailbox data stored in the MAPI folders (used by Outlook). You can reduce the PST file size by using the Compact Now feature of Microsoft Outlook.

Now you need to close all the Properties windows. Copy the file you noted in step #5. You can use Windows Explorer or My Computer to do that. You can copy this file anywhere on the hard disk. You can also store this new PST file on any removable storage media.

Method #2 for Outlook Mail Backup

If you are using Microsoft Outlook with Exchange Server, you must know that the default delivery and storage location where Outlook stores its data is the Exchange Server mailbox. Generally, an Exchange Server admin is mainly responsible for handling the backups of the Exchange mailboxes. However, some of them store the Outlook data in a PST file on your local computer. To find out where Microsoft Outlook is storing your mailbox data, follow the steps given below (according to the Outlook version you are using):

For Microsoft Outlook 2010:

1. First, open Microsoft Outlook and click the File tab on the taskbar.
2. Click Info > Account Settings > again click Account Settings.
3. On the Account Settings window, click the Data Files tab. Please note that
   1. If you see that the location field contains the word “Online” or a path to a file that has the file name extension OST, this means Outlook has stored your data in folders on the Exchange Server. In such a situation, you need to contact your Exchange Server administrator for more information about how backup should be taken.
   2. If you see that the location field contains a path to a file that has the file name extension PST, this means Outlook has stored your data like emails, contacts, appointments, etc. in a PST file on your hard disk. In such a situation, you can use Method #1 to backup Outlook emails.

For Microsoft Outlook 2007:

1. First, open Microsoft Outlook on your computer. Then click Tools on the taskbar and select Account Settings.
2. On the Account Settings window, click the Data Files tab. Please note that
   1. If you see that the name field contains the word “Mailbox” followed by an email name, this means Outlook has stored your data in folders on the Exchange Server. In such a situation, you need to contact your Exchange Server administrator for more information about how backup should be taken.
   2. If you see that the field contains the words “Personal Folder” or the name of a set of PST files, this means Outlook has stored your data like emails, contacts, appointments, etc. in a PST file on your hard disk. In such a situation, you can use Method #1 to backup Outlook emails.

For an earlier version of Outlook:

1. First, open Microsoft Outlook on your computer. Then click Tools on the taskbar and select Email Accounts.
   Note: If you cannot see this option on your network, this means the network admin has removed this option in order to protect the account information. Contact your network admin for help.
2. On the Email Accounts window, choose View or Change Existing Email Accounts under E-mail. Then click Next to continue the process.
3. Here you need to check the “Deliver new email to the following location” option.
   1. If you see that the option contains the word “Mailbox” followed by an email name, this means Outlook has stored your data in folders on the Exchange Server. In such a situation, you need to contact your Exchange Server administrator for more information about how backup should be taken.
   2. If you see that the field contains the words “Personal Folder” or the name of a set of PST files, this means Outlook has stored your data like emails, contacts, appointments, etc. in a PST file on your hard disk. In such a situation, you can use Method #1 to backup Outlook emails.

Method #3 for Outlook Mail Backup

There is one more easy and direct way to backup Outlook emails and other data. Here you need to use the Export feature of Outlook that will help you export the entire Outlook mailbox data into a new PST file. In this way, you will get a backup copy of your PST file. Follow the steps given below:

Step 1: First, launch Microsoft Outlook on your computer. Then click the File tab > Open & Export > Import/Export.

Step 2: The Import and Export Wizard will appear. Here you need to choose Export to a file, and then click Next to continue the process.

Step 3: On Export to a File dialog box, choose Outlook Data File (.pst) to save the backup copy of your PST file into a new PST file. Click Next to continue the process.

Step 4: On Export Outlook Data File dialog box, select the PST file or any single mailbox folder that you want to backup. For example Inbox. You can also include the subfolders. Click Next to continue the process.

Step 5: Now define a location where you want to save the Outlook backup file. Finally, click Finish to start the process.

Within a couple of minutes, the process will be completed and you will get a new PST file containing all the mailbox data of your original PST file. You can now use this PST file as an Outlook backup file. The emails and other data stored in the Outlook data file are no different from other data. You can forward, reply, or search through the stored mailbox data as you do with other Outlook data.

Conclusion

This article has described how to take the backup of Outlook emails. If you have a valid Outlook backup file, you can easily restore your business emails and other crucial data after a data loss even due to corruption or accidental deletion. Through this article, we have learned three different methods to backup Outlook emails.