BACKUP OUTLOOK 2007 EMAILS, ACCOUNTS, RULES AND SETTINGS

Outlook users all over the world fear migrating to another computer or simply reinstalling Outlook, primarily because backing up accounts, emails, rules and settings can be a nightmare sometimes.

One of the biggest problems I faced when I started using outlook some years back was that, although I was able to Import/Export emails, I was unable to restore account settings and rules etc.

Now that I have successfully faced my worst fears and migrated Outlook profiles, almost a few hundred times, I created this guide to save others the hassle.

EXPORT YOUR EMAILS FROM AN EXISTING OUTLOOK INSTALLATION:
1. Go to Main Menu of Outlook 2007, Click File and select Data File Management and Account setting window will pop up. The other way is to click on Tools menu and select Account settings from the drop down menu.
2. Click on the Data Files tab. You may have a single data file or multiple data files. These are the Data Files, wherein you store your email messages, tasks, calendar, tasks and other items.
3. Click on the Open Folder icon. Windows Explorer will be opened automatically and will take you to the location where this data file is stored. Now select the outlook.pst and archive.pst file you want to backup.
4. Now you can copy this file to any backup storage device. Make sure that your Outlook is closed before you backup these files.

RESTORE YOUR EMAIL DATA:
Restoring is as simple as to backup your data. All you have to do is copy the backup PST files into the folder that you located when you backed up your work initially.

BACKUP/EXPORT ACCOUNT SETTINGS:
1. Start > Run > type ‘regedit’
2. Locate the following path in your ‘Registry Editor’
3. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows Messaging Subsystem\Profiles\Outlook

Now right click on the key outlook and select option: Export and save .reg files to your desired location. You can run the same file while restoring your outlook. This will restore your old outlook profile with all your email accounts settings and rules. You will need to enter your password as Password is not stored into .reg file.

It is difficult to locate the Personal folder files in the previous versions of Outlook; however it’s much simpler in Outlook 2007. Backing up and restoring data is easier, faster with the new Outlook 2007.