How to Backup Outlook Emails Manually

Microsoft Outlook is a program that comes standard with the Microsoft Office software suit. It functions both as a personal information organizer and an email client. Using Microsoft Outlook, you can send and receive emails to and from anyone who has an email account. To mitigate potential damage or loss of information in the event of a corruption in your Outlook program, you may have the need to manually backup you Outlook email.

Instructions

1. Open Microsoft Outlook by clicking on the icon on your desktop. Alternatively, you can open up your “Start” menu and click on the “Outlook” program icon located under the "Program Files" submenu.

2. Click on the “Tools” button within Outlook and a drop-down menu will appear. Then, click on the “Account Settings” option. Within the “Account Settings” window, click on the “Data Files” tab.

3. Select the folder called “Personal Folder” or “Personal Files,” then click the “Open Folder” button.

4. Select all of the files with a “.pst” extension and copy them. Once you are finished, close the window and then close the Outlook program.

5. Connect a USB drive or a portable hard drive of some type to your computer. Access the drive after you computer recognizes it. Paste the previously copied files into the hard drive or storage device. Repeat the process regularly to backup Outlook emails manually.

References

• Microsoft Office: Ways to Backup Outlook Data
• Tech-Recipes: Microsoft Outlook Backup Address and Mail
• Site Developer: Outlook Backup Tutorial

Resources

• Microsoft Office Homepage
• Microsoft Support