Outlook Express Backup
Procedure
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Backing Up Outlook Express Data:
Backing up your data is an essential task when it comes to computers. You need to be prepared for the moment when (not if) something goes terribly wrong and
it's time for a clean install. But don't forget to include your e-mail data in your backup. You don't want to lose all those messages or e-mail addresses, do
you? We'll show you how to back up all your important e-mail data, such as the
actual messages, rules, signatures, and address book if you're using Outlook Express
(OE), one of the most popular e-mail clients for home computer users.
OE is part of the Microsoft Internet Explorer integrated package of software. These procedures should work with all versions of OE 5. If you find that you
don't have some of the options listed here, you might need to update your software to a newer version.
Outlook Express Identities:
When you set up OE, on a new installation of Windows, you create an identity. Windows assigns this identity a random 36-character GUID (Global Unique
IDentifier). To find out your GUID, use Windows Explorer and look in this location:
C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Identities
When several members of a household want to use OE to work with just their own
mailbox(es), you can create multiple identities. In other words, you can create an identity for User 1 (yourself), User 2 (your spouse), User 3 (your
teenage kid), etc. When a user starts up OE, they will select their identity, enter their password if applicable, and will then be able to work with just
their mail messages.
For more information about identities, refer to the OE help files or to this article: How to Create and use Identities in Outlook Express -
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q209169.asp
You'll see later on in this article why this is important to know.
Back It Up:
Before you start, you need to think about where you will set up a storage location for your OE backups. You could set up a folder on your hard drive
that contains subfolders for each identity, with subfolders for all of the various parts of OE. For example, you could create a folder named OE Backup.
In this folder, create a subfolder for each identity, e.g. John Smith, Mary Smith, Susie Smith, etc. In each one of these folders, create a folder for OE
rules, OE messages, OE accounts, etc.
Regularly back up all your OE data to this folder, then copy this folder to a backup media such as Zip, CD-R, or network drive.
It's a good idea to be working offline (that is, not connected to the Internet) while doing these steps. On the main OE toolbar, select File and
then click on Work Offline.
OE Accounts:
Within any identity many e-mail accounts can be set up. These accounts are individual e-mail addresses and include information about the type of e-mail
account, username, password, mail server name, and other information to allow you to send and receive e-mail. To back up the account info:
1. From the OE main tool bar, go to Tools / Accounts / Mail.
2. Select an account to back up by highlighting it.
3. Click on the Export option, select a storage location, and click Save.
Repeat these steps for each account. The file name will be the e-mail account name and will have the extension iaf.
If you have multiple identities, repeat these steps for each additional identity.
OE Folders:
OE sets up several default folders for each identity, such as Inbox, Outbox,
Deleted Items. These folders, that have the file extension .dbx, are by default stored here: C:\WINDOWS\Application
Data\Identities\{GUID}\Microsoft\Outlook Express All your e-mail will be stored in those folders in this
directory.
Tip: If you prefer to store the data in a different location, e.g. a different partition or a different hard drive, use these steps.
1. In OE, go to Tools / Options / Maintenance / Store Folder.
2. Use the Change button to browse to the alternate storage location.
3. Highlight the folder, then click OK three times to close the dialog.
4. Shut down and restart OE for the change to take effect.
5. This is now the new storage location for your OE folders, however, your GUID will still be in the location mentioned above and is still associated
with the folders in their new location. Your GUID is also associated with the accounts listed in OE.
To back up these OE folders, open Windows Explorer, locate the folder on your hard drive where you store them, and copy them to your OE backup folder,
keeping them organized as discussed above.
Address Book:
The Address Book contains the contact information such as e-mail, address, phone number, etc. for all your friends, family, etc. The address book is by
default stored here: C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Microsoft\Address Book\filename.WAB. The address book will always have the file extension .wab, but
the file name will either be default.wab or the name of the user that Windows is registered to as shown when you go to Start / Settings / Control / Panel /
System / General / Registered to - e.g. John Smith.wab. This info can be found in the registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \
CurrentVersion \ Registered Owner.
To back up your address book, follow these steps:
1. From Outlook Express, click on Tools / Address Book, then File / Export / Address Book (WAB). Or from Windows: Start / Programs / Accessories / Address
Book / File / Export / Address Book (WAB).
2. Choose a storage location and give it a file name.
3. Click Save
In addition to having a backup, we also recommend that you keep a current printout of your address book for reasons explained in the next section.
Address Book -- Multiple Identities:
The preceding procedure also works for Outlook Express setups with multiple identities, but it's not as simple. When you create multiple identities, each
user can see shared addresses (contacts), but each user will only see his personal contacts. However, everything is stored in one file, that is the
filename.wab file. When you import the address book, the shared contacts folder will remain the same, but each identity's (user's) unique contacts will
be merged. To help sort it out before exporting, each user should print out his/her unique address book, then the unwanted contacts can be easily deleted
after the import.
To prevent the merged contacts after a import, Windows can be set up with profiles and passwords so that each user must sign on to Windows. In that
case, each user will have his/her own unique address book. However, since using Windows and Outlook Express is an everyday event and importing the
address book is probably a rare event, just keep in mind that the address books will merge and not bother with Profiles/Passwords.
Message Rules, Signatures, and OE Settings:
WARNING: This section involves editing the registry. Always back up your registry before modifying it.
More items you probably want to back up are message rules, signatures, and OE settings. You can save them all in one step, including customized toolbars, by
exporting a few registry keys!
1. To get to the registry, click on Start / Run, type regedit and click OK.
2. Navigate to this key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Identities \ {GUID} \ Software \ Microsoft \ Outlook Express \ 5.0
3. In the left-hand pane of the registry screen, click on the folder icon labeled 5.0 to expand it. Under this key, you will see many subkeys. The ones
that you may want are "blocked senders," "mail," "rules," and "signatures."
4. Click on each subkey that you wish to export and on the tool bar at the top, click on Registry / Export Registry File.
5. Select a storage location and a file name (Note: the file name must have the extension .reg)
6. Repeat this step for each subkey that you wish to save and for all identities.
7. Exit the registry by clicking Registry / Exit.
It seems tempting to export the entire "5.0" key, but it will not work when you try to put it back into a new installation of Windows.
Restoring It:
Now let's talk about how to restore all your OE data in a clean Windows installation. If you set up your Dial-Up Network (DUN) connection (or high-speed connection) before getting into Outlook Express, you want to work
offline. Cancel the dialer and select Work Offline or go the File menu and select Work Offline.
OE Accounts:
To set up the accounts in a clean Windows installation, select Tools / Accounts / Import, navigate to the backup directory, and move them back in,
one at a time.
If you have multiple identities, first restore only the accounts for the main identity and then create the other identities. Use the File / Identities /
Manage Identities menu in OE and then move those accounts back.
OE Folders:
To move your messages into a new installation of OE:
1. From the main OE toolbar, select File / Import / Messages.
2. Select Outlook Express 5 and click Next.
3. Select Import mail from an OE5 store directory and click Next.
4. Use the Browse button to navigate to the folder containing the backup data, highlight it, click OK, then Next.
5. In the next dialog, select All folders (unless you have a specific reason to import only selected folders), click Next, then Finish.
If you have multiple identities, switch to each identity and repeat the steps to restore the folders for each identity.
Address Book:
To restore your address book:
1. From Outlook Express, click on Tools / Address Book / File / Import / Address Book (WAB). Or from Windows, go to Start / Programs / Accessories /
Address Book / File / Import / Address Book WAB.
2. Navigate to the backup folder, highlight the desired address book file, and click Open.
If you have multiple identities, refer to the "Back It Up / Address Book -- Multiple Identities" section for information on how the address book entries
will be merged after an import.
Messages Rules, Signatures, and OE Settings:
This section involves modifying the registry by importing the registry key(s) that you exported for your backup. It is recommended that you back up your
entire registry before starting these procedures.
If you installed Windows from scratch and want to restore the previously backed up registry keys, you need to update the backup of the registry keys
with the new GUID since the new Windows installation assigned you a different GUID automatically when you started setting up OE. First you need to find out
what the new GUID is.
1. Click on Start / Run, type regedit and click OK.
2. Navigate to this key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Identities \ {GUID}
3. Click on the folder icon next to it.
4. Look in the right-hand pane to see the username value; it will be the same as the identity name used in OE. With the GUID highlighted on the left, right-click on it, select Rename, then press Ctrl+C to copy it to the clipboard,
then immediately press the ESC key. Do not rename the key!
5. Exit the registry by clicking Registry / Exit.
6. Go to Start / Programs / Accessories / WordPad
7. Select File / Open. Change the Files of Type drop-down menu to All Documents (*.*).
8. Navigate to the folder where the first backed up registry key is stored, highlight it, and click Open.
9. Select Edit / Replace. Paste the GUID from the clipboard into the Replace with field by right-clicking in the field and clicking Paste.
10. Move the Replace box out of the way so you can see the first few lines of the registry file. Highlight and copy the old GUID in the document, including
the curly braces { } !
11. Paste the old GUID into the Find what field of the Replace dialog box by right-clicking in the field and clicking Paste.
12. Select Replace All to replace every occurrence of the old GUID in this registry file with the new one.
13. Go to File / Save, then File / Exit.
14. You must repeat this procedure for all saved registry keys.
15. To import each modified registry key, open Windows Explorer, maneuver to the folder with your OE backups, then double-click the modified registry key
to import it and merge it with your registry.
Repeat these steps for each key to be imported and for each identity.
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