How to Save and Backup Emails in Outlook Express

Screenshot of the Outlook logo

Microsoft

by Heinz Tschabitscher
A former freelance contributor who has reviewed hundreds of email programs and services since 1997.
Updated June 24, 2019

If you use email often, especially for work or other important interactions, and you use Outlook Express as your email client, you may want to save backup copies of your emails. Unfortunately, Outlook Express lacks an automated backup feature, but backing up your mail data is still easy.

Back Up or Copy Mail Files in Outlook Express

To back up or copy your Outlook Express mail:

  1. Start by opening your Outlook Express Store Folder in Windows Explorer. Be sure to set Windows to show hidden files if that is not already set.

  2. While in the Store folder, select Edit > Select All from the menu in this folder. Alternately, you can press Ctrl+A as a shortcut to select all files. Make sure all files, including Folders.dbx in particular, are highlighted.

  3. Select Edit > Copy from the menu to copy the files. You may also use the keyboard shortcut to copy the select files by pressing Ctrl+C

  4. Open the folder where you want to keep the backup copies in Windows Explorer. This can be on another hard disk, on a writable CD or DVD, or on a network drive, for example.

  5. Select Edit > Paste from the menu to paste the files to your backup folder. You may also use the keyboard short to paste files by pressing Ctrl+V.

You have just created a backup copy of all your messages and folders in Outlook Express. 

You can later restore your backup emails in Outlook Express through a process that is relatively easy as well.