Backup Mail in Your AOL "Saved on My PC" Filing Cabinet

Businessman working on office desk while businesswoman providing stack of files
Westend61/Getty images
by Heinz Tschabitscher
An independent writer who has reviewed hundreds of email programs and services since 1997.
Updated February 18, 2019

Computers are not infallible or perfect. Unlike you. That's why you save the emails you want to save to your local AOL Saved on My PC filing cabinet and back up the latter from time to time so you can safely recover your emails when somebody spills some sticky liquid over your laptop.

"Backing up" your locally saved messages is also a great way to move them from an old computer to a new one where you "restore" them.

Backup or Copy Mail in Your AOL Saved on My PC Filing Cabinet

To backup mail in your AOL Saved on My PC filing cabinet:

  1. Search your computer for a file called (your AOL screen name).abi.

    If your screen name is myscreenname, for example, search for a file called myscreenname.abi.

    You should find it in a folder called organize. A typical location is C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\AOL\C_America Online 9.0\organize. You can go to this folder directly, too.

  2. Go up one directory, to the C_America Online 9.0 folder.

    For other versions of AOL, the folder name may be different. In any case, go up one directory from the organize folder.

  3. Highlight the organize folder.

  4. Select Edit | Copy from the menu of the Explorer window.

  5. Open the desired backup location (a CD or DVD, another hard disk, a network location or a USB stick, for example) in Explorer.

  6. Select Edit | Paste from the menu.

Recovering Saved on My PC Email

That's it. You have just backed up all your screen name's locally saved data for easy recovery, and for migration to another computer.