Recover Archived Outlook Mail From a Disc

Here's how to recover or read archived Outlook Email

Inserting a blank CD into a laptop with copy space
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by Heinz Tschabitscher
A former freelance contributor who has reviewed hundreds of email programs and services since 1997.
Updated June 24, 2019

When you archive old mail from Outlook to a storage medium such as a DVD-ROM and store the messages in a .pst file, you clean and speed up Outlook. To access the messages later, open them from the archive location or import them back into Outlook.

Instructions in this article apply to Outlook 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010; and Outlook for Office 365.

Read or Recover Archived Outlook Mail from a Removable Medium

To recover or read archived Outlook mail from a removable medium:

  1. Go to the File tab and select Info.

  2. Select Account Settings > Account Settings.

    Viewing Account settings in Outlook.

  3. Go to the Data Files tab.

    Data file account settings in Outlook.

  4. Select Add.

    Selecting Add to add a data file to Outlook.

  5. Select Outlook data file (.pst).

    Selecting to add a PST file in Outlook.

  6. Select OK.

  7. Locate the PST archive you want to reload and select OK.

    Browsing for a PST to add to Outlook.

    If you get an error message after this step, either make sure the medium is not write protected or copy the .pst file to your desktop before opening it.

  8. Select Close.

    A pst file has been added to Outlook.

  9. Open the newly added archive location in your Outlook navigation pane.

    Viewing a newly added PST file to Outlook.

  10. Browse the archive or copy messages and folders to your main Inbox.

  11. To close the archive location, right-click and select Close "Personal Folders" (where Personal Folders is the name you gave the PST).

    Closing a PST in Outlook.

  12. The archive file is removed from the Folders pane.