How can I save my Outlook Express emails?

Factual Questions
1

I have a bunch of emails sitting in my Outlook Express and I want to back them up on a disk…is there an easy way to do this? BTW I"m running Win XP.

2

Find out in what folder it keeps the emails (tools-options-maintenance-folders) and then just copy those files to CD.

3

thanks sailor, I found the folder, but the files are DBX files–whatever that is…do you know how they can be changed to text files?

4

I am not sure why you would want to save the emails separately as text. Having them in OE format allows you to use them in OE, use the search, forward, reply etc.
In OE you can drag and drop individual emails to the desktop and you will get individual .EML files which are plain text but while that may be convinient in particular cases I am not sure it is practical to keep hundreds or thousands of emails like that. For one thing it would take a lot more disk space.

5

Excerpts from my previous posts in GQ on this topic:

"

Outlook Express Backup:

http://www.outlook-express-backup.com/

http://www.backsettings.com/backup-outlook.html

If you don’t have Outlook Express installed on a given PC, but would like to view the contents of the .dbx files you could try this program :

http://www.mailnavigator.com/read_dbx_file.html

The best, IMHO, would be to use the XP transfer wizard, create the archive file on the same computer you are backing up (i.e. instead of specifying the location of the new comp, just save it to file on the local disk. if you don’t have enough space on the old hard disk, attach the new hard disk to the old comp first). Then shut off the comp, remove the hard disk and attach it to the new comp. Pretty easy, and we can walk you through it if you’re not sure how. No purchase necessary. Serial cable will take too much time to transfer the same amount of data.

Outlook Express is a pain to backup. I strongly suggest using 3rd party software to backup and restore Outlook Express emails, settings, etc. Here are some progs I have used in the past:

http://www.backsettings.com/

http://www.outlook-express-backup.com/

http://www.abf-soft.com/outlook-express-backup.shtml

http://www.backsettings.com/

http://www.ajsystems.com/ea7.html

"

6

I don’t think it is such a big deal. I just copy all the email files. Then I can just restore them to the same folder and I am back to the same place. When I travel I take my laptop. Before I leave I transfer all the files to the laptop and I am in the same position as I was with the main computer. I really do not see the need for specific software although i suppose it would simplify it a bit. The account information you can export from tools - accounts but I do not do that very often as it hardly ever changes. The other settings like the layout I can do in no time manually and do not mind losing although I suppose I could save the register keys where they are kept. I do not find it so complicated.

7

Not to come across as overly simplistic, just open the email…select ‘File’, then ‘Save As’, select a format (i usually use HTML), and choose a location.

The emails are then saved as HTML (or whatever you chose) files.

Burn files to disk.

8

  1. Not convenient at all if you have hundreds or thousands of emails as I have.

  2. You lose the ability to handle them in OE (search, sort, etc)

  3. They take up a ton more disk space

  4. What is the advantage?

9

1) Not convenient at all if you have hundreds or thousands of emails as I have.

The OP didn’t specify how many emails he/she has.
2) You lose the ability to handle them in OE (search, sort, etc)

Possibly, but you gain the advantage of being able to sort them in folders on your drive.

3) They take up a ton more disk space

I’m not sure about that at all. In fact, if anything, storing too many messages in OE can corrupt folders. I see this on a daily basis at work.

4) What is the advantage?

Simplicity. As requested in the OP.

10

>> They take up a ton more disk space
>> I’m not sure about that at all

You are not? I am. Have you tried it? OE saves the emails in a single file per OE folder. The average wasted space is half cluster. When you split that file into multiple files you are multiplying the wasted space by the number of files. A one byte file and a 1000 byte file use the same disk space: one cluster each. In OE they use one cluster the both of them.

But even if you have all the disk space in the world I still don’t see the advantage. In OE I can instantly sort them by date, by sender, by account, by subject, attachment, priority, etc. I can serach them all by keyword in subject or body, date, sender , receiver etc. You just can’t do that if you have a bunch of separate files on the disk. I do not see any advantage.

I do ocasionally copy an email to the desktop as a separate file but it is for some very particular purpose.

11

I use Express Archiver, which gives you more ways to back up OE than you can shake a stick at – as text files, .eml files, or the raw .dbx files; with attachments or without; total control over what folders are backed up, how far back the backup goes, only back up emails from certain people, etc, etc, etc.

Check it out.