# laptop hd, desktop pc **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 17, 2006, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laptop-hd-desktop-pc/357080 "2006-05-17T06:20:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laptop-hd-desktop-pc/357080/1 "2006-05-17T06:20:50Z")
I have some email that i need to recover off a laptop hard drive, and have an adapter coming from cables to go. What I need to know , is can outlook import email that has not been backed up , from a slave drive ? As the primary ,win2k starts up , but then i get a blue screen, so it has to be mounted as a slave. Declan ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laptop-hd-desktop-pc/357080/2 "2006-05-17T07:04:17Z")
I don’t know if it can automatically import email datasets from another computer, but worst comes to worst, you can back up your current data files and replace them with the ones from the laptop HD. Then start Outlook, export the messages, restore your backups and import the new messages. I THINK that’ll work… but which version of Outlook (or Outlook Express) are you using? I’ll test it out if I can. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laptop-hd-desktop-pc/357080/3 "2006-05-17T07:23:10Z")
Yes, you can import mail folders from the drive (assuming they were stored on it and are not corrupted). If you were using Outlook Express, you’ll be searching for a bunch of files with the extension .dbx; if you were using Outlook 2000 or similar, then you’re probably looking for a single large file with the extension .pst ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laptop-hd-desktop-pc/357080/4 "2006-05-17T07:26:51Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > I don’t know if it can automatically import email datasets from another computer, but worst comes to worst, you can back up your current data files and replace them with the ones from the laptop HD. > > Then start Outlook, export the messages, restore your backups and import the new messages. > > I THINK that’ll work… but which version of Outlook (or Outlook Express) are you using? I’ll test it out if I can. It would be OE 6 Thanks Declan ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laptop-hd-desktop-pc/357080/5 "2006-05-17T07:30:40Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Yes, you can import mail folders from the drive (assuming they were stored on it and are not corrupted). If you were using Outlook Express,\*\* you’ll be searching for a bunch of files with the extension .dbx\*\*; if you were using Outlook 2000 or similar, then you’re probably looking for a single large file with the extension .pst I only had about 11 emails on the system, and no contacts and what not, how many files would you guess. Thanks for your reply Declan ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laptop-hd-desktop-pc/357080/6 "2006-05-17T08:10:05Z")
In OE, go to File -\> Import -\> Messages. Choose OE6 and click Next. Choose “Import Mail from an OE6 store directory” and click Next. Then browse to the following directory, where X: is the old laptop drive: X:\Documents and Settings(your old username)\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities(a long string of letters and numbers)\Microsoft\Outlook Express\ Click Next then select the folders you want to import, and hopefully you’ll find your messages there. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laptop-hd-desktop-pc/357080/7 "2006-05-17T08:12:46Z")
And just to be clear, that uses **Declan** ’s much better suggestion, not the roundabout method I first described 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laptop-hd-desktop-pc/357080/8 "2006-05-17T08:31:19Z")
> [@Declan](#): > > I only had about 11 emails on the system, and no contacts and what not, how many files would you guess. I think Outlook Express creates one disk folder for each mail folder, so there would be a file called Inbox.dbx, another called Sent Items.dbx and so on, plus another called folders.dbx that links them all together. You probably won’t have to worry about that though, as the import wizard (once you’ve pointed it at the right location) should just find what it needs.