Outlook Express is saving too many emails

Hey, I could use a little help and some clarification here,

I’m planning on wiping my hard drive, so I need to back up all my emails from Outlook before I pull the trigger. I'm looking at the export messages option, but I'm a bit lost—what file format does it actually use, and where does everything get saved?

Everything gets tucked away into a single *.pst file sitting right on your C drive. If you're still running Windows XP, you can find it buried here:
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
Honestly, the easiest way to handle this is to just grab the entire Outlook folder, toss it onto a D: drive or some external media, and then simply drop it back into its original home once you've finished reinstalling Windows...
If you’re having trouble tracking it down, just use Google Search, but make sure you actually toggle the option to show hidden files, otherwise, you'll be looking for nothing...
Sure, you could technically use the export feature, but why bother with all that extra work when there's a much simpler way?

Laura Cooper31 said:Everything gets tucked away into a single *.pst file sitting right on your C drive. If you're still running Windows XP, you can find it buried here:
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
Honestly, the easiest way to handle this is to just grab the entire Outlook folder, toss it onto a D: drive or some external media, and then simply drop it back into its original home once you've finished reinstalling Windows...
If you’re having trouble tracking it down, just use Google Search, but make sure you actually toggle the option to show hidden files, otherwise, you'll be looking for nothing...
Sure, you could technically use the export feature, but why bother with all that extra work when there's a much simpler way?

I TRIED DOING WHAT YOU SAID BUT.. there's no Outlook folder under application data/microsoft anymore. Instead, I see application data/identities, and now I've got these two folders with weird-looking encrypted names. Each one has a microsoft/outlook folder inside. Is that normal? Which one am I supposed to copy?
thanks

Don't forget about your address book if you have a ton of contacts saved. Look for the .WAB extension.
I can't recall the exact steps—pretty sure I exported it from Outlook myself back in the day—but honestly, it doesn't matter. Just use Google Search to hunt down any files ending in *.DBX and move them over to a directory on a different drive. ☕

Roger Martin8 said:I TRIED DOING WHAT YOU SAID BUT.. there's no Outlook folder under application data/microsoft anymore. Instead, I see application data/identities, and now I've got these two folders with weird-looking encrypted names. Each one has a microsoft/outlook folder inside. Is that normal? Which one am I supposed to copy?
thanks

Oh, and just to clarify, I was explaining how things work specifically for Outlook—not Outlook Express, because those are two entirely different programs. Honestly, you don't really need to worry about the specific directory where the .pst file lives; just use Google Search to hunt it down on your drive, open the folder where it's hiding, and grab everything inside to burn onto a CD or DVD. Besides, you might want to check out Microsoft's official pages regarding this... hopefully, that clears things up for you...

If you haven't located the folder yet, here is how you find it: navigate to tools, then options, maintenance, and finally the store folder, where the specific directory will be listed. I suggest copying that folder to a safe location first so you can restore it later.

thanks

Quick question for the pros out there. I’m looking to upgrade from Outlook 2007 to Office 2010, and I’m honestly a little nervous about whether my emails are going to vanish into thin air during the process. It’s for a small business, so I really can’t afford to mess this up or lose any data. Any advice? Thanks for the help!

Hey everyone. Just a couple of things to clear up. First off, a PST file won't just magically reappear in its original location on its own; you have to manually bring it back using the Import command. Secondly, while upgrading Outlook shouldn't cause you to lose any emails, I’ve learned the hard way that it's always best practice to back up your PST file somewhere safe before you start the upgrade. Once everything is finished and running smoothly, you can restore it following the steps mentioned at the top of this thread. If anyone finds themselves stuck or needs a hand, feel free to shoot me a private message.

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Well, everything just went completely south on me. I'm looking for someone who has a legitimate copy of Office 2010 they could install at my office. If you can help out, I’d really appreciate a good deal—this is my very first paycheck, and honestly, it's already vanished into thin air.

I'm not sure I follow you. If you're looking to stay on the right side of the law, your only real options are picking it up from an authorized retailer or going straight through Microsoft.

shadowraven21 said:Well, everything just went completely south on me. I'm looking for someone who has a legitimate copy of Office 2010 they could install at my office. If you can help out, I’d really appreciate a good deal—this is my very first paycheck, and honestly, it's already vanished into thin air.

You can actually install "legit Office" yourself; the main thing is having a valid product key that works properly. Since this is for a business, you really ought to buy it from a retailer like Best Buy so you have an actual receipt to show if there's ever an audit. I mean, if you were just using it at home, you could probably just get by with an activator and call it a day... but for work? Not worth the risk. Honestly, I've been checking around different stores online and I can't seem to find Office 2010 anywhere—all I see is Microsoft 365 or some other newer versions of Office.

https://www.bestbuy.com/software-micro...m_medium=click

So, I heard somewhere that the business package comes with an unlimited key product, and I was just wondering if there might be a kind soul out there who could help me out with that...

Where on earth did you hear that they just hand out product keys for free? 🙄
Look, every single tool in Microsoft 365 has a perfectly good free alternative out there—and honestly, most of them are totally fine to use in a professional office setting too.

Look, don't get mad at me, but I honestly have no clue how this stuff works.
Could someone please point me toward an alternative I could actually use at work??

Thunderbird, Windows Live Mail... look right here

And honestly, if someone just hands you a key, an audit is still going to come knocking asking for a receipt. So, at the end of the day, it's the exact same deal whether someone "gifts" you a key or you just use some crack tool if you aren't planning on paying full price for legal software.

Thanks so much!!