© trmarch


If you are like me, a lot of important communication happens via your email. If you lost this information it could set you back months in certain projects, or at least make your life very difficult. But Outlook does give you a way to save all that information, just in case.

Below I've got a simple walkthrough on how to back-up Outlook 2007. If you're not a fan of doing it manually, just skip down to the bottom, there's a short-cut program you can download there. Its free and provided by Microsoft, which makes it a safe cheat.

Back-Up Instructions for Outlook 2007

1. Go to "File"
2. Go to "Import and Export"
3. Click "Outlook"
4. Select "Export a file" then "Next"
5. Select "Personal File Folder (pst.)" then "Next"
6. Select which folders you want to back-up. (Make sure to include subfolders if you need them.) Then "Next".
7. Browse to the loction you'd like your files to save to (this can be a USB drive or CD). Also be sure to select how you want your files saved, with duplicates or not. Click "Next"
8. You then have an opportunity to add a password to your files. If you do not want a password just click "Finish."

There! Now you'd backed-up your emails. Outlook 2007 has a separate back-up under Import and Export for your Contacts, so be sure to back those up too. Of course if you have a smartphone connected to your Outlook you already have a built in back-up for your events and contacts through that.

If you need to be regularly reminded to back-up your files, try this Microsoft Add-In. This Add-In for all releases of Outlook will give you a one click back-up option and even a default reminder.

Ever lose a really important email? Tell us about it.