How to back up stored email in Windows

Backing up your email is as simple as making copies of the mailbox files. Their locations depend on the email software you're using.

Eudora typically stores its email in either the application folder (usually \Program Files\Qualcomm\Eudora) or your user data folder (\Documents and Settings\{username}\Application Data\Qualcomm\Eudora). Each mailbox is stored in two files: messages are stored in a plain-text .mbx file, and a corresponding "table of contents" is stored in a binary .toc file. So, to back up your Out mailbox, you'd need to copy both out.mbx and out.toc. Mailboxes in folders are stored in actual folders (e.g., Business.fol contains the .mbx and .toc files for your Business folder). Your best bet is to back up the entire Eudora folder and all of its subfolders, which will catch all your email, your address book, your personalities, and all your account settings.

Outlook, on the other hand, stores all your email, contacts, and even your calendar in a single binary .pst file located in your \Documents and Settings\{username}\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook folder. (The exception is Outlook in a networking environment using Exchange Server, where your .pst file is stored on a file server somewhere; in this case, contact your administrator for help.)

If you're using Outlook Express, your email is stored in separate .dbx files—one for each mailbox—in the \Documents and Settings\{username}\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities\{some long string of characters}\Microsoft\Outlook Express folder. Just back up the entire folder, and you're set.