Exporting your settings to a backup location is a simple task and well worth the effort, especially if you're like me and have many email accounts.

Here's how to do it in three easy steps:

1. From within Outlook Express, go to Tools and click Accounts.

   

2. Choose the Mail tab. Highlight the account you wish to export and click the Export button.

   

3. Browse to the location you wish to save the backup to, then click the Save button.

Repeat steps 2 and 3 for every account you wish to export.

Once you have your Outlook Express Account Settings saved you can use them to import your setting to a new PC, an additional PC or if you ever need to restore your email accounts. Importing the settings is as easy as exporting them.

To restore the Email Accounts without using additional software:

1. From within Outlook Express, go to Tools and click Accounts.
2. Choose the Mail tab. Click the Import button.
3. Browse to the location where you saved the backup and click the Open button.

Note: Exporting and saving your Account Settings will NOT save your emails or mail rules, you will need to do that separately. To learn how to backup your Outlook Express Emails, see Outlook Express Backup.

Outlook Express stores each folder (inbox, outbox, sent mail, etc) in separate DBX files. In order to back-up all email folders (recommended), all you need to do is make a copy of the entire Outlook Express folder (located in C:\Documents and Settings\YOUR USER NAME\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities\{VERY LONG NUMBER}\Microsoft\).

After right-clicking and choosing copy from the context menu, paste the folder into the back-up location of your choice. The back-up should be in a different partition, hard drive or CD/DVD to keep it protected if anything should happen to your main drive.

That was pretty easy, wasn't it? Now that you have your Outlook Express folder safely tucked away you're probably wondering how you would go about restoring it if need be. Don't worry, it's not too difficult.

There are actually two methods of restoring your emails:

1. The simplest way is to make sure Outlook Express is not open (running), then copying the entire folder and pasting it back into it's main location (C:\Documents and Settings\YOUR USER NAME\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities\{VERY LONG NUMBER}\Microsoft\). I recommend you delete the current Outlook Express folder before pasting the back-up (to prevent conflicts).

   Note: If you're restoring your emails to a new PC or another Outlook Express identity, this method will not work. Follow method #2.

2. Another way to restore the folders and their emails is to open Outlook Express, go to File, Import, Messages.

   

   Select Microsoft Outlook Express 6 from the choices given and click Next.

   Choose Import from an OE6 store directory (see screen-shot), then click OK.

   

   Browse to the location where you have the Outlook Express back-up. Once you find the folder, highlight it and choose OK, then choose Next.

   In the dialog that follows, choose All folders (to restore them all) or choose the specific folder(s) you wish to import (to select more than one folder, hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard while clicking with the mouse on the folders). Click Next, then Finish.

In addition to backing-up your Outlook Express Emails, you can also back-up Outlook Express Account Settings in three easy steps which will make transferring your account settings a breeze.