Backup Outlook emails and settings

This article provides information on how to back-up Microsoft Outlook automatically or manually. If you
are actively using Outlook and rely on it for most of your communications, schedules and contact
management, then you realize how important it is to have all that data stored safely.
On this page:
How to back-up Outlook automatically
How to back-up Outlook manually
Backup limitations for locked or open files
This article contains comprehensive information about backing up Outlooks, however if you prefer video
instructions over written articles click the Video Tutorials button below to see how you can back-up
Outlook automatically:

J ust imagine what would happen if all of a sudden your system would crash and you would lose all your
Outlook information. The safest way to protect your data is to create regular backups of your Microsoft
Outlook data (emails, calendar entries, contacts, etc.) and keep these on removable media such as external
drives, Blu-ray/DVDs, FTP/SFTP remote locations, Amazon S3 or Azure Cloud.
Details:
Almost all of the data for Outlook is stored in .pst files, which means that by backing it up you protect the
following information: Emails (in all folders, including archived items), Calendar entries, Contacts, Tasks
and Notes. In order to have a complete backup of Outlook data, it is not enough to back up only the .pst
files, but the following items too:
Personal Address Book
Offline Address Book (2010)
Rules
Signatures
Stationery and Templates
Menu or toolbar customizations
Nicknames
Navigation Pane settings (this file includes Shortcuts, Calendar, and Contact links).
Dictionary
Send/Receive settings
Print styles
Custom forms
Registered Microsoft Exchange extensions
Starting Outlook 2010, Microsoft is using the .ost files (Offline Outlook Data file) to store a local copy of
the emails. Backing up the OST files is needless.
This is the Microsoft position regarding .ost files: "Maintaining changes to OST files within shadow copies
is expensive in terms of space and I/O activity. The time-consuming work at backup time is backing up the
OST files as part of the image. Everyday I/O will write to the OST file when Outlook is running. So the
backup process will impact the performance on the computer. If the OST changes were kept in shadow
copies, then Outlook writes to the OST files is copy on write I/O hit (2 writes, 1 read)every time. Even
though we have worked to reduce the impact of copy-on-writes on shadow copies, a heavily churned file
such as OST file still cause problems on the computer. In addition, the OST files can be regenerated. We
delete OST file from the shadow copy before the image is created. For example, after restoring an OST, the
computer detect a new version of the OST file on the computer, it will force you to delete, and the
regenerate the local OST file. Therefore, it is still preferable to regenerate an OST file instead of restoring
it."
If you still want to backup the .ost files using Backup4all, you need to close Outlook and also disable the
"Backup open files" option from Backup Properties->Advanced page. After that you can run the backup.
How to configure an automatic backup for Outlook (2013, 2010, 2007, 2003)
Backup4all is a backup program that lets you back-up Outlook automatically. Basically you just have
to define a backup job where you define various settings (such as where to keep the back-up, when to run
the back-up, what type of backup to use) and that's it, your Outlook will be backed up regularily (if you
choose to schedule it).
Here are the steps to follow to create a new backup job that will back-up Microsoft Outlook data:
1. Download and install Backup4all here (if you don't have it already installed): Backup4all download
2. Open Backup4all and select File->New Backup (Ctrl+N).
3. On the first page enter a name for the backup in the Backup Name field. Select a backup
destination where you want to save your backup and press Next.
4. On What do you want to backup select Microsoft Outlook and press Next.
5. Select the backup type and decide if you want the backup to be password-protected or not. Click
Next.
6. Select how often you want the back-up to run and press Save. The new backup job will appear in the
backup list.
7. Press Backup (F6) to start backing up Microsoft Outlook or leave it run when the scheduled date
you've set previously will be reached.
Outlook data is stored in .pst files. For each mail folder defined in Outlook a .pst file is assigned. These
files get quite large if you exchange lot of emails, thus when a small change occurs in a file (e.g. a new
email has been received), the entire .pst will be marked as modified. When running the backup, the whole
file will be backed up as you cannot backup only the changes inside the .pst file. That's why it is
recommended to do a full or mirror backup (and not differential or incremental). Also, it is recommended to
limit the number of backups in order to save disk space.

How to manually back-up Microsoft Outlook
The easiest way to back-up outlook is using a tool that automates the process as described in the previous
section. However, if you want you can also back-up Outlook manually by copying the files/folders to a
specific destination. This has the disadvantage that it takes quite some time to find all the files, not to
mention that in order to restore these you would have to follow these steps again. Below you can see the
locations for the files/folders that need to be backed-up for different versions of Outlook.
Outlook 2013
The path for each file/folder that needs to be backed up is mentioned below:
Emails, calendars, contacts, tasks, and notes (.pst)
- Windows 8
drive:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook
or
drive:\Users\<username>\Roaming\Local\Microsoft\Outlook
- Windows 7 / Windows Vista
drive:\Users\<username>\Documents\Outlook Files
- Windows XP
drive:\Users\<username>\My Documents\Outlook Files
Offline or cached Outlook items (.ost)
- Windows 8 / Windows 7 / Windows Vista
drive:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook
- Windows XP
drive:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
Personal Address Book (.pab)
- Windows 8 / Windows 7 / Windows Vista
drive:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook
- Windows XP
drive:\Documents and Settings
Offline Address Book (.oab)
- Windows 8 / Windows 7 / Windows Vista
drive:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook
- Windows XP
drive:\Documents and Settings\user\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
Navigation Pane settings (.xml)
- Windows 8/ Windows 7/ Windows Vista
drive:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Outlook\profile name.xml
- Windows XP
drive:\Documents and Settings\user\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook\profile name.xml
Registered Microsoft Exchange extensions (.dat)
- Windows 8/ Windows 7/ Windows Vista
drive:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook
- Windows XP
drive:\Documents and Settings\user\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
Print styles (Outlprnt with no extension)
- Windows 8/ Windows 7/ Windows Vista
drive:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Outlook
- Windows XP
drive:\Documents and Settings\user\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
Signatures (.rtf, .txt, .htm)
- Windows 8/ Windows 7/ Windows Vista
drive:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Signatures
- Windows XP
drive:\Documents and Settings\user\Application Data\Microsoft\Signatures
Stationery (.htm)
- Windows 8/ Windows 7/ Windows Vista
drive:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Stationery
- Windows 8 (64-bit)/ Windows 7 (64-bit)/ Windows Vista (64-bit), with Outlook 2013 32-bit
drive:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\ Microsoft Shared\Stationery
- Windows XP
drive:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Stationery
Custom forms
- Windows 8/ Windows 7/ Windows Vista
drive:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Forms
- Windows XP
drive:\Documents and Settings\user\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Forms
Dictionary (.dic)
- Windows 8/ Windows 7/ Windows Vista
drive:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\UProof
- Windows XP
drive:\Documents and Settings\user\Application Data\Microsoft\UProof
Templates (.oft)
- Windows 8/ Windows 7/ Windows Vista
drive:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates
- Windows XP
drive:\Documents and Settings\user\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates
Send/Receive settings (.srs)
- Windows 8/ Windows 7/ Windows Vista
drive:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Outlook
- Windows XP
drive:\Documents and Settings\user\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
Message (.msg, .htm, .rtf)
- Windows 8/ Windows 7/ Windows Vista
drive:\Users\<username>\Documents
- Windows XP
drive:\Documents and Settings\user\My Documents
Outlook 2010
The path for each file/folder that needs to be backed up is mentioned below (italicized, the path contains
environment variables so you can simply copy it with the %% characters in Windows Explorer as it will be
recognized):
Personal Folders file (.pst)
%userprofile%\Local\Microsoft\Outlook
Outlook Data file (.ost)
%userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook
Personal Address Book (.pab)
%userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook
Offline Address Book (.oab)
%userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook
Navigation Panel settings (.xml)
%appdata%\Outlook\profile name.xml
Registered Microsoft Exchange extensions (.dat)
%userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook
Rules (.rwz)
%appdata%\Microsoft\Outlook
Print styles (Outlprnt with no extension)
%appdata%\Microsoft\Outlook
Signatures (.rtf, .txt, .htm)
%appdata%\Microsoft\Signatures
Stationery (.htm)
%commonprogramfiles%\Microsoft Shared\Stationery
Custom forms
%userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Forms
Dictionary (.dic)
%appdata%\Microsoft\UProof
Templates (.oft)
%appdata%\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates
Send/Receive settings (.srs)
%appdata%\Roaming\Microsoft\Outlook
Message (.msg, .htm, .rtf)
%userprofile%\Documents
Outlook 2007
The path for each file/folder that needs to be backed up is mentioned below:
Personal Folders file (.pst)
%userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook
Personal Address Book (.pab)
%userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook
Command bar and menu customizations (.dat)
%appdata%\Microsoft\Outlook\outcmd.dat
Navigation Pane settings (.xml)
%appdata%\Outlook\profile name.xml
Registered Microsoft Exchange extensions (.dat)
%userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook
Outlook Contacts nicknames (.nk2)
%appdata%\Microsoft\Outlook
Rules (.rwz)
%appdata%\Microsoft\Outlook
Print styles (Outlprnt with no extension)
%appdata%\Microsoft\Outlook
Signatures (.rtf, .txt, .htm)
%appdata%\Microsoft\Signatures
Stationery (.htm)
%commonprogramfiles%\Microsoft Shared\Stationery
Custom forms
%userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Forms
Dictionary (.dic)
%appdata%\Microsoft\UProof
Templates (.oft)
%appdata%\Microsoft\Templates
Send/Receive settings (.srs)
%appdata%\Microsoft\Outlook
Message (.msg, .htm, .rtf)
%userprofile%\Documents
Outlook 2003
The path for each file/folder that needs to be backed up is mentioned below:
Outlook data files (.pst)
%appdata%\Microsoft\Outlook
Personal Address Book (.pab)
%userprofile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
Command bar and menu customizations (.dat)
%appdata%\Microsoft\Outlook
Navigation Pane settings (.xml)
%appdata%\Microsoft\Outlook\Outlook.xml
Registered Microsoft Exchange extensions (.dat)
%userprofile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
Outlook contacts nicknames (.nk2)
%appdata%\Microsoft\Outlook
Rules (.rwz)
%appdata%\Microsoft\Outlook
Print styles (Outlprnt with no extension)
%appdata%\Microsoft\Outlook
Signatures (.rtf, .txt, .htm)
%appdata%\Microsoft\Signatures
Stationary (.htm)
%appdata%\Microsoft\Stationary
Custom forms
%userprofile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Forms
Dictionary (.dic)
%appdata%\Microsoft\Proof
Templates (.oft)
%appdata%\Microsoft\Templates
Send/Receive settings (.srs)
%appdata%\Microsoft\Outlook
Message (.msg, .htm, .rtf)
%userprofile%\My Documents
Backup limitations for locked or open files
The backup and restore for Outlook works only if you use the same version of Windows and the same
version of Outlook on both the backup and restore computers.
Backup4all uses the Volume Shadow Copy service that allows you to back up local open files from NTFS
partitions under Windows 7/Vista/XP/2008/2003. Therefore you can back up Outlook without closing it if
certain requirements are met:
computer is running Windows 7, Windows 2008 Server, Windows Vista, Windows XP and
Windows 2003
Microsoft Outlook data is not being backed up via the network
Microsoft Outlook data is located on a NTFS formatted partition
the VSS (Volume Shadow Service) is running and is properly configured
If any of the requirements above is not met, Outlook will need to be closed before backing up the data
(otherwise files that are in use will be skipped).
Applies to:
Backup4all 3.x, 4.x, 5.x
Outlook 2003
Outlook 2007
Outlook 2010
Outlook 2013