 It can be difficult to backup your email. Each email program has its own file structure, folders, and locations. If, however, you are using Microsoft Outlook, backing up just became easy, and without additional cost.
Microsoft offers some valuable free software, but these programs often remain fairly obscure. This is the case with a free backup program for Outlook. The Personal Folders Backup program is a free tool that can be downloaded at the Microsoft website. In some areas of their website Microsoft says that this program applies to Outlook 2002 and Outlook 2003. Other areas will say Outlook 2002 and later. The second phrase applies. I have used it with Outlook 2002, 2003, and 2007 with excellent results.
The program is a quick and easy download. It backups the .pst file which contains all of the Outlook folders, including the Inbox, Calendar, and Contacts. This tool even allows you to back up any .pst files that have been used to archive Outlook information. You simply start the program and check off the .pst files you want to backup, select the location where your data will be copied to, and set how often you want to be reminded to backup.
You can back your data up to your own hard drive or to a network drive. Once the backup is completed, you can copy the backup file to a removable media such as a CD, DVD, portable hard drive, or portable USB drive.
If you are using Outlook with an Exchange Server, your IT person is probably backing up your Outlook files, but this little tool is perfect for a small office or home user.
The latest reports show that hard drives actually fail more than was previously suspected. So you must be careful to backup your data….especially your email. This free backup tool makes it easy.
For more information, see the Microsoft Personal Folders Backup informational site. You can download the Personal Folders Backup from the Microsoft Website.
NOTE: Don't forget to listen to Sandy's podcasts for more information on backing up and other important technical issues.
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