Making your own backup of your entire email box is not very complicated, but it is a multi-step process and can be time consuming. Use the procedure to make a full backup of all your email, contacts, calendars, and tasks. Also, use this procedure if you want to migrate your email from one mailbox to another.

Note:We offer VIP Services for those who would rather not follow the steps below themselves, and we will perform the migration for you.

Here are the steps to follow:

PREPARE:

Before migrating your data, I recommend that you delete all email from your Deleted Items folder and Junk E-Mail. There probably isn't much point in backing those up unless you think you might have deleted mail you shouldn't have, or you have junk mail that might not be junk. Once that is done, you are ready to begin the export.

EXPORT:

1.  In Outlook 2010, while you have your old mailbox open, click the File tab (Microsoft calls this "backstage").

2. In the Backstage, click Open.

3. On the Open page, click Import.

4. This opens the Import and Export Wizard. Click Export to a file, and then click Next.

5. Click Outlook Data File (.pst) and click Next.

6. Choose the top level of your mailbox by clicking it. Make sure "Include subfolders" is checked. Click Next.

7. Choose the location you would like to save the exported file to. I recommend clicking the "Browse..." button and navigating to the Desktop. I do not recommend using the default location as this is typically in a hidden folder that is difficult to find later. Whatever location you choose, make sure it is easy to find later when you want to restore the data. When you have chosen the location, you may click Finish. The default Option can be left alone, it does not matter for this kind of export.

8. The export will begin and take "as long as it takes" to complete. When it is done, you will have a full backup of your email box.