Best way to perform EDB to PST conversion

All Exchange mailbox data is stored in the .edb files. The .edb files store data in b-tree structure that contains nodes at the top level and the sub element as child nodes. .stm file doesn’t contain this kind if tree structure hierarchy.   The B tree structure of the EDB file proves helpful in accessing the database elements and their child nodes.

The copy of the user’s exchange mailbox data is stored on the user’s system in form of OST files All the OST file data is synchronised with the Exchange server database. If the Exchange server is unavailable due to some reason then the user can work offline with the help of OST file. If the user needs to work with his mailbox data in Outlook when there is no exchange connectivity then, he can convert the OST file data to PST file format. If the OST files get corrupt, damaged or deleted then user can extract his mailbox data from EDB file to PST format.

Need for EDB to PST conversion:

There can be several Scenarios when a user can require extracting EDB to PST. Some of the common possible scenarios are given below:

• Once the exchange database gets corrupt, user cannot access his mailbox data.  There are some Exchange recovery software available that first repairs the corrupt EDB database then converts it to pst format so that it can be directly imported and accessed into Outlook.

• Sometimes a user gets his mailbox items deleted accidentally or intentionally. So in order to recover the deleted mailbox items the user requires some EDB to PST converter software. Such software recovers the deleted items and saves the recovered mailbox into PST file that can be directly imported and accessed via outlook.

• If the administrator requires to extract a particular user’s mailbox. then he requires to extract his mailbox data from EDB database to a PST file

• The admin can require doing so if the employee is being migrated to another department, job location change or leaving the job where he needs to access his emails from the new location.

• The administrator can also extract a particular mailbox data from backup EDB files for investigation purpose

• If the admin is deleting the mailboxes of his ex-employees then he can convert his mailbox to PST file that can be saved as some other location as a backup database.

• If the management requires crossing check the employees mailbox data then admin needs to extract that particular mailbox to PST file that can be handled to the management. 

• A user can also require extracting his mailbox data from EDB to PST as a mean of backup.

• The inbuilt Microsoft tool for EDB to PST conversion does not support granular extraction of mailbox items or messages from full backup. Hence, a powerful and full featured EDB to PST converter software is required to perform conversion of only specific selected items from EDB to PST format.  

• If a user wants to work with the archived Exchange data then, he can convert the EDB files to format and can access them into Outlook. 

• If the Exchange server is going down due to some maintenance task or some other reason then, the EDB files can be converted into PST files format. So that user can keep working with their mailbox data without any pause. 

Modes for EDB to PST conversion:

• Offline EDB to PST conversion: this mode of conversion is used if there is planned shutdown of Exchange server and all Exchange database is brought offline. The offline EDB files can be easily converted to PST files. This is a faster mode for performing EDB to PST conversion. 
• Online EDB to PST conversion: This type of conversion is performed while the Exchange server is online and the users can keep working with their mailbox data, while the conversion is being done side by side without hampering their work. The users can access, send, or receive mails and other Exchange services will also keep running while the conversion process is going on.

How to convert EDB to PST?

Whenever there is any kind of corruption in the Exchange server then Exchange server stops proper functioning, the corrupted database is not recognized by the server thus the user cannot access his mailbox data. Whenever a user tries to access his mailbox data, several error messages are prompted on the screen.

In such situation the first option is to restore the data from a backup. But if no recent backup is available then, the corrupted database needs to be repaired. Microsoft provides the Isinteg and Eseutil commands with the help of which the corrupted database can be repaired and brought to a healthy state. If you want to access the EDB database into Outlook then, you can convert the repaired EDB database into PST format by using any of the below given methods.

Ways to convert EDB to PST:

• Exmerge utility

• Exchange Management Shell cmdlets ('Export-Mailbox' and 'Import-Mailbox')

• Third party EDB to PST converter software

Exmerge utility: You can convert the repaired EDB database into PST files with the help of Exmerge utility. This tool possess some limitations such as it cannot export data of size 2 GB or greater. The supported versions of Exchange Server are 5.5, 2000, and 2003.

Exchange Management Shell cmdlets: You can use the Exchange Management Shell cmdlets('Export-Mailbox' and 'Import-Mailbox').Exchange Management Shell cmdlet 'Export-Mailbox' let the user export his mailbox data to any desired. The exported data can contain various data items such as:  empty folders, sub-folders, special folders etc.

It offers two options to the user for exporting his mailbox data:

• Using the first option the user can export his mailbox to another mailbox

• The second option let the user export his mailbox data to a PST file. 

Although, the 'Export-Mailbox' cmdlet allows exporting all type of data, including empty folders, sub-folders, special folders etc.

There are some limitations of the 'Export-Mailbox' cmdlet as it cannot migrate complete mailbox efficiently, for doing so a powerful EDB to PST conversion tool will be required. Also it doesn’t offer any facility to the user for performing online EDB to PST conversion.

To overcome the limitations of inbuilt Microsoft utilities, third party EDB to PST converter software came into existence.

Some prominent features of EDB to PST converter software:

• Let the user perform an easy and reliable EDB to PST conversion.  

• Let the user perform online as well as offline EDB to PST conversion.

• Let the user recover accidentally deleted mailbox items

• Let the user efficiently extract data from EDB file/files of any size. User can save the exported data to a new PST file or existing one  

• Provides wide range of Compatibility with all platforms of Outlook, Exchange and Windows.

• Let the user simultaneously convert multiple EDB files to PST format.  

• Let the user save his exported mailbox data into a new PST file or existing PST file.

• Let the user perform selective mail conversion. i.e. the user can choose to save all mailbox items or only selected items

• The data formatting and mailbox hierarchy is kept intact after conversion. 

• Offers various filter options that let the user export mailbox data from EDB a file based on specific predefined criteria such as filter by Folder, by date range, subject and sender etc. 

• Let the user perform conversion in Online as well offline Exchange mode. In Online mode, some software also allow the user to save the exported EDB files data to EML/MSG or PST format. The user is offered the  option to decide to 'Connect to single mailbox' or 'connect to all mailboxes on server

• Let the user preview the converted mailbox data before actually saving it to PST format. 

• The software let the user restores Accidentally Deleted Off-Line EDB Mailboxes that are within mailbox retention period. 

Note: The above described are the most common features of an EDB to PST software. However, the features of EDB to PST converter software can vary from software to 

software. Some software can exclude any of the above mentioned features or can include some extra features. 

If you are in need to purchase an EDB to PST converter software. Then, first download and try the Demo version of the software. The Demo version let you preview your converted mailbox data before actually saving it. If you are satisfied with the Output of the demo version then, In order to save the converted data you need to purchase/register the software. Before purchasing keep your needs in mind and check if the software is full-fledged with the features desired by you. If not, then move for some other software. There are lot of software available online, you just need to make an ample online search, try the Demo version and make a comparative analysis of their functioning then choose the one that best suits your needs.

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How to configure Unicode options in Outlook?

In current article, I am going to discuss the Unicode options in Outlook. Before that let’s have a glimpse at the ANSI and Unicode character encoding.

What is ANSI and Unicode format?

The ANSI format contains 217 characters. The US versions of Windows operating system (Windows 95 and Windows NT 4 and previous versions) supported the character encoding Windows-1252.

After that the number of characters increased from 217 to 218 as one more symbol is added i.e. the euro currency symbol. Later on Microsoft introduced Windows Glyph List 4) character set that contained 652 characters. It also provides support for non-Latin alphabets.  

Unicode encoding is also known as UTF-16 that provides a unique numeric identifier for each character (non Latin fonts and symbol fonts). The current ongoing version of Unicode formatting is 6.2.0; it has a total of 110,182 characters including graphical, formatting and control characters.

Unicode options in Outlook:

Unicode mode is fully supported by Microsoft Office Outlook 2007. Unicode format is beneficial if the multilingual support is required. There is one more additional benefit of using Unicode format that is higher storage. Non Unicode formats provide less storage support capacity and limit the use on multilingual characters within your data.  

The previous versions don’t provide support for Unicode format. Due to the extra features provided by Unicode formats users prefer to migrate from Non Unicode supported versions to Unicode. 

While using Outlook Unicode mode, a new PST file is created by default. Outlook also provides Group policy settings with the help of which you can enforce the Unicode format for new PST files.

With the help of Outlook Group Policy template, you can modify the Outlook Unicode settings.  

This can also be done with the help of Office Customization Tool (OCT). You need to go to the user settings page and from there you can configure the OCT settings. 

Note: The below steps are valid for Outlook version 2007.

Steps to use Group policy for imposing Unicode format for the new PST files:

• First load the template for Office Outlook 2007.
• Go to User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Microsoft Office Outlook 2007\Miscellaneous then open PST Settings by double clicking. From there you can customize the settings for enforcing the Unicode format.
• Double click to Select Unicode/ANSI option from Preferred PST Mode.
• Now if you want to enable the policy settings then click Enabled.
• Now you need to choose the file format for new PST file. To do so open the new PSTs drop-down list and choose ‘Enforce Unicode PST’ Option.
• Finally Hit OK.

With the help of Group policy, you can also impose Unicode mode for Outlook. To do so, follow the given steps:

• First load the template for Office Outlook 2007 in Group Policy.
• Go to User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Microsoft Office Outlook 2007\Tools > Account Settings, Then Open Exchange Settings by double click.
• Select the option Exchange Unicode Mode by double clicking.
• You can enable the policy configuration by selecting the radio button.
• Check the checkbox ‘Ignore existing format of the Archive PST’
• Hit OK.
• Select the option Exchange Unicode Mode by Double-clicking.
• You can enable the policy configuration by selecting the radio button.
• Open the dropdown list ‘Choose whether existing OST format determines mailbox mode’ and from there select the option Create new OST if format doesn't match mode.

This will prompt you to fill the file name of the new OST file.

You can also choose the option ‘Prompt to create new OST if format doesn't match mode’. By selecting this option the user will be adjourned to create a new OST.

Users will be prompted to select one of the options

• Whether  the new OST file  is to be created now or later on,
• After that the user need to choose a file name for the newly created OST file
• Hit the OK button.

Before enforcing the Outlook Unicode mode, you must decide which mode do you want to use and why? 

Before using Unicode mode or non-Unicode (ANSI) mode, you must go through the below given checkpoints: 

• For using the Outlook Unicode mode the user must have Exchange versions 2000 or later versions. The OST files and Default Outlook Unicode or ANSI formats are also checked by Outlook whether they are Unicode or ANSI formats.
• The same format check is performed for the Outlook PST files.
• Before switching a current file from Unicode mode to non-Unicode or vice versa the user must keep in mind that  data can be lost as the characters supported by one format may not be supported by the other . This can turn some of your text useless or un-readable. So if you are using Unicode format then it’s not a wise choice to switch to ANSI format, they should keep using the Unicode format.

If you want to harmonize the Cached Exchange Mode and deployment of Outlook Unicode mode, then you need to set the deploy options for migrating users to Unicode mode. As you know, while working with Exchange cache mode the Offline Address Book is automatically synchronized with the data residing on Exchange server. So, when you migrate users to Unicode mode then you must also synchronizing OST and OAB files by setting from deployment options.

You can  create a new Outlook profile for deploying Outlook Unicode mode with the help of use the  Office Customization Tool (OCT). This will automatically create a new OST file and archive file that will support Outlook Unicode format.

Follow the given steps to create new Outlook offline profile:

• Start the Office Customization Tool (OCT) tool and open Outlook section.
• Go to Customize Default Profile page> New Profile. After clicking New Profile you will be prompted to fill the desired name for new Outlook profile in the Profile name box
• Click Next.
• Open the Specify Exchange Settings page. From there check the radio button ‘Configure an Exchange server connection’.
• You will find the default user name system variable in the User Name box, you can also change it to desired variable.
• Fill the Exchange server in the Exchange Server box;
• Go to the option ‘More Settings’. This will open the Microsoft Exchange Server page.
• From there you can select  the checkbox ‘Enable offline use’, if  you want to  deploy a new OST file
• Hit the OK button. After that Click Next
• Once you are done with the process of customizing settings s in the OCT, create a Setup customization file by clicking Finish.
• After that you need to update all user systems with the new Outlook profile.

How to install Outlook 2007 on users' computer?

Follow the below steps to install an Office product: 

• Copy the Setup customization file to the Updates folders. 

Note: The Setup customization file was the file that was created by Office Customization Tool (OCT) in the previous paragraphs. 

The location for the Updates folders is the root of the network installation point.

• Go to the product folder specified at its default location i.e. the root of the network installation point. From there you can modify the settings the Config.xml file

Open the default location for the product (i.e. root of the network installation point,), Locate the file then, Double click Setup.exe to install the product. This will apply the customization done by you in the Config.xml file

Consider a scenario when Outlook 2007 is installed on the user’s system but no modification has been done to the Outlook users' profiles. In such cases while enforcing the Outlook users to work in Unicode mode, certain required modifications should be done to the default profile settings so that proper harmony can be established for the new Outlook data files. If a user wants to use the Outlook Unicode mode then the Exchange server version should be 2000 or later.

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How to Resolve Exchange Event Error 9646?

Exchange server is one of the most popular mail servers now- a -days. Its various advanced features such as: Connection filtering, Recipient filtering, Intelligent Message Filter and social collaboration makes it even more all the rage. Instead of having such phenomenal features, sometimes you have to face hurdles in the smooth functioning of the application, the issues can occur due to hardware, software or some other reasons.

While working with Exchange a user can have to face different kind of errors. Event ID 9646 is one of the common error IDs received while working with Exchange.

Resolve Exchange Errors & Restore Mail Items with Microsoft Exchange Recovery Software

There can be several possible scenarios when Event ID 9646 can occur:

1. You have just installed Microsoft Exchange Server.
2. A third party application has been installed or a service account is created for the application, that conflicts with the Exchange server then, this error can be raised.
3. The Number of opened MAPI sessions has exceeded the specified maximum default unit. 
4. The server that is running is running in a forest or it is in the resource forest.
5. If the resource forest have enabled accounts that ate linked with Disabled accounts in the resource forest then also this error can be raised.

This event in the application log is commonly seen by Exchange users.

• If the event ID is raised due to any of the first three scenarios then you need to grant "View Information Store status" permission to the service account, so that it can open unlimited number of sessions.

Run the following command to grant the permission:

 

• If the event ID occurs due to last two of the above mentioned scenarios, then the "View Information Store status" permission is to be granted at administrative group level.

While using Outlook 2003 when a user receives the Event ID 9646 sometimes, the following error is also prompted.

 

The above error ID may occur due to one of the following reasons:

• The issue can occur Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1) has been installed on your Exchange server system 
• If many MAPI sessions are being run by any program on the client system, then the number of MAPI sessions to the Exchange Server computer can increase beyond the permitted maximum count. This can also cause the above issue.

In Exchange Server 2003 SP1, the default value of maximum permitted MAPI sessions per user is a hexadecimal value of 0x20 (i.e. decimal value of 32.)

• If the number of folders is increased in the mailbox, or if an additional mailbox is added to the Outlook profile, then the above issue can be faced by Outlook 2007 user.

Follow the given steps to resolve the above issue:

The primitive step for error resolution is to ensure that whether the MAPI session limit has been reached the maximum default limit or if an additional mailbox has been added (that can happen due to some client program bug or any issue with design).

The issue can also occur if a large mailbox has been added to the Outlook 2007 profile in Cached Exchange Mode. In such case you have to disable the new Outlook 2007 default feature in order to resolve the above issue.

Follow the given steps to do so:

• Go to Tools>Account Settings.
• Select Exchange Server account
• Choose the option ‘Change’.
• Now, click the option ‘More Settings’.
• Go to the ‘Advanced’ tab

Uncheck the checkbox 'Download shared folders'

• The Download shared folders don’t include mail folders
• Hit the OK button,
• Click Next, and then click Finish.

Note: When are working in offline mode (i.e. Via Cached Exchange Mode profile) and performing the above steps then the shared mailbox folders cannot be accessed

The other reason for the above issue is some bug in client program or some faulty design. In such situation you need to contact to the vendor to get a fix for the issue or get permissions for the account (This is the account under which the Outlook program is being run)to View Information Store Status so that it will not be affected by MAPI sessions limits.

Follow the given steps to set permissions to View Information Store Status:

• Open  Exchange System Manager
• First select the desired  Exchange Server object or the mailbox store , then Open the Exchange server properties by doing right click on the Exchange Server object or the mailbox store for which permissions are to be granted .
• After opening Properties, open the Security tab.
• Select the accounts for which permissions are to be set.
• To list the account:
• Go to Add
• After that select the account name and click add 
• Finally click OK.
• Go to Allow column option and Check the check box  ‘select the View information store status
• If some permissions are set that are not necessary then uncheck the corresponding checkboxes to remove the permissions and then click OK.

Note: you can change the number of MAPI sessions per user, for that you will have to configure the registry settings. But don’t increase the limit too high because it will affect the performance of the Exchange Server computer.

To configure registry value follow the given steps:
For changing the default value MAPI sessions you need to modify the entry ‘Maximum Allowed Sessions Per User ‘.

To do so follow the given procedure:

• Go to  Start>Run
• In the run dialog box,  type regedit
• Click OK.
• Locate  the sub key : HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeIS\ParametersSystem
• Click the specific subkey.
• If ‘Maximum Allowed Sessions Per User entry’ hasn’t been set or it is not present  then edit it by following procedure:
• Go to Edit> New,
• Click DWORD Value.
• In the entry name , type Maximum Allowed Sessions Per User 
• Click ENTER.
• Select the entry ‘Maximum Allowed Sessions Per User’ by doing right click
• After that click Modify.
• Select Decimal, the Value data box will open.
• In the Value data box,  fill the desired  value that you want to set
• Click OK.
• Close Registry Editor.
• Go to Start> Run, this will open the run dialog box
• Type services.msc in the Open box
• Hit OK.
• Select the option ‘MSExchange Information Store service’ and then press the button’ Restart Service’.

Using the above steps you can easily modify the registry to configure ‘Maximum Allowed Sessions Per User’. But the user must keep in mind that is some wrong modifications will be done to the registry then serious problems can occur. So in order to avoid such trouble some situations, it is advisable to backup the registry. Before editing the registry the user must know the proper way to backup and restore registry then, he should move further to modify the registry.

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Ways to deal with Lotus Notes View errors:

Lotus Notes is a client-server software developed by IBM Notes. Along with emailing and information management, it provides various advanced features such as: teamrooms, discussion forums, file sharing and user directories etc.

Lotus Notes it all data in document centric database. All user mailbox data is stored in NSF file format. For proper functioning, configuration files are available in Notes. Any type of corruption to these configuration files lead to various kind of errors. In such case you will require some Lotus Notes file recovery method in order to repair the corrupt files or some other way to resolve the issues generated due to file corruption.

There are various configuration files used in Lots Notes
• ID File
• Names.nsf
• Desktop8.ndk
• Cache.ndk
• Headline.nsf
• Bookmark.nsf
To know more visit my previous article: “what is bookmark file in Lotus Notes” .

In Lotus Notes a user can face two types of errors:
• Configuration errors
• View errors

In this article my main focus is on the Lotus Notes View errors. View error occurs if there is some issue with the Desktop6.ndk, Cache.ndk or Bookmark.nsf.

Before discussing the associated errors, let’s get a brief insight of the three files i.e. Desktop6.ndk, Cache.ndk or Bookmark.nsf

Bookmark.nsf file:
• It Caches Icons, notes, framesets and views
• It Stores bookmarks as documents that can be viewed in list or grid/icons.  This provides the user the facility to perform multiple operations on bookmarks on multiple clients. This also resolves the replication conflicts.
• It stores History bookmarks i.e.  list of databases and documents  visited by user.

Desktop6.ndk file:
• It stores the databases or cached items (i.e.  Design elements and their corresponding NoteIDs and UNIDs) which user has accessed previously from bookmarks.
• It stores the workspaces as well as their stored databases.

Cache.ndk:
• It is created automatically when the Notes starts, its default location is Notes data directory. If you delete it, then next time whenever you start Notes it will be automatically recreated
• It Stores the cached design elements.
• It stores the unread journal that helps to mend up coordination to keep track of unread information, if same client access the information across multiple replicas
• It caches all database Design elements such as: forms, sub forms, navigators, scripts, etc.

Now we have got a brief introduction about the three configuration files. Now we can move ahead to discuss the errors associated with the above three configuration files:

Errors due to corruption in Bookmark.nsf file: If the Bookmark.nsf file is corrupt or poorly configured then, the user have to face several problems while accessing the database or starting the Notes client. Any kind of corruption to the Bookmark.nsf file creates problems while opening file, document, frame etc and error messages are prompted. You can also face problems while viewing the database; the database may not be displayed properly and incorrect information can be shown to the user mails don’t show sender / subject information.

The common errors are:
• The System Cannot Find the File Specified

• Invalid or nonexistent document
  



If any of the above error occurs, in such condition it is advisable to remove the corrupt bookmarks.

Errors due to corruption in Cache.ndk file:
If the Cache.ndk file is corrupt or incorrectly configured then, user have to face several issues with the proper functioning of Notes. Such as Notes doesn’t start properly, hangs on, crashes, or runs slow, performs poorly and users read mail still showing as unread.
In such situation, a corrupted cache can cause the error message “an unexpected network error has occurred”

But it is not always mandatory that an error message will be prompted to the user, user continues to face the issues without getting any error message.
The primal Resolution steps to fix the issue are: remove the corrupt cache and restart Notes application. Then, Download and run Killnotes (It is available free from IBM)

Errors due to corruption in Desktop6.ndk file:
Desktop6.ndk file takes charge of the operations related to user’s workspaces and the related databases.
If the Desktop6.ndk file gets corrupt then user has to face several ‘workspace related’ problems like:  missing icons or a missing workspace tab.
In order to resolve the issue the user need to delete the corrupt Desktop6.ndk file and recreate it.

Note: The user must keep in mind that after recreating the file, the changes to the workspace before recreation not be entertained, simply they will be lost. So before recreating the file user must make a note of the specific databases that need to be restored after recreation.

Follow the given steps to clear the bookmark.nsf file:
• There are two ways to clear the bookmark.nsf
• The first is to ask the user to Exit  Notes application, Go to
• Program Files\Notes (Notes Client installation folder)
• From there locate bookmark.nsf and delete it. You can also rename the existing bookmark file instead of deleting it.
• A new bookmark.nsf file will be automatically created when the user will open Notes bookmark.ntf

Note: This will be based on the default template and any changes the user has made to their book marks will be lost.

There is another alternate way to clear the bookmark.nsf file:
• Open workspace, left click the bookmarks database
• Click View tab then ‘Go to ’. Now you will be asked to ‘Select the folder or view to open’. From there choose the option [ByURL]
• After clicking [ByURL] the bookmark database will be opened.
• Now, you will get the list of your all bookmarks, if you want to select all of them then, select all with the help of Ctrl + A and press the delete key.
• Click OK on the confirmation box
• Finally Exit all open windows.

Note: While following the above steps, it is common to face the error “object variable not set”. In such case, Go to the workspace and refresh.

You don’t need to delete all Bookmarks if the corruption is related to only one database the, it’s better to delete the corresponding bookmarks only, no need to delete all. 
• Note the replica ID of that particular database.
• Right click the database to open properties tab
• Open the book mark list as done in the above procedure.
• Go to View>Search.
• In the search filed enter the noted Database Replica ID. This will open the bookmarks related to that specific database only. From, there select the bookmarks and press delete.

Note: If your bookmark file is not available in the workspace then, you can open the bookmarks by: going to Database> Local then, select your bookmarks.nsf file from there.

If the above steps don’t help you then the issue isn’t a configuration issue, it might be due to some erroneous template design.
To resolve template related issues:
• First update all views using [Ctrl+Shift+F9]
• After that perform a design replace or refresh.

To refresh the refresh the design, do the following:

• Open workspace>Database>Refresh Design.
• Right click the database icon.
• In the open dialog box, Type the name of server where your database is located
• Go to database icon>database>properties and make a note of the current template.

To replace the template design, do the following:

• Open workspace>Database>Replace Design.
• Right click the database icon.
• In the open dialog box, Type the name of server where your database is located
• Now you will be prompted to select a ‘Template server’. You can see the name from database properties. Ensure that the checkbox ‘Inherit future design changes’ has been checked
•  Click Replace.

•  After performing replace or refresh, delete the cache.ndk file.
I hope the above procedure will prove helpful to fix the View errors in Lotus Notes. Your comments and feedback are welcome.

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How to backup Windows Mail messages and contacts?

About Windows mail: 

Windows Mail is the default Email client included in Windows Vista. It possesses the functionalities of both an email and newsgroup client, before Windows Mail Outlook Express was used. Outlook Express was bundled with IE (versions 4-6) but this is not the case with Windows Mail. Later on Windows Live Mail succeeded Windows Mail. Windows Live mail is used as a replacement for Outlook Express for Windows XP. 

About Windows Mail store folder: 

If you want to identify your Windows Mail store folder, do the following: 

• From the menu, Go to Tools > Options

• Go to the Advanced tab

• Click Maintenance

• Click the button ‘Store Folder’

• Highlight the full folder location by clicking the location 

• From the pop-up menu, click the option ‘Select All’, then copy the string by using ctrl-c

The copied string is the path to your Windows Mail store folder.

Now you can easily go to Windows Mail store folder in Windows Explorer:

• Press Windows-R

• Then paste the folder location in the Open box by using the Ctrl-V command

• Click OK to open the specified folder. And close all other open dialogs and windows 

If you cannot launch Windows mail to open the store folder location then, you can go to the standard default folder storage location and open the folder from there.

Windows Mail messages are stored at the location: 

C:\users\(user-name)\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Mail\Local Folders

Backup windows mail: 

Taking regular backups of data is considered a good practice. So that if unfortunately you lose your data or its gets corrupt then you have some mean to restore that.

 

Fortunately, Windows mail also provides you a way to backup/copy the Windows Mail address book. Instead of proving helpful in case of data loss situations, data backup is also required if you want to migrate the Windows contacts to a new computer. 

With Windows mail you have various backup options:

•  To Backup Your Email Messages to Restore Later

•  To Backup Your Email Account(s) to Restore Later

•  To Backup Windows Mail Settings to Restore Later

In this article I am going to focus on first one i.e. “To Backup Your Email Messages to Restore Later”.  I will cover rest options and way to reset Windows Mail in my upcoming articles.

For now, let’s move on to know, “how to backup and copy Windows mail messages and contacts”.

Windows mail provides the Export option to backup and copy your messages and contacts. And the import option is used to restore the exported messages/contacts. Windows Mail uses .eml file format for storing the email messages.

Steps to backup Windows Mail messages and contacts in Vista:

To backup messages:

• First create a new empty folder at any desired location where the backup files/messages are to be stored

• Start Windows Mail

• Open File > Export > Messages

• Choose the option “Microsoft Windows Mail”

You can also choose to export the messages from Windows Mail to Microsoft Outlook or Microsoft Exchange. For this you need select the Outlook profile in which you want to receive the messages. After that click Ok

• Click Next

• Use the browse option to select the location where you want to store the messages.

Here you can navigate to the empty folder which you have created in step 1. The exported messages will then be exported in this particular selected folder

• Click ‘Next’ after choosing the ‘Export To location’

• After that choose the folders that are to be backup, you can choose all folders or only specific folders to be backup.

If you want to select all folders then, check the radio button ‘All folders’.

• Click finish 

• Exit the Windows Mail Export.

To backup contacts:

• Go to File > Export > Windows Contacts.

• Now, choose the format in which the contacts are to be saved. You can choose to sane the contacts as CSV or VCF file format. 

• After that, select the fields (First name, last name, middle name and name etc.) that are to be exported 

Steps to restore the exported/backup Windows Mail messages and contacts in Vista:

If you want to use the exported messages and contacts on another computer then, you need to use the Windows mail import option to restore the contacts and messages. For that:

• Go to file> import.

• From there you can choose what is to be exported: windows contacts, messages, mail account settings, news account settings.

Click Microsoft Windows Mail 7.

• Click next  

• Click Browse to select the location where the backup folder is saved.

Click on Select Folder and choose the exported/backup folder.

• Click Next after choosing the ‘Import From location’

• Select the radio button ‘All folders’ if you want all folders to be imported. Or choose only specific folders to be exported.  

• Click finish 

After following the above steps you have now imported the Exported/backup folders into your system. Now you can access and work with them.

If you don’t want to follow such long procedure to backup the Windows mail then, you need to choose some Windows Mail Backup software. With a petite online search, you can find ample of Windows Mail Backup software that possess powerful backup features and advanced options. 

Before buying any Windows mail backup utility make a check list of your desired features, carefully check the system specifications, the various available compatibility features and other additional features if given.  Make a comparative study after trying the Demo version of two or three software that seems to meet your criteria. Once you are satisfied with the Output of the Demo version, select the best & suitable one and go ahead for the software purchase. 

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