BACKING UP WINDOWS MAIL (VISTA)

You can easily backup Microsoft Windows Mail, Contacts and Address Book, however certain rules must be followed for this to be done correctly.

Below are instructions and tips, which must be followed to ensure trouble free and successful backup of your information.

Disclaimer:

The following advice is based on our knowledge and experience of backing up Windows Mail, Contacts and Address Book.

Please be aware that we are not the authors of this program and cannot answer specific questions related to these products. Our customer support team will only deal with the backup and restore process relating to the backup software and not the set up or import/export requirements of Windows Mail, Contacts and Address Book.

Backing Up Windows Mail: Emails, Contacts and Address Book

The first step to creating a backup of the e-mail folders is locating it. The easiest way to locate the folder is to:

1. Open your Windows Mail program and go to Tools > Options > Advanced and select Maintenance
2. A little over halfway down this window there is a button on the right hand side called 'Store Folder' - click on this
3. A pop up window will appear showing you the path to where your emails are kept. Make a note of this path (which will look something like:
   
   C:\Users\username xxxxx\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Mail)
4. Then click OK to close the window
5. If you cannot see the entire path (because it's too long), left click with your mouse on the path and a flashing cursor will appear, you can then move this along with the forward arrow key on your keyboard which will reveal the rest of the path

Now you know the location of your emails, you can back them up.

1. Open the backup software (remember when opening the software in VISTA you must 'right click' on the padlock icon and open by selecting 'run as administrator')
2. Click on NEW
3. Create a name for your backup definition (i.e. emails) and click OK
4. On the right hand side your drives should appear
5. Left click on the '+' next to your 'C' drive to open it up and then follow the path you noted down for your emails, clicking on the appropriate '+'s to drill down until you find the folder where your emails were stored. Once found PLACE A TICK IN THE BOX.
6. Go down to bottom right of the window where it says Backup Cycle and reduce this from 30 to 5*
7. On the bottom left side schedule what time and how frequently you wish your backups to run
8. Go up to the top left and click SAVE

VERY IMPORTANT:

1. In some of our tests it was found that Windows Mail must be closed before backing up (and it must remain closed for the entire duration of the backup). For example, if you have set to backup your Windows Mail file every day at 11pm make sure you have closed the program before this time otherwise it might fail!
2. It is strongly recommended that all Email definitions have a reduced backup cycle, this is because your Email files will tend to double in size with each backup cycle (reduce from the default 30 to between 1 & 7).
3. If Windows Mail is not closed when backs up, you may receive a "Backup Failed" email from us. Close Windows Mail before the next backup and it should run successfully.
4. Your computer must be left on and not in sleep mode. The first backup may take a long time and is best carried out overnight.

The address book in Vista's Windows Mail conveniently stores all contacts in one folder named 'Contacts' and can normally be located under this path:

C/ > Users > username XXXXX > Contacts

Once located, create a new definition on (i.e address book) and you can back this up in the same way as backing up emails noted above.

The calendar file in Vista can be located under this path:

C/ users / username XXXXX / Appdata / Local / Microsoft / Windows Calendar

Create a new definition on (i.e calendar) and you can back this up in the same way as backing up emails or your address book as noted above.