Solved Lost Outlook 2019 address book when carrying out refresh of Windows 11

Hi

I carried out a refresh of Windows 11 but I appear to have lost my e-mail address book when I reinstalled Outlook 2019. All my e-mails and folders I created over the years were still there, but the address book is missing. My account was set up as IMAP .
Can anyone in forum please advise it this can be recovered.

Window 11 pro
Version 22H2
Build 22621.1194

Did you try Outlook online? Outlook.live.com

A reset should have created a windows.old folder at the root of C: These instructions are assuming there is a windows.old present.
If it is present, make sure you are able to see hidden files. Control Panel>File Explorer Options>View tab. Check the box 'Show hidden files folders and drives'. Click OK.

1. Open the windows.old folder. Your outlook PST file should be found at this location- C:\windows.old\users\yourusername\appdata\local\Microsoft\Outlook.
COPY this file to your desktop or to a flash drive.
At this point, if it were me, I would open Outlook and delete the new account you set up that has a missing address book and then import the entire backed up .pst file.
However, in step 7 you can import only sections of the .pst file into your current outlook account if you choose.
2. Close Outlook and reopen it.
3. Open Outlook again, click File>Import/Export>the Import/Export wizard opens
4. select "Import from another program or file" Next
5. Click Outlook Data File (.pst) and Next
6. Click Browse
7. choose the file location where you copied the file, Next
(You might have to enter a password for the old .pst file here)
OK, Finish

If the account is now to your satisfaction in Outlook, you can delete the file you saved or store it somewhere for backup.

Hi glasscuter, I have a windows.old file. When I map to the Microsoft folder, Outlook is missing.
I thought when you setup an iMap account all the data was saved as .OST. I saved this file before I refreshed Windows

agh55 said:

iMap account all the data was saved as .OST.

agh55 said:

OST. I saved this file before I refreshed Windows

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

You are so, so right. Sorry about that. You mentioned imap and it went right over my head.

In the case of an ost file, I do not think 'saving the file' is enough. In order to recover your addresses, I believe prior to reset using Outlook, you would have had to export your addresses into a .pst file format. I know of no way to recover your addresses from an ost file without using some third party OST to PST Converter.
According to the following article, you can’t restore an ost-file of an IMAP on another computer or even after reconfiguring your account on your current computer and you’ll need a 3rd party recovery tool if you still need to extract your Calendar or Contacts data. I have never used a 3rd party converter so I can not recommend a dependable one. I do know they are not free.

For future reference, this article explains how one must backup and restore their address book when using imap.

Hi Kelper, thanks for your response, the site you referred to is my Micrsoft Outlook address. My problem is with Microsoft Office 2019 address book.

Hi glasskuter, very interesting reading, I know the next time what action I have to take before I refresh Windows. I now have to enter my missing e-mail addresses manually. Thanks for all you help and interesting info.