Tips on email backups please


Hazel123

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Ok. So I have been using outlook.com email (formerly hotmail) for many many years and have almost 5gb of stuff stored in it - many folders etc. So I would like to download it and keep a hard copy somewhere. Am also thinking of maybe starting fresh and keeping all the old stuff stored/backed up.

I've tried thunderbird before but found it confusing at times - I don't need the emails in two places permanently. Just to download them for storage rather than access them on the computer.

What is the best way to download/store all the emails from this account - and still be able to access them from storage if needed? Thanks.
 

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Thank you that is very helpful. This exports them as a .pst file - which suggests I'd need the full outlook program installed to read them again in future. Just wondering if there's a way of downloading them as html - so they can easily be read in future without relying on programs that may go out of date etc.
 

My Computer

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    16gb
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    Samsung 970 evo plus 2TB
    Cooling
    Could be better
    Internet Speed
    200mbps Starlink
    Browser
    Firefox
    Other Info
    Originally installed with a 500gb H10 Optane ssd
Thank you that is very helpful. This exports them as a .pst file - which suggests I'd need the full outlook program installed to read them again in future. Just wondering if there's a way of downloading them as html - so they can easily be read in future without relying on programs that may go out of date etc.
You can convert them to PDF: How to Convert PST to PDF with Attachments?.
 

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Thank you. I didn't think it would be simple! That sounds like a good option though. Will it save attachments as well?
 

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    Windows 11
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    HP Pavilion 14-ce3514sa
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    Core i5
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    16gb
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    Samsung 970 evo plus 2TB
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    Could be better
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    200mbps Starlink
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    Firefox
    Other Info
    Originally installed with a 500gb H10 Optane ssd
Thank you. I didn't think it would be simple! That sounds like a good option though. Will it save attachments as well?
For email backup I use MailStore. You may to check it out.
It does save attachments. Additionally, it has been one of the very best free downloads I have used over the years.
 

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Thanks. I had a look. Is it cloud based or something stored on your computer?
 

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    Windows 11
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    HP Pavilion 14-ce3514sa
    CPU
    Core i5
    Memory
    16gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 evo plus 2TB
    Cooling
    Could be better
    Internet Speed
    200mbps Starlink
    Browser
    Firefox
    Other Info
    Originally installed with a 500gb H10 Optane ssd
Thanks. I had a look. Is it cloud based or something stored on your computer?
The backups are stored on your computer. If you read through the information on their site, the application has some very useful features.
 
Last edited:

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Thank you. I didn't think it would be simple! That sounds like a good option though. Will it save attachments as well?
It should according to the article.
 

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    ViewSonic XG2530 25"/Benq XL2411P 24"/ ASUS VA24DQSB) 23.8"
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    Logitech
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    ~750Mb/s download / ~750Mb/s upload
    Browser
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    Defender and Malware Bytes
The backups are stored on your computer. If you read through the information on their site, it has some very useful features.
Thanks. I downloaded it. It's having difficulty logging into my email address though - keeps failing. Wondering if it's because I have 2FA on the email account (more than just username and password).
 

My Computer

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  • OS
    Windows 11
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    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion 14-ce3514sa
    CPU
    Core i5
    Memory
    16gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 evo plus 2TB
    Cooling
    Could be better
    Internet Speed
    200mbps Starlink
    Browser
    Firefox
    Other Info
    Originally installed with a 500gb H10 Optane ssd
The app has to support 2FA authentication for it to work. So many apps do not.
One observation...As long as the emails are still stored on the server, they'll stay on outlook.com servers until you delete them.
 

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    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.3296
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    still not telling
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Thanks. Unless outlook servers get hacked or go down! Also I'd just like to clear the lot, save it somewhere accessible and start fresh.

Can't seem to get mailstore to retrieve my email anyway. I tried the advanced option, putting IMAP TLS and server and username etc but it just comes back saying can't login.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion 14-ce3514sa
    CPU
    Core i5
    Memory
    16gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 evo plus 2TB
    Cooling
    Could be better
    Internet Speed
    200mbps Starlink
    Browser
    Firefox
    Other Info
    Originally installed with a 500gb H10 Optane ssd

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.3296
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    PC/Desktop
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    Dell Optiplex 7080
    CPU
    i9-10900 10 core 20 threads
    Motherboard
    DELL 0J37VM
    Memory
    32 gb
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    none-Intel UHD Graphics 630
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    Integrated Realtek
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    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1tb Solidigm m.2 +256gb ssd+512 gb usb m.2 sata
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell Premium
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    so slow I'm too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 22H2 19045.3930
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    Dell Optiplex 9020
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    i7-4770
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    24 gb
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    Benq 27
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    Dell factory
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    Logitech wireless
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    Logitech wired
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    still not telling
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
Yes I use an authorisation app to sign in. Just wondering if that's blocking mailstore from signing in.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion 14-ce3514sa
    CPU
    Core i5
    Memory
    16gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 evo plus 2TB
    Cooling
    Could be better
    Internet Speed
    200mbps Starlink
    Browser
    Firefox
    Other Info
    Originally installed with a 500gb H10 Optane ssd
Thanks. I downloaded it. It's having difficulty logging into my email address though - keeps failing. Wondering if it's because I have 2FA on the email account (more than just username and password).
The article below provides some information on using 2 FA.

MailStore Server & Modern Authentication​

How does Modern Authentication with Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace work with MailStore Server now? In a first step, the user enters his user name only. Then, MailStore Server checks if the authentication attribute of that user is either set to MailStore integrated, or to directory services and what type of directory service is currently configured. Depending on the result, the user is either asked for a password, or, if the configured directory service supports Modern Authentication, is redirected to a third-party identity provider. In the case of Modern Authentication with Microsoft 365, MailStore Server will return a sign-in URI of the identity provider. When using the MailStore Client or the MailStore Outlook Add-in, a web browser is opened automatically to open the sign-in-URL of your identity provider. When using MailStore Web Access, users are redirected automatically to the sign-in-URL of their identity provider. What happens next? That depends on the conditional access policies defined by the admin. If the user logs in from a secure network for which the administrator has not defined additional policies, then entering the credentials is typically sufficient. If the administrator has defined additional policies, the user may be asked to enter additional information (e.g. with MFA). If authentication with the identity provider was successful, the identity provider knows to which application the user originally wanted to log in. Thus, the identity provider redirects the user back to MailStore Server and has him submit an ID token which is sent to MailStore Server. The ID token is validated by MailStore Server and additional user information is requested from the identity provider (for example the alias address). This helps MailStore Server to map the MailStore user to the user that is trying to log in. Then, the session is marked as authenticated and the user can access the archive.

The entire article is posted at the following link.
 

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  • OS
    Windows 11 Professional
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    ASRock H310CM-HDV/M.2
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    32GB
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    Integrated Intel UHD Graphics 630
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    Intel Kaby Lake - High Definition Audio / cAVS (Audio, Voice, Speech) [A0]
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    LG Model: GSM59F1
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    Lian Li 205M
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky AV
Thank you.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion 14-ce3514sa
    CPU
    Core i5
    Memory
    16gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 evo plus 2TB
    Cooling
    Could be better
    Internet Speed
    200mbps Starlink
    Browser
    Firefox
    Other Info
    Originally installed with a 500gb H10 Optane ssd
Yes I use an authorisation app to sign in. Just wondering if that's blocking mailstore from signing in.
Probably. I would think mailstore would have to have direct authorization to access outlook.com rather than going through another app to get there.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.3296
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 7080
    CPU
    i9-10900 10 core 20 threads
    Motherboard
    DELL 0J37VM
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    none-Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1tb Solidigm m.2 +256gb ssd+512 gb usb m.2 sata
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell Premium
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    so slow I'm too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 22H2 19045.3930
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 9020
    CPU
    i7-4770
    Memory
    24 gb
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    256 gb Toshiba BG4 M.2 NVE SSB and 1 tb hdd
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell factory
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Internet Speed
    still not telling
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
I think so. I'm going to leave it for now if I can't get it to log in!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion 14-ce3514sa
    CPU
    Core i5
    Memory
    16gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 evo plus 2TB
    Cooling
    Could be better
    Internet Speed
    200mbps Starlink
    Browser
    Firefox
    Other Info
    Originally installed with a 500gb H10 Optane ssd
Interesting tips, got mail from early 00's stashed and it is a bit hard to keep track of it all, also consuming lots of space on the hosted mail servers.
 

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    Homebrew
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    ASUS TUF B450M-PRO GAMING
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    2 x 16GB Kingston KHX3200c 1604/16GX
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    2 x 3869x2160
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    Fractal Design 7 Compact
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    Air
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    Roccat Horde Aimo
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    Logitech G703
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    100/100
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    Edge
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Total
I think so. I'm going to leave it for now if I can't get it to log in!
I only use the mail app but you might like to try GitHub's Xst Reader.


It does export as HTML though I haven't got any mail with an attachment to test.
Just create a destination folder first then you can export one email with attachments to test.

Open XstReader.exe and click on the open tab bottom left and navigate to the downloaded .pst file from Microsoft.
You can select a folder or a single mail to export to your destination folder.

2022-07-08 20_52_08-Xst Reader - 8b39a4e890c74c4bbf8a87473d096427.pst.png

2022-07-08 20_56_16-Xst Reader - 8b39a4e890c74c4bbf8a87473d096427.pst.png

2022-07-08 20_59_38-mail backup.png
 

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  • OS
    Win 11 Pro & 🐥.
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    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS VivoBook
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700U with Radeon Vega Mobile Gfx
    Motherboard
    ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. X509DA (FP5)
    Memory
    12GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    RX Vega 10 Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP Monitor (1920x1080@60Hz)
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080@60Hz
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus 2TB NVMe 1.3
    Internet Speed
    25 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
  • Operating System
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ACER NITRO
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5800H / 3.2 GHz
    Motherboard
    CZ Scala_CAS (FP6)
    Memory
    32 GB DDR4 SDRAM 3200 MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 6 GB GDDR6 SDRAM
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    Realtek Audio. NVIDIA High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6" LED backlight 1920 x 1080 (Full HD) 144 Hz
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080 (Full HD)
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 Evo Plus 2TB NVMe M.2
    PSU
    180 Watt, 19.5 V
    Mouse
    Lenovo Bluetooth
    Internet Speed
    25 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender

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