pat

Dear Pat,

There is a way to backup Outlook express files and folders, it is just not easy to do.

Here are the directions to make a backup copy of your Outlook
Express e-mail files:

1. First, you need to find the location of the files. To do this, open Outlook Express, click on “Tools” in the menu bar, then click Options.

2. In the Options window, click on the Maintenance tab, then click on the button that says “Store Folder”.

3. A small window will appear with the location of your e-mail files. Highlight the folder location, and then press CTRL+C to copy the location.

4. Click Cancel, and then click Cancel again to close the dialog box. Close Outlook Express.

5. Now, you want to open the folder that contains your mail files. An easy way to do this is to click Start, and then click Run.

6. In the Run window, click in the box that says “Open” and press CTRL+V to paste in the location, and then click OK. The window containing your files will now open.

7. In the window containing your mail files, go to the Edit menu, click Select All. This will highlight all the files in the window.

8. Again, click on Edit, then click Copy to copy the files, and then close the window.

9. To create a folder to store your saved files, right-click any empty space on your desktop, click New, and then click Folder.

10. Type mail backup for the folder name, and then press ENTER.

11. Double-click the Mail Backup folder to open it.

12. In the open mail backup folder, click on Edit, then click Paste. The e-mail files will appear in the window.

13. Close the Mail Backup window, and burn the whole folder to a CD, or save to a thumb drive or some other type of external media.

The next step is to save the address book. We do this by exporting it.

1. Click on “Start” then point to “All Programs”, point to Accessories, and click on the “Address Book” icon.

2. In the open address book, click on File in the menu bar, point to Export, and then click Other Address Book.

3. Click Text File (Comma Separated Values), and then click Export.

4. In the Export window, Click Browse.

5. Locate the Mail Backup folder that you created.

6. In the File Name box, type address book backup, and then click Save and then click “Next”.

7. Click to select the check boxes for the fields that you want to export, and then click Finish.

8. Click OK and then click Close. You can now backup the file, or it will open in Word or excel and you can print it.

If the Address Book is shared with Microsoft Outlook, you are not able to export from within the Address Book on the File menu. This option is dimmed or not available.

Elizabeth

It’s Your Turn: What do you think?
…. Share your experience in the comments box below.

Thank you very much, Betty

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Dear Betty,

You didn’t specify how you made the backup disks, so I am kind of taking a shot in the dark with my answer. Here is my best guess as to what is going on.

The first question to ask yourself is, what program did you use to create those backup disks.

Chances are, you don’t have that same program, or the same version of that program on your computer now that you have returned your PC to factory settings. Let me give you an example.

Let’s say, you used Roxio Creator to make your backup CDs. When you returned your PC to factory settings, Roxio was removed, and until you install it again, you won’t have the software necessary to read the compressed files. In this example, the problem will be fixed as soon as you re-install Roxio Creator.

I hope this example will help you figure out the answer to your problem.

Elizabeth

Any help is appreciated, Thanks Donna

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Dear Donna,

When backing up information on your computer so that you can transfer it to another computer, or onto the same computer after Windows has been re-installed, you are able to backup documents, photos, videos, songs and things like that, but not the actual programs like Microsoft Office and your CD burner program. When you are transferring to a new computer, or re-installing on a new computer, you would just install the programs from the original disks that you used to install them in the first place.

Your question is about a slightly different situation. You want to prepare for a hard drive replacement on your computer. This is a wise thing to do, since all hard drives will fail eventually, it is just a matter of when.

Since you want to be able to restore all your programs, and the updates that you have installed for these programs, I would suggest that you get set up with a good disk image program, and either create DVDs with them, or an even better solution would be to save the image on an external hard drive that is at least as big as the hard drive on your computer.

I looked around, and Acronis True Image Home 2011 is a nice program that will create an image for you. It is not terribly expensive, but has features that will allow you to make DVD images of your hard drive. It will also create backups to an external hard drive while you work, and keep the backups updated.

Norton Ghost will also create an image on DVDs, but costs $20 more and has fewer features than Acronis.

Elizabeth

This is what the second type of backups that I use, an automatic, online backup service, does for me.

Some online backup companies require that you manually copy your files to their web site, I tried one of these, at zdrive.com, for a little while, but in the long run, I totally forgot to update the files, and didn’t even remember what I had put on there. In addition, I had to back up my files one at a time. I don’t know about you, but I have hundreds of files in “My Documents”, it would have taken me forever to back them up. While zdrive is free, and my files were safely stored away from my physical location, it was not the type of service that works for me.

I eventually found a service that works automatically, at Carbonite ( http://tinyurl.com/2wxdjo )

This is how Carbonite works:

1. You download and install a small program from Carbonite at:

2. You manually select the files and folders you want backed up OR…

3. You can let Carbonite select the files and folders for you (they do a pretty good job)

4. Give the program anywhere from a few hours to a few days to double encrypt and automatically upload your files to their secure internet servers.

5. If the service works for you during the 15 day free trial, just purchase a subscription to keep on using the program.

Once you have completed that first backup (mine took several days) any time you make changes to a file or create a new file, Carbonite detects these changes and automatically updates your backup within 24 hours.

What do you need to have for this kind of backup service? Really only two things…

1. A high speed internet connection

2. A subscription with the backup company of your choice

Lets look at the advantages of this type of backing up:

1. Your backed up files are always up to date

2. You don’t have to remember to do the backup, it is automatically done for you

3. Your files are stored away from your physical location, protecting them from theft, fire, flood, or natural disaster.

4. This particular service is VERY easy to use

5. Files that you delete are stored on the server for 30 days just in case you change your mind.

6. You have nothing to lose with the 15 day free trial.

Once you have installed this type of backup program, there really is nothing that you have to do to keep it working. I like the fact that Carbonite marks my files with a little dot. A green dot means that the file is all backed up, a yellow dot means that the file is scheduled to be backed up.

Let me give you an example. Yesterday, I was creating some new Word documents, they were class descriptions for some of the courses that I plan to teach this fall for Noble Adult Education. After I had created about 5 documents, I was looking in the folder that I had saved the files in, and noticed that the first file had a green dot meaning that it was already backed up, and the rest had a yellow dot, meaning that they would soon be backed up. When I checked this morning, all 6 files I had saved were backed up.

When I saved these files, I was not thinking about backing them up, but because they were Word files, and they were located in my “Documents” folder, Carbonite automatically backs them up. That is the kind of backup that works for me!

Elizabeth

I run vista and was wondering how to do a complete backup
Thank You Juanita

Dear Juanita,

Before I start explaining how to do a complete backup, we need to define what a complete backup is.

In my mind, a complete backup is a backup that copies every single file on your hard drive. When you do a complete backup with the right backup program, you would be able to restore the files and your computer would be exactly the way it was when you took the backup. This type of backup has advantages and disadvantages.

One advantage is that your installed programs are also backed up and restored, so you would not have to spend the time re-installing all your programs.

A related disadvantage is that any corrupted files or virus infected files will be copied as they are and would be restored the same way.

Complete backups take quite a bit of time to run, and because of this, they don’t get done very often. If you have files that have been changed or added since the last complete backup, they would be lost when you restored your computer.

I like to do a complete backup when the computer is fairly new, or at least in good working condition, and then suppliment that backup with data file backups. In the event of a problem, you can restore the complete backup, and then restore the most recent data backup.

Your first step is to have something to back your files up to. If you plan on doing this type of backup on a regular schedule, I would suggest an external hard drive that is at least as big as the hard drive on your computer. You should be able to find a good hard drive that connects to your computer by a USB2 connection at a decent price. I used to have two external drives and I alternated backing up to one and then the other every week.

You can also backup to DVD-R disks if you have a DVD-R drive, but each backup will probably use several disks and it will take even longer to perform the backup.

Next, you will need a backup program.

One program that I have used with great success is Nero BackItUp & Burn.

This program allows you to backup files or your entire drive. It comes with step by step directions in the manual, which you can also download from their website in PDF form.

Another program that works good is Roxio’s Back on Track software.

This program gives you even more options for backing up than Nero, but you need to be careful because some of the options (Instant Restore) will also slow older computers down a little bit. Their disaster recovery program will back up your entire hard drive, including all your applications and system preferences to a disc or external hard drive. The exact disk image can then be restored in case of hardware failure or theft.

I hope these options will help you with your backup needs.

Elizabeth

Robert

Dear Robert,

Many people have a folder full of itunes on their computer, and are looking for an easy way to transfer the songs to a new computer.

I am not really a user of itunes yet (I will probably become a user of iTunes when I save up enough money for an iPad) but I do have a lot of experience backing up the iTunes music folder for my customers.

Since you stated that you have an external hard drive, you are already on your way to backing up your music.

The first thing you want to do is locate your iTunes music folder on your computer. There are a couple of locations to check. First is the “My Music” folder under your identity. Let me give you and example…

If you log into your computer under the user name, Robert, you would navigate to that user folder.

1. Click on “Start” and then click on “My Computer” (or just “Computer” if you are using Vista)

2. Double click on either the “Users” folder in Vista, or the “Documents And Settings” folder in XP.

3. Double click on the, “Robert” folder, or whatever your user name is. It could be anything from, “Default User”, Dell Customer, to a nickname that you specified when you first set the computer up.

If you don’t know what your user name is, you can just check the contents of each user folder listed.

4. Once in your user folder, double click on the “Music” or “My Music” folder, and look for a folder named, “iTunes”. Don’t worry if the iTunes folder is not in the first place you look, it can be in one of several locations.

5. If you don’t find the iTunes folder in your user folder, check the “My Music” folder in the other identities, and in the “All Users” or “Public” folder. I often find the iTunes folder in the “Public Music” or “All Users Music” folders.

6. Once you have located the, “iTunes” folder, keep the window open, and move it to one side of your screen.

7. Now, open a window for your external hard drive. Make sure the drive is connected to your computer, and turned on, then click on “Start” and “My Computer”.

8. In the “My Computer” window, double click on the external hard drive icon to open it.

9. Move the external hard drive window to the opposite side of the screen so that you can drag the iTunes folder from one window to the other. This will create a copy on your external hard drive.

10. Once you have a copy of the iTunes folder on your external hard drive, you can use the same dragging technique to copy it to your new computer.

Elizabeth

Thanks, John

Dear John,

There are many programs out there that can backup your hard drive, the best program depends on what your backup objectives are.

I use a couple of programs, first, I use carbonite online backup. It automatically backs my documents up to their secure online server. Once I have installed Carbonite, I don’t have to think of it again. A little green dot on the files and folders that I have selected for backup is there to remind me that my files are being protected. Any time that I add a file to one of my protected folders, or make changes to a file that is already backed up, the file is automatically backed up again. You can download a free trial of carbonite here:

I also use a program called Roxio Creator 2010 to create backup copies of my documents. The thing that I absolutely love about the new version of Roxio Creator is that I can select one or more folders that I want to backup, and Roxio will tell me how many discs I need for the backup and will automatically burn several discs. Other DVD burning programs only tell you when you have too many files for one disc, and it is up to you to remove the excess. You will find Roxio Creator 2010 here:

When I backup to an external hard drive, I prefer to use Windows Explorer to drag the folders that I want to save from my hard drive to the external hard drive. What I usually do, is open on window with the folders on the external drive, and another folder with the contents of my hard drive. I arrange the windows so that both are visible, then drag from one to the other.

If your goal is to create an image of your entire hard drive, (not just your documents) on the external hard drive, you would need a program like Roxio’s Back On Track (which is included in Roxio Creator 2010)

You can create a disaster recovery disk set that you can use to return your computer to exactly the way it was when you created the set. This is very helpful if your hard drive has failed. The recovery can also be created on an external hard drive, but you will need to create one disc that you would need to boot the computer in the event of a hard drive failure.

Elizabeth

Alyssa

Dear Alyssa,

Windows Easy Transfer was created to make it easy for a user to transfer files from an older computer to a new one. I have used this program several times, and it usually works pretty good. I have even used it to store files when doing a fresh install of Windows on a computer, similar to what you have done on your moms computer.

The problem that you have run into, is that you used one version of Easy Transfer to create the backup files, and you are now trying to read them with a different version of Easy Transfer.

If your laptop was running the same version of easy transfer as your moms computer had been before you installed Windows 7, you would have been able to read the files from there.

Your files are not lost forever, but you might have to do quite a bit of work to get them back again. You would have to erase the hard drive on your mom’s computer and install the old Windows XP on it once again. You should then be able to read the files on the media drive and restore them to your hard drive.

Once you have your files back, you can either back them up to the media drive by dragging them to the drive (they can then be read in any computer), or use the Windows Easy Transfer on your Windows 7 Computer to create the backup files. Once that has been done, you can once again upgrade to Windows 7 and import your files.

Your situation is not rare. Often people use backup software to back their files up to an external drive or even DVDs and never even try to read the files from another computer. When the computer crashes, and they try to recover their files, they find that they can’t read them without the original backup software, and many people don’t even remember what the software is called, let alone what version of the software they were using.

My recommendation is that you backup your files, and then make sure you can read them on another computer just to be sure your files are accessible if you should even need to rely on the backup.

Elizabeth

Richard in Rhode Island

Dear Richard,

It is quite easy to backup your favorites. Since you didn’t mention what version of Internet Explorer you are using, I am going to give you directions for version 6 first, and then for version 7.

For this example, we are going to save your favorites to a USB drive, also known as a data stick, or thumb drive. The first step in both methods, is to put your data stick in a USB port on your computer, then open up “My Computer” and you should see your data stick listed as a removable device. Make a note of the drive letter windows has assigned to the data stick, and close “My Computer”.

To Backup your Favorites in Internet Explorer 6, follow these directions:

1. Open Internet Explorer. Click on “File” in the menu bar, then click on “Import and Export…”

2. The Import/Export Wizard window will open. On the first page, click “Next”.

3. On the second page of the wizard, click on “Export Favorites” and then click “Next”.

4. On the third page of the wizard, click on the favorites folder to backup all your favorites, and click “Next”.

5. On the fourth page of the wizard, click on “Export to a file or address”, and then click on the “Browse” button.

6. In the browse window that appears, find the section at the very top of the window that says “Save in” and click on the down arrow to view the list of locations. Find your removable disk, and click on it to select it, then click on the “Save” button.

7. This will take you back to the fourth page of the wizard. Now all you have to do is click on “Next” and then in the last window of the wizard, click on “Finish”.

Your favorites will now be saved on your removable drive.

If you have upgraded to Internet Explorer 7, and are using Windows XP, use these directions:

1. Open Internet Explorer 7. Your favorites are now accessed by clicking on a small yellow star in the upper left portion of the window. Click on the smaller yellow star that has a green cross over it. A menu will drop down, click on “Import and Export…” in that menu.

2. The Import/Export Wizard window will open. On the first page, click “Next”.

3. On the second page of the wizard, click on “Export Favorites” and then click “Next”.

4. On the third page of the wizard, click on the favorites folder to backup all your favorites, and click “Next”.

5. On the fourth page of the wizard, click on “Export to a file or address”, and then click on the “Browse” button.

6. In the browse window that appears, find the section at the very top of the window that says “Save in” and click on the down arrow to view the list of locations. Find your removable disk, and click on it to select it, then click on the “Save” button.

7. This will take you back to the fourth page of the wizard. Now all you have to do is click on “Next” and then in the last window of the wizard, click on “Finish”.

Your favorites will now be saved on your removable drive.

If you are using Internet Explorer 7 with Windows Vista, use these directions:

1. Open Internet Explorer 7. Your favorites are accessed by clicking on a small yellow star in the upper left portion of the window. Click on the smaller yellow star that has a green cross over it. A menu will drop down, click on “Import and Export…” in that menu.

2. The Import/Export Wizard window will open. On the first page, click “Next”.

3. On the second page of the wizard, click on “Export Favorites” and then click “Next”.

4. On the third page of the wizard, click on the favorites folder to backup all your favorites, and click “Next”.

5. On the fourth page of the wizard, click on “Export to a file or address”, and then click on the “Browse” button.

6. In the “Select Bookmark File” window that opens, click on the button in the lower left hand corner that says “Browse Folders”.

7. If you don’t see your removable drive, or “Computer” listed in the left hand side of the window, click on “More” and you will see more choices. Click on “Computer” in that drop down list.

8. Scroll through the list of drives in the right hand side of the window, and click on your removable disk. Click “Open” and then “Save” in the lower right hand corner of the window.

9. This will take you back to the fourth page of the wizard. Now all you have to do is click on “Next” and then in the last window of the wizard, click on “Finish”.

Your favorites will now be saved on your removable drive.

Elizabeth

Judy

Dear Judy,

What an excellent question! I think you have given voice to a problem that most of us face. The need to backup our data without forgetting or getting too busy.

I believe that we should never put all our trust in one kind of backup. (kind of like putting all your eggs in one basket *grin*)

Personally, I rely on a couple of backup methods. The one that works the best is Carbonite’s online backup service. It works the best because it always backs up files without me having to remember to do it. I also try to do a full data backup once a month, but this does not always happen. Like you, I don’t remember, or I get too busy. The Carbonite backup doesn’t depend on my memory or time.

In an ideal world, where money was no object, I would also have a small home server that automatically backs up files. I have been drooling over HPs MediaSmart Server for months now, and have actually set one up for a customer. It automatically backs up files from each computer on the network at a time that you specify. Can’t get any better than that.

Even with an automatic backup like the MediaSmart server, you also want some kind of off-site backup like Carbonite, or DVD or a drive that is removed from the physical location. In the event of theft, flood, or fire, the offsite backup would still be available.

I might have rambled on here a bit, so I will summarize.

1. An online backup service like Carbonite is fairly inexpensive, and does not depend on your memory.

2. A home server is rather expensive, but also does not rely on your remembering.

3. Backing up to an external drive, or CDs and DVDs is not expensive, but does rely on your memory.

Elizabeth