Periodically backing up the contact information located in your e-mail client software's address book can be a prudent move. You'll be glad you did if you ever have a major problem with your computer. Also, if you decide to switch to a different e-mail program that has better features, you can easily import your contacts into the new program.

To back up your Outlook Express address book, follow these steps:
Start Outlook Express and open your address book by clicking on its icon on the Outlook Express toolbar. Or, from the Outlook Express "Tools" menu, drop down to "Address Book."

After your address book opens, go to its "File" menu, then to "Export" from the resulting drop-down menu, and select "Other Address Book" from the submenu. The "Address Book Export Tool" window will appear.

Select "Text File (Comma Separated Values)" as the format and click your cursor arrow on "Export."

Give your exported address book a name.

Select the location where you want to export your address book using the "Browse" button. When the "Save As" dialog box appears, choose a location, and click "Save."

You will come back to the "Address Book Export Tool" window. Click the "Next" button.

Select the fields you want to include in your copy. If in doubt, select them all.

Click "Finish" and then "OK."

Click the "Close" button on the "Address Book Export Tool" window to finish up.
Now you can burn this file onto a CD or copy it over to another computer. Either way, it's great to have the peace of mind that a back up copy of your address book can give you.
 

Creating A Backup Of Your Outlook Express E-mail
 

Most people find that both their personal and business e-mail messages create a kind of journal. In the same way that people keep shoeboxes of special letters sent from friends or file cabinet drawers containing letters and documents from business associates, many users today use their e-mail software as an archive resource.

A hard disk failure or corrupted e-mail files caused by a computer virus could cause the loss of a user's archived e-mail correspondence. To help safeguard against such an occurrence, users can create a backup of their e-mail messages. As the tutorials below detail, a user can copy all of his/her e-mail files, save them to a secure location, and then restore the files if needed at a later date.

To backup e-mail messages in Outlook Express 6.0 and Windows XP, follow these steps:
With Outlook Express open, click your cursor arrow on the "Tools" menu and then click "Options" from the drop-down menu.

In the "Options" window, click on the "Maintenance" tab.

In the "Maintenance" menu, click the "Store Folder" button. The "Store Location" window will open.

Click and drag to highlight the path listed under "Your personal message store is located ..." Next, press the CTRL+C keys on your keyboard to copy the path.

Click "OK" to close the "Store Location" window. Click "OK" again to close the "Options" window.

Click the "Start" button on the lower left corner of your screen and click "Run" under the pop-up menu.

Click on the "Open" field in the "Run" window and press the CTRL+V keys on your keyboard to paste the path to where your "Store Folder" is located. Then click the "OK" button.

Click on "Edit" in the menu bar and then click "Select All" in the drop-down menu.

Click on "Edit" again in the menu bar and then click "Copy" in the drop-down menu.

Open the folder (or make a new folder) where you want to store your backup e-mail files. Then click on "Edit" in the menu bar and "Paste" from the drop-down menu. If you have a CD or DVD writer, it's also wise to make a copy of these files on a disc.
To restore e-mail messages from a backup in Outlook Express 6.0 and Windows XP, follow these steps:
With Outlook Express open, click on "File" in the menu bar and then select "Import" and "Messages" from the drop-down menu.

In the "Outlook Express Import" window, highlight the program from which your backup e-mail copies originated. For this example, let's assume that we used Microsoft Outlook Express 6 to create the backup copy, so we'll select "Microsoft Outlook Express 6." Then click the "Next" button.

The "Import From OE6" window will open. Select the button next to "Import mail from an OE6 store directory."

Click the "Browse" button and locate the folder where your backup e-mail copies are located.

Click on the folder that contains your backup e-mail files to highlight it and then click the "OK" button.

Click the "Next" button.

Select either "All folders" to import all mail or select "Selected folders" and highlight the specific mail folders you wish to import. Then click the "Next" button.
 

You'll be presented with a message that lets you know your import is complete. Click the "Finish" button to close the window and return to Outlook Express.
To backup e-mail messages when using Macintosh's Entourage e-mail client:

Macintosh users can protect their e-mail messages and settings by creating a backup of their Documents folder and saving it to a secure location. Each of the relevant Microsoft identity files for Entourage is contained within the Documents folder. It's a matter of simply dragging a copy of the folder to a disc