Outlook 2013 + POP3 email account backup/sync

mibaup · 18 Nov 2020

Hello,

I have a POP3 email account on an old computer with Windows 7 and Outlook 2013. There are about 2000 emails on the inbox, 2000 emails in the deleted items folder and 100 drafts. Now I have a new computer with Windows 10 in the office where I want to backup all the emails from previous years to show up there.

I was thinking about using the export to pst file option in Outlook 2013, but on Microsoft official documents about this they say that it does not backup everything. So what is my best option to copy all these 4000(~) emails to the newer computer?

The result should be that I see all the old emails in the new computer's Outlook and also the new emails

Thanks

jimbo45 · 18 Nov 2020

Hi there

@mibaup

For Outlook email backups / copy / move to new computer --forget all the "conversion and export stuff" -- doesn't move everything in any case e.g contacts etc etc.

Why Ms have to make a simple process complicated --no idea but do it this way : --Easy !!!!

Should work for Office 2013 --- remember for Office 2013 and POP3 you'll need also the .pst file(s)
For IMAP on office 2019 you won't need to save the .pst files unless you have used any.

copy outlook account info and folders to new machine (office 2019)

(For Office / Outlook 2013 the reg key is : HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\15.0\Outlook\Profiles and for Office 2016 the reg key is HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\Profiles)

When importing the reg key into the new machine simply on starting outlook enter the password for each account - then it should all work fine --everything saved etc. Dont forget after importing the reg key into the new machine to start outlook - select the default profile and then RESTART outlook again --Job done !!!!

BTW for those using still using Office 2010 (and earlier) the reg key is HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows Messaging Subsystem\Profiles ---and you will need the .pst files too

Cheers
jimbo

mibaup · 18 Nov 2020

thank you. Will it not cause any issues if the new computer already has mails? I've used the new computer for a couple of months now and it has mails, it's not clean

jimbo45 · 18 Nov 2020

mibaup said:

thank you. Will it not cause any issues if the new computer already has mails? I've used the new computer for a couple of months now and it has mails, it's not clean

Hi there
it really needs to be imported into a computer with no existing accounts etc.

So best thing you can do -- save the current .pst files from the current computer, re-install office from scratch on that machine, then import the old emails as specified, then open the saved .pst files and copy email to relevant folders.

Cheers
jimbo

Try3 · 18 Nov 2020

mibaup said:

Hello,
I have a POP3 email account on an old computer with Windows 7 and Outlook 2013. There are about 2000 emails on the inbox, 2000 emails in the deleted items folder and 100 drafts. Now I have a new computer with Windows 10 in the office where I want to backup all the emails from previous years to show up there.
I was thinking about using the export to pst file option in Outlook 2013, but on Microsoft official documents about this they say that it does not backup everything. So what is my best option to copy all these 4000(~) emails to the newer computer?
The result should be that I see all the old emails in the new computer's Outlook and also the new emails
Thanks

I agree that Export functions are not useful.

On the old computer, just close Outlook then copy its pst file to the new computer and then use the File open routine on there to open it [in addition to its normal files].

If your new computer's Outlook also uses pop email & you wanted to, you could then move the contents of any calendar/contact/email/... folders around between the two files so that you gradually absorbed everything into the new computer's pst file and could delete the old pst file [except in your backups].

There will be nothing missing that you have expressed an interest in. Account settings are not transferred this way but the new computer has been in use for a while so you have already set up its email accounts. Several other Outlook settings are also saved in its pst files but you will have set the new computer up how you like it by now anyway.

Denis

jimbo45 · 18 Nov 2020

Try3 said:

I agree that Export functions are not useful.

On the old computer, just close Outlook then copy its pst file to the new computer and then use the File open routine on there to open it [in addition to its normal files].

If your new computer's Outlook also uses pop email & you wanted to, you could then move the contents of any calendar/contact/email/... folders around between the two files so that you gradually absorbed everything into the new computer's pst file and could delete the old pst file [except in your backups].

There will be nothing missing that you have expressed an interest in. Account settings are not transferred this way but the new computer has been in use for a while so you have already set up its email accounts. Several other Outlook settings are also saved in its pst files but you will have set the new computer up how you like it by now anyway.

Denis

Hi there
If you do it that way you'll lose all your contacts etc -- also when sending emails you won't automatically get names etc in cc's etc if you need those.

I'd go the whole hog and switch to using IMAP as well. copy the pst email files to IMAP folder(s) and then you can get rid of the mail or archive it off. IMAP keeps mails in sync with other computers / phone s /tablets etc - much better all round.

Cheers
jimbo

Try3 · 18 Nov 2020

jimbo45 said:

If you do it that way you'll lose all your contacts

That is incorrect. Contacts are held within the pst file along with Calendar entries, emails, notes, deleted items folder.

[Categories & rules are also held within the pst file. But they are not in extractable forms suitable for transfer.]

Denis

mibaup · 18 Nov 2020

Ok thank you guys. I am abit confused and would like to add more information, if it changes anything: The old computer is using Outlook 2013 and the new is Outlook 2019.

As for the .pst files: I found location of the .pst files in a folder called "Outlook files". This folder contains 3 files: backup.pst, Outlook.pst and myuser@mydomain.pst file.

Please help me again because all your replies actually confused me and I don't know what to do now :)
Would also love if the steps would be more explained because I never used Outlook in this way so I don't even know what you mean by copying emails to the correct folder? I can simply drag and drop from the Outlook to a folder on Windows? and vice versa?

Try3 · 18 Nov 2020

Office 2019 can read Office 2013 pst files without any problem so that does not complicate anything.

OldComputer
1 Close Outlook
2 Copy those files, Outlook.pst and myuser@mydomain.pst, to a USB stick or similar.
- You might like to check what is in each of them first by looking around your folders in Outlook's Navigation pane [the bit on the left], Folder view.
- If there's nothing of any use in one of the files then there's no need to copy it.

Outlook 2013 + POP3 email account backup/sync-screenshot-166-navpane.png

Green loop - the button that switches the NavPane {Purple loop} to Folder view

NewComputer
3 Copy those files to any convenient folder in File explorer.
4 In Outlook, File menu, Open. Select and open each of those files.
5 Outlook will remember them every time it opens now so you can, if you wish, do nothing more.
6 In Outlook's Navigation pane, Folder view you'll see the old files as well as the existing ones you've been using on that computer. Each file presents its contents as a set of subfolders - Calendar, EMails [InBox, Drafts, Outbox, SentItems] Contacts & any other folders you have created. You can browse the folders just as you have been browsing them any other folders.
7 Still in Outlook's Navigation pane [the bit on the left], Folder view you can also simply drag and drop from the folders of the old files to the folders on the NewComputer. All within Outlook. This lets you reorganise all the contents however you wish.

8 You made a comment about "drag and drop from the Outlook to a folder on Windows". Yes, Outlook still lets you do that but everything you had said before was about shuffling things around within Outlook.
- If there are Calendar/Contact/EMail/Note items within your Outlook folders that you want within your File explorer folders then you can drag and drop to copy or move them.
- But, again, nothing in your initial post concerned this topic and I'm trying not to get too far ahead of what you might be ready to do.
- I suggest that you just reorganise things within Outlook itself for now [because that's probably at least 90% of the battle] and then come back to discuss moving things into File explorer folders later.
- There's nothing difficult about this. I do it all the time. I keep Calendar, Contacts & Notes within Outlook but I move all emails into relevant File explorer folders as soon as any action on their topic is completed.

9 Dragging previous Outlook items such as emails back from File explorer folders back into Outlook folders can also be done but it does not always give good results.
- You'd want to experiment with some test items first.
- Even though I am used to moving items between the two systems [Outlook, File explorer] I always try to avoid moving anything back into Outlook because I often find them difficult to work with afterwards.

Denis

Try3 · 18 Nov 2020

I'll stay online while I'm doing my chores so post back with any problems and I should see that within a minute or three.

Denis