Is there an easy way to back up e-mail messages, stored in various
folders in Outlook Express, on a Zip Drive?

mccook...

All the email messages in Outlook Express are stored
in encoded '.dbx' files, so there is one dbx file
for every folder in OE, and all of them are found in
one folder in Windows Explorer, which will vary, 
depending on your Operating System.

I use Windows 2000, and for that system, as well as
Windows XP, they will be located in the following
folder:

C:\Documents and Settings\LogonID\Local Settings\Application
 Data\Identities\{78C016E2-D460-4230-8D1B-2AF89C2EE31F}\
Microsoft\Outlook Express\

...where 'LogonID' is your Windows log-on identity.

You can simply copy the contents of this folder to
your Zip drive. These dbx files can only be opened
and read by Outlook Express, of course.

If you want to save individual emails, you must go 
a different route. With Outlook Express open, you 
would need to individually open the emails you want
to save (not just in the preview pane). With the
email opened, you can use the menu to select 'File'
-> 'Save as', and save it to a folder of your choosing.
The individual emails will then be saved with the
'.eml' file extension, and can be read by Outlook
Express, without opening the full program, just by
double-clicking on them.

The latter is a more tedious process, however, and,
for the purposes of simple backup, the former method
is much simpler.


Please do not rate this answer until you are satisfied that
the answer cannot be improved upon by means of a dialog
established through the "Request for Clarification" process.

sublime1-ga

Looks a mite daunting to a Luddite like me, but the instructions are
very clear. Thanks for the help.

Hi,

I would just like to add a comment to the excellent answer already posted.

If you want to access the saved emails in the dbx files, the procedure
with Outlook Express 6 is as follows:
File->Import->Messages->Microsoft Outlook Express 6->Import mail from
an OE6 store directory->Next->Browse to the location you saved the
emails to (Zip drive for example)->Next

It's then just a case of choosing the folders you want to import.

Hope this helps.
Thanks.
endo

Another easy things to do to avoid all that confusing tree structure
is create your own folder like "LetterBox" in the root directory or
any place of your choice and make this folder as your default folder
for storing emails by going to the Tools->Options-> Maintenance tab
and clicking the "Store folder" option. Put the path of your new
folder. It makes it a heck lot easier to back it up. For eg.you can
place this folder in My Documents and back it up with the entire My
Documents.

Also another important tip is that do NOT Forget to take the backup of
your ADDRESS BOOK which is a ".wab" file. You can do this by exporting
your address book from the Address Book -> File-> Export-> Address
Book option

hope this helps
Amit