Top 2 Ways to Backup Email to External Hard Drive

User Case: How to Save Emails to External Hard Drive

"Hey folks, I need some help! I'm trying to backup my emails to an external hard drive. I'm using Outlook on my Windows 10 laptop. Can anyone guide me on how to do it step by step? I've got an external hard drive connected, but I'm not sure what settings or options to choose in Outlook. Appreciate any tips or instructions you can give me. Thanks in advance!"

If you're like this user and want to know how to backup Outlook emails to external hard drive or backup Gmail to external drive, you've come to the right place! This article will introduce you to the benefits of backing up emails to HDD and recommend you two ways to do it, if you want to use a simpler method, then we recommend you to read the second one directly!

Benefits of Backing up Email to External Hard Drive

There are several benefits to backing up emails to an external hard drive:

• Data Backup: By storing your emails on an external hard drive, you have an additional copy of your important data. This protects your emails from accidental deletion, system failures, or other unforeseen events that may result in data loss.
• Data Security: An external hard drive provides offline storage, reducing the risk of unauthorized access or hacking. You have control over the physical storage device, enhancing the security and privacy of your emails.
• Portability: With an external hard drive, you can easily carry your backed-up emails wherever you go. This is particularly useful when you need access to your emails on different devices or in locations without internet connectivity.
• Storage Expansion: Email accounts often have limited storage capacity. By backing up Outlook emails to external hard drive, you can free up space in your email account and avoid the need to delete important emails due to storage limitations.
• Long-term Preservation: External hard drives are designed for long-term data storage. They provide a reliable and durable solution for archiving and preserving your emails over an extended period, ensuring that your valuable information remains accessible for future reference.

Now, let's see how to save Outlook emails to external hard drive with top 2 ways.

Backup Emails to External Hard Drive with 2 Ways

Once you grasp the reasons, you can proceed to explore the article. In this section, we will focus on how to save emails to external hard drive in 2 ways. Here we take backing up Outlook to external hard drive as an example to show you detailed steps. The first method involves utilizing the Import/Export Wizard, while the second approach involves using professional email backup software. Both methods are accompanied by detailed graphic tutorials, providing step-by-step guidance to help you successfully accomplish your backup objective.

Solution 1. Utilize the Import/Export Wizard

The Import/Export Wizard is a handy feature built into Microsoft Outlook, allowing you to export and save your Outlook emails as PST files. With this tool, you can choose to export all Outlook items or select specific ones for backup. To initiate the backup process using the Import/Export Wizard, follow these steps:

Step 1. Launch Microsoft Outlook and navigate to File > Open & Export > Import/Export.

Step 2. In the Import and Export Wizard window, select Export to a file and click on Next to proceed to the next step.

Step 3. Choose Outlook Data File (.pst) and click on Next to continue.

Step 4. Select the emails you wish to back up and then click on Next.

Step 5. Click on Browse to choose the connected external drive as the destination storage for your backup. Once selected, click Finish to complete the process.

By following the aforementioned guide, you will be able to successfully back up your Outlook to external hard drive. Once the backup process is complete, remember to disconnect the external hard drive and store it in a secure location for safekeeping.

Solution 2. Use Professional Email Backup Software

Rather than relying on Outlook's built-in tools, you have the option of using a simpler method to back up Outlook, Gmail or other email providers to external hard drive. This involves selecting a professional email backup software that can automate the backup process for you.

AOMEI Backupper Professional is an excellent choice, offering a range of features. Alongside email backups, it allows you to back up files, folders, and partitions. Moreover, it supports multiple formats for backing up emails, including .pst, .ost, and profile. Here are some of the advantages it offers:

☀ Multiple target locations: In addition to external hard drives, this software enables you to back up emails to various destinations such as internal and external disks, USB drives, NAS devices, network locations, SD cards, and even cloud services.
☀ Schedule backup: You have the flexibility to create automated email backups based on your preferences. Whether you require daily, weekly, monthly, event-triggers, or USB plug in mode, this software covers your needs.
☀ Diverse email service support: It offers an Email Backup feature that extends support to a wide range of mail services. This includes popular providers such as Yahoo Mail, Gmail, iCloud Mail, Exchange, Outlook Mail, Zoho Mail, and many more.

Download and install the professional backup software now. If you're using Windows Server, make sure to select the AOMEI Backupper Server edition for optimal compatibility.

Step 1. In the left tab page, locate and click on Backup. Among the available options, select Email Backup to proceed.

Step 2. Simply click on the Add Email Data button.

Step 3. Proceed to click on Add Mailbox. This action will trigger a pop-up window where you'll need to provide essential information, including your email account and authorization code. Ensure that you fill in all the required details accurately.

Step 4. Once you have selected the email source you wish to back up, you can opt to choose Select a local path as the destination path to save your email backup image to external hard drive.

Step 5. To initiate the email backup process, just click on the Start Backup button.

Wind up

This article recommends two ways to backup email to external hard drive, including using Import/Export Wizard and a professional email backup software - AOMEI Backupper. This software is powerful, it can not only backup Outlook emails, it can also auto backup Gmail emails, download one now to try it!