Export Entire Mailbox to PST: A Step-by-Step Guide

From this page, you can learn how to export entire mailbox to PST using Outlook export feature. But be aware of that PST file is easy to corrupt, thus you can try to backup emails with a professional backup tool.

By @Clytze Last Updated October 29, 2024

Need to export PST from Outlook

Microsoft Outlook is one of the most widely used email clients in the world, serving millions of users on a daily basis. If you are one of the Outlook users, you may need to export your entire mailbox to a PST (Personal Storage Table) file for backup purposes, migrating to a new computer or email client, etc. Whatever your purpose is, this guide will show you how to export mailbox to PST with a step-by-step guide. Please read the following content with patience.

How to make Outlook export entire mailbox to PST

Outlook provides a built-in feature that allows users to export their mailbox data including emails, contacts, calendar events, etc. to a PST file. PST files are commonly used for backup purposes, as they allow users to easily move their mailbox data from one email account to another, one computer to another or to restore their data in case of data loss. Follow the specific steps to export PST from Outlook.

1. Open Outlook and click on the "File" tab in the top-left corner of the window.

2. Click on "Open & Export" and then select "Import/Export" from the dropdown menu.

3. In the Import and Export Wizard, select "Export to a file" and click "Next".

4. Select "Outlook Data File (.pst)" and click "Next".

5. Select the mailbox or folder you want to export. You can choose to include subfolders if you want to export everything in your mailbox. Click "Next".

6. Choose a location to save the PST file and give it a name. Click "Finish".

7. If you want to add a password to the PST file, select "Set password" and enter a password. Click "OK".

8. Outlook will begin exporting your mailbox data to the PST file. This may take some time depending on the size of your mailbox.

โœ Warm tips:

  • PST files have a maximum size limit of 50GB in Outlook 2010 and later versions. If your mailbox is larger than this, you will need to split the data into multiple PST files.
  • You cannot select multiple folders with the “ Export to a file” feature. To make it, you need to repeat the entire steps for several times.
  • PST files can be easily corrupted or damaged, so it is necessary to export your mailbox data regularly through backup way.

Backup entire mailbox without PST file

Due to the limitations of Outlook export mailbox to PST file, it is suggested that you backup your Outlook mailbox regularly and even if there is any problem, you can use this email backup to restore it to another email account or on another computer.

AOMEI Backupper Professional is a popular email backup software designed for Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7/XP/Vista, which offers many powerful features to protect your Outlook data safely in all aspects.

It allows you to backup items inside Outlook mailbox including emails, attachments, calendar, contacts, etc. to other locations such as external hard drives, USB drives, network or NAS devices, cloud drives, etc. at daily, weekly, monthly, etc. intervals.

Download and install this powerful backup software, and then start backing up entire mailbox by following the illustrated steps.

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Step 1. Open Outlook and log in with the account that contains the mailbox you want to backup.

Step 2. Launch AOMEI Backupper Professional and click Backup and Outlook Backup.

Step 3. Click Add Outlook data and select the account mailbox you want to backup. Then click OK.

Step 4. Click the second box to select a local pathnetwork or NAS location, or cloud drive to save your Outlook mailbox data.

Step 5. Enable “Daily”, “Weekly”, “Monthly” or “Event triggers” intervals to automate the backup tasks and click Start Backup to finish this process.

โœ More features you can enjoy:

  • By default, this software uses incremental backup method to backup changed data only. You can also change it to Differential Backup based on your needs.
  • To decrease the consumption of backup time and space, you can enable the automatic old backup cleanup method in the Backup Scheme.

Your turn

With the steps outlined above, you can easily export entire mailbox to PST file in Microsoft Outlook. But since PST files are too fragile and easily corrupted, it is recommended that you use professional email backup software AOMEI Backupper to backup your mailbox flexibly.

Moreover, it is the best data migration tool, you can clone Windows 11 to another hard drive use the clone feature without booting issues. So don’t hesitate to try it out!