Backup Outlook Contacts to External Hard Drive

Why Backup Outlook to External Hard Drive?

MS Outlook is one of the main email applications used by many computer users today. Which makes it very important because of the presence of users and contacts. Therefore, it is very important to keep a copy of it. When it comes to backup plans, users must follow the 3-2-1 backup rule. This means that users must keep 3 sets of copies of their data at all times. Each copy is on a different storage device, and one copy must be kept offsite.

Below you can find a list of some common reasons why users backup Outlook contacts to external disks.

• If you inadvertently delete your data, resulting in data loss.
• If any ransomware attack occurs on your account.
• During server downtime, you are unable to access your files. In this case, it becomes extremely important to have a backup to avoid any hindrance to your work.
• If someone hacks your data, you don't want to lose it forever.

The main reason why users prefer to use external hard drives to store information outside of the computer is because you can retrieve your files even if the source device is corrupted.Next you can learn two ways to backup Outlook to external hard drive, let's take a look.

2 Effective Ways to Backup Outlook Contacts to External Hard Drive

In using a computer, none of us can predict what will go wrong. That's why it's always a good practice to back up your data, especially your contacts, regularly. If you back up your Outlook contacts to an external disk, in case something unexpected happens, you will have a copy of all your contacts and their information to help you load them into Outlook.

🎍 Preparation: Connect your external hard drive to your computer and make sure it can be detected. You may also need to prepare a SATA-to-USB cable if needed.

Way 1. Backup Outlook Contacts to PST

It works for direct backup of Outlook contacts as a .pst file. Later, when you need to add contacts to your Outlook account again, you can import PST contacts file. This is the easiest option to store all the available contacts for recovery in case of device crash, upgrade or other situations that may lead to data loss. 

1. Open the Outlook software and click on the File tab from the taskbar on top.
2. Choose Open & Export > Import/Export.

3. Click Export to a file, and then click Next.

4. Click Outlook Data File (.pst), and click Next.

5. Click Contacts and then click Next.

6. Selecting an external hard drive as the backup location and name for your backup file, and then click Finish.

7. If you want to make sure that no one can access your files, use the encryption and password settings and click OK. This method is also applicable to how to backup Outlook emails to external hard drive.

Way 2. Backup Outlook contacts with third-party software

The second way is to use powerful email backup software - AOMEI Backupper to help you export Outlook contacts to external hard drive. This tool supports all Outlook versions including Outlook 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010 and others. The tool supports transfer of any large size PST files without data loss and corruption issues.

It also helps you to backup other Outlook items, including emails, contracts, attachments, calendars, etc., to other secure paths. Besides external drives, it also allows you to backup Outlook to USB drives, NAS devices, network locations, SD cards, cloud services (Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive), etc.

You can follow the steps listed below to backup contacts from Outlook to external hard drive.

1. Add the account you want to backup in Outlook and close it. Then, open AOMEI Backupper Professional and click Backup and Outlook Backup.

2. Then follow the prompts to add Outlook Contacts you want to backup. Then click OK.

3.  Then click the box below to select an external hard drive as a backup destination to store your backups.

4. Then click Start Backup to export your Outlook contacts.

✨ Tips: 

• You can change the backup mode in the Schedule Backup option: there are "Incremental Backup" and "Differential Backup".
• To prevent the problem of full backup disks, the most effective way is to delete old backup images periodically. Click "Backup Scheme" and enable it.

Final Words

Both of the methods provided in the article can help you easily backup Outlook contacts to external disk. After reading through them carefully, you can choose the one that suits you best. Besides backing up contact information, you can also make regular backups of other Outlook data, including attachments, inbox, sticky notes, calendar, etc.

When you use AOMEI Backupper to restore your backed up Outlook emails, you can also preview the emails. It also has many other useful features that can be used for you. You can use it to backup your system or disks. This is very useful for you when you have the need to upgrade or replace your hard disk. You will be able to avoid the hassle of reinstalling your system.