I have a Dell Dimension 8200 -Pentium4 -1 GB Ram -with a Windows XP Pro Operating System I recently lost all the data on my hard drive. Luckily: because I backed up my hard drive, I was able to retrieve almost all of it. However I did lose most of my MS-Outlook appointments. My MS-Outlook backup procedure consists of moving the contents of Outlook folder from the following “path” to a backup file: [my computer| c | documents and settings | name | local settings | application data | Microsoft | Outlook] My retrieval procedure consists of moving the contents of the Outlook backup file back to the same folder that it came from. My problem is that when I performed this procedure I lost a lot (not all) of my MS-Outlook data. I seem to remember that there is a procedure using the “MS-Outlook | File | Import and Export” drop down. Can you tell me what this procedure is. Or can you tell me what “best practice” is for backing up MS-Outlook. Thanks for your help.

The best way to backup Outlook is just to make a copy of the pst file.

I have some questions about backing up and retrieving my Microsoft Outlook Calendar: 1.When I Export my documents, I export to backup.pst. However, when I import, I see the following documents: archieve.pst, MyNamePersonal(1).pst, Outlook1.pst, Outlook.pst. (I do NOT see the backup.pst that I exported TO). How do these files relate to each other? What specific files should I import to restore my Outlook? 2.How can I be sure that my back-up functioned correctly? Explanation: when I back-up a Word, Excel, or Access document, I can compare file sizes and be somewhat assured that my back-up is the same as my original. In addition, I can look at the actual backed up document and see that it is the same. What activity (or function) can I perform when backing up Outlook to give me the same secure feeling? Thanks, MarvR

As I said...just make a copy of your pst file. :)