Where Does Outlook Store All His Data

A question I get asked a lot is “where does Outlook store all his data (email messages, contacts, your calendars, and more)”?


Outlook stores his data in a "Personal Folder" (.pst) file. They are complex and complicated, and it’s a good idea to back them up once in a while. To do this you first need to find the location where Outlook keeps your .pst files.


This is where Outlook Stores Your Mail, Calendar and Other Data.


Outlook 2002 stores the files:

Click with the right mouse button on Outlook Today either in the Outlook bar or in the folder list.
Select Properties from the pop-up menu.

Select Advanced.

Notice the path listed under Path.

Select the path excluding the file name (usually this will be "outlook.pst") with your mouse.
Press Ctrl-C to copy the path.

o If, for example, the path listed under Path: is "C:\­Documents and Settings\­email.guide\­Application Data\­Microsoft\­Outlook\­outlook.pst", you’d select and copy "C:\­Documents and Settings\­email.guide\­Application Data\­Microsoft\­Outlook\".

Now select Run… from the Start menu.

Press Ctrl-V to paste the path

Hit Enter to open your Outlook data folder in Windows Explorer.


Where Outlook 2003 and 2007 store their files:

Finding the data files in Outlook 2003 and 2007 is much easier.

Select File

Click on Data File Management

Click on the main data file (typically named Personal Folders/PST).

And Click on Open Folder.