How do I backup my Outlook .PST files?

To backup your Outlook PST file to CloudLive, you must add the folder where the PST file is to your backup selection as you cannot backup individual files, only the folders that contain them.

To back up your Outlook email you will need to locate of your PST file(s):

Outlook 2010

- Start Outlook 2010
- Click the File tab in the Ribbon, and then click the Info tab on the menu
- Click the Account Settings tab
- Click Account Settings again
- Click Data Files
Note down the path and file name of your .pst file. For example, C:\Exchange\Mailbox.pst indicates a .pst file that is named Mailbox.pst located in the Exchange folder on your C: Drive
- Click Close, click OK

Outlook 2002 through Outlook 2007
- Start Outlook
- On the Tools menu, click Options
- On the Mail Setup tab, click the Data Files button
Note down the path and file name of your .pst file. For example, C:\Exchange\Mailbox.pst indicates a .pst file that is named Mailbox.pst located in the Exchange folder on your C: Drive
- Click Close, click OK

Once you have the location of the PST file then navigate to the folder in Windows Explorer, and then right-click the folder and choose ‘Backup with CloudLive Backup’.

Realtime and scheduled backup with Outlook .PST file

To set CloudLive to scan in real time you can set it to "Realtime backup". Please note, however, that if you select this option CloudLive won't be able to backup files that you have open or that are in use.

This means that, for example, if you have Outlook open, CloudLive won't be able to back up the .PST file until you close Outlook, and if CloudLive is backing up your .PST file then Outlook will not be able to be opened.

To ensure that CloudLive only scans your files periodically, which also allows CloudLive to back up files that are in use, ensure that the Backup Mode is set to 'Scheduled backup'.

"Scheduled Backups" allow open files to be backed up by CloudLive. You can set how often the scan will run (once every hour up to once every 48 hours), and you are able to restrict what time of the day you would prefer the scan to run.

Please note that you can only backup emails where they are stored on your computer.

If you use Exchange then you will have a .ost file on your local machine and this file cannot be backed up using VSS.
Your emails will be stored on the Exchange mail server and will need to be backed up on that machine.