Mail Server Outage Recovery – Restore Mail File

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Recovery Steps (continued)

5) Restoring email from the “BACKUP”

These instructions assume you have already completed the following steps:

Step 2 – Export the contents of your Mail File
Step 4 – Set up the new account on the computer

If you did not perform step 2, you can go back and do it now.  Once that step is complete, come back to this page and follow the instructions below.

Perform the following steps for each account that has been set up on a computer.  If the account is used on more than one computer, do this restore process on only ONE of the computers!

♦ ♦ ♦ WARNING ♦ ♦ ♦
Doing these steps on more than one computer for a given mailbox
will result in many duplicate emails in the mailbox!
♦ ♦ ♦ WARNING ♦ ♦ ♦

 Click the link to show the steps specific to the version of MS Outlook you are using. 

Outlook  2013/Outlook 2016

  1. Launch Outlook
  2. Look at the list of mail accounts in the left navigation pane and make a note of which account you want to do the import on.
    • DO NOT EVER IMPORT INTO THE “BACKUP” ACCOUNT! 
    • Be very careful not to import the mail file into the wrong account!
  3. Select File on the top left menu bar:
  4. Select Open & Export from the options on the left.
  5. Select Import/Export on the Open page.
  6. When the Import and Export Wizard starts, select Import from another program or file:
  7. Click Next >.
  8. Choose Outlook Data File (.pst) from the list:
  9. Click Next >.
  10. Once the Import Outlook Data File window appears, click Browse…:
  11. Locate the “BACKUP” file on the desktop that you created, select it, and click Open:
  12. Set the options as indicated below, then click Next >:
  13. Select the topmost level of the folder in the Outlook Data File:
  14. Ensure that the Include subfolders checkbox is selected.
  15. Ensure that the Import items into the same folder in option is selected.
  16.  Carefully choose the target mailbox from the dropdown list. 
    • BE CAREFUL TO NOT SELECT THE “BACKUP” ACCOUNT!
    • BE CAREFUL TO SELECT THE MAILBOX THAT THE BACKUP IS ACTUALLY FROM!
  17. Click Finish.

Depending on how much email you had in the mailbox, it may take some time to import the mail messages.
Do not interrupt the process until it has completed!

Show steps for Outlook 2013/2016
Hide steps for Outlook 2013/Outlook 2016

Outlook  2010

  1. Launch Outlook.
  2. Look at the list of mail accounts in the left navigation pane and make a note of which account you want to do the import on.
    • DO NOT EVER IMPORT INTO THE “BACKUP” ACCOUNT!
    • Be very careful not to import the mail file into the wrong account!
  3. Select File on the top left menu bar, then Options, then finally on Advanced:
  4. Look for the Export button on the right side of the window and click it.  The Import and Export Wizard will start.
  5. Select Import from another program or file:
  6. Click Next >.
  7. Choose Outlook Data File (.pst) from the list:
  8. Click Next >.
  9. Once the Import Outlook Data File window appears, click Browse…:
  10. Locate the “BACKUP” file on the desktop that you created, select it, and click Open:
  11. Set the options as indicated below, then click Next >:
  12. Select the topmost level of the folder in the Outlook Data File:
  13. Ensure that the Include subfolders checkbox is selected.
  14. Ensure that the Import items into the same folder in option is selected.
  15.  Carefully choose the target mailbox from the dropdown list. 
    • BE CAREFUL TO NOT SELECT THE “BACKUP” ACCOUNT!
    • BE CAREFUL TO SELECT THE MAILBOX THAT THE BACKUP IS ACTUALLY FROM!
  16. Click Finish.

Depending on how much email you had in the mailbox, it may take some time to import the mail messages.
Do not interrupt the process until it has completed!

Show steps for Outlook 2010
Hide steps for Outlook 2010