How to Export Hotmail Emails to PST Format: A Complete Guide

This article gives you a comprehensive guide on the topic "Export Hotmail Emails to PST Format". Whether you’re looking to back up your emails, migrate to Outlook, or simply organize your data, this guide covers manual methods, their limitations, and a smart solution to make the process seamless.

Introduction

In today's digital world, communicating with an email is a part and parcel of personal as well as professional life. A Hotmail user, at some point, will find an urgency to export emails to PST format. PST is a widely used Personal Storage Table of Microsoft Outlook for storing emails, contacts, and calendars that becomes essential for exports or migrations.

There may be many reasons why one needs to export Hotmail emails to Outlook PST, such as changing to Outlook, creating backups, or meeting the requirements of data retention policies. However, it is not an easy task to do. Here, we are going to explain how to do it manually and what are its limitations. Further, we are going to introduce a smart solution to make it easy.

Why Export Hotmail Emails to PST Format?

There are several reasons you will want to export your Hotmail into a PST format:

1. Backup and Security: PST files allow you to create a local backup of your emails; they cannot be deleted or removed accidentally, and they are protected from server issues.
2. Migration to Outlook: If migrating to Microsoft Outlook, PST files are a hassle-free way of transferring your emails.
3. Offline access: PST files are accessible off-line, and hence it is easier to view the emails without an internet connection.
4. Data Organization: PST files are truly good at storing all your emails organized; this is primarily for the intent of long-time storage.
5. Compliance: Most organizations require that their email data be stored in certain ways due to legal and regulatory requirements.

How to Export Hotmail Emails to PST Format Manually

Here’s a step-by-step guide to exporting Hotmail emails to PST format using manual methods:

Method 1: Using Outlook Desktop Application

Step 1. Open your computer using Microsoft Outlook. Under File, add a Hotmail account using the Add Account option.

Step 2. Add the Hotmail account and go to File > Open & Export > Import/Export on the toolbar.

Step 3. Click Next to export to a file.

Step 4. Choose Outlook Data File (.pst) and click Next.

Step 5. Select the folders to export such as Inbox and Sent Items, and you also choose where to save the PST file

Step 6. Click Finish to complete.

Method 2: Using Outlook Web App (OWA)

Step 1: Log in to the Hotmail account using Outlook Web App.

Step 2: Choose what you want to export by clicking Forward for it to forward to another account.

Step 3: Open Outlook Desktop. Now, save all the forwarded items in a PST file by the above method.

Limitations of Manual Methods

While manual methods are possible, they have a number of disadvantages:

1. Time-Consuming: It takes hours or even days to export large volumes of emails manually.
2. Technical Complexity: Users who are not familiar with Outlook find the process confusing.
3. Limited Customization: Manual methods rarely offer filtering or selective exporting options.
4. Risk of Data Loss: Mistakes during the process can lead to incomplete or corrupted PST files.
5. No Bulk Export: Multiple folders or accounts cannot be exported at one time.

Smart Solution: Use a Professional Tool

These methods have a lot of disadvantages. There is a professional approach by using an easy-to-use wizard known as Corbett Hotmail Backup Wizard to export the Hotmail emails into the PST format. This is done by following just a few clicks. It has the following advantages:

Easy to Use: The interface of this wizard is very user-friendly, and anyone who is non-technical can also use it.

Bulk export: Export numerous folders or accounts in a single go.

Fine filtration: Even filter with sender, or date, or subject for specific exporting.

Data Integrity: Ensures that your emails are exported without any loss or corruption.

Conclusion

Exporting the Hotmail emails to PST format is one of the most important reasons for backup, migration, and data organization. Although manual methods get the task done, they usually take too much time and are error-prone. A professional tool like Corbett Hotmail Backup Wizard should, therefore, be used.

Whether you are a casual user or a professional IT expert, this guide contains all you'll need to export your Hotmail emails into the PST format most efficiently. Secure your email data today!