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Outlook stores your email (and attachments), calendar and contacts together in one file that uses the extension "PST". Unless you tell Outlook to use a different pst stored somewhere else, Outlook creates the *.pst under your Windows user account directory.
If Outlook is open, you can open Windows Explorer to the pst location from the File, Data File Management menu. (File, Account settings, Data files tab in Outlook 2010 or 2013.) Select the PST and click Open folder. You can close the Data File Management dialog (and Outlook, if desired) once Windows Explorer is open.
Windows 7/8 and Vista:
If you are using Windows 7, 8 or Vista, the default location for the PST is
C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook
Instead of browsing for the folders, you can copy or type the following lines into Windows Explorer address bar or in the Start menu's search folder and press Enter to open Explorer to the correct folder. (This method does not require you to change the Hidden Files and Folders setting.)
In Windows 7/8 or Vista, use this shortcut to access the pst file and other files in the local app data folder:
%localappdata%\Microsoft\Outlook
Outlook support files (xml, srs, outlprnt, VBA, etc):
Other Outlook files, like the Navigation pane customization file (*.xml), toolbar customization file (outcmd.dat), send and receive customizations (*.srs), and print customizations (outlprnt) are at
C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Outlook
To access the folder holding the toolbar, Outlprnt, VBA, navigation pane, and nickname files in Windows 7/8 or Vista, use the following shortcut line:
%appdata%\Microsoft\Outlook
Windows XP or Windows 2000:
If you are using Windows XP or Windows 2000, the files are in the following locations:
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
To see the PST files in Windows XP, paste this line on the address bar of Windows Explorer:
%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
Outlook support files (xml, srs, outlprnt, VBA, etc):
The folder holding the toolbar, Outlprnt, VBA, rules, and nickname files is
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
You can use the following shortcut in the Windows Explorer address bar in Windows XP:
%USERPROFILE%\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
Searching for the files
By default, Windows hides a lot of files and folders, including these files. In order to find hidden files using Search, you need to use the Advanced search option to search all hidden files and folders and all system files. (Windows XP search shown in screenshot; for Vista, choose Advanced Search in the search results window.)
In Win 7 and 8, open Windows explorer and type the file name in the Search field on the right.
Browsing for the files:
To browse for the pst using Windows Explorer, you need to show all hidden files and folders.
To show all hidden files and folders in Windows 8, look on the View ribbon in Windows Explorer and add a check to Hidden items.
To show all hidden files and folders in Windows 7 or Vista, open Windows Explorer and click on the Organize button on the left, then select Folder and Search Options from the menu.
In Windows XP, open Windows Explorer and go to it's Tools, Folder Options menu.
Click on the View tab and change the settings to show all hidden files and folders.
After changing the setting, you can use Windows Explorer to navigate to your user folder then to the folder containing the files.
Windows 98/ME
Windows 98/ME store the files in a different location but they are not hidden, so Search (Find) will find them or you can browse for them using Windows Explorer. On Windows 98/ME without individual user logins, look for:
C:\Windows\Application Data
On a Windows 98 system with individual user logins, look for
C:\Windows\Profiles\user name\Application Data
C:\Windows\Profiles\user name\Local Settings\Application Data
More Information
More information about the files Outlook uses and where it puts them them is at
Outlook & Exchange/Windows Messaging Backup and Dual-Boot (Outlook 2000/2002/2003)
Outlook & Exchange/Windows Messaging Backup and Dual-Boot – Outlook 2007 File Locations
Outlook 2010 Backup and File Locations
Published December 1, 2005. Last updated on May 5, 2017.
I have tried everything but now need help...all my files in my Outlook 7 are gone...how do I get them back?
This is outlook 2007? What type of email account do you use - POP, IMAP, or Exchange server?
IMAP and Exchange data files are in %localappdata%\Microsoft\outlook - POP3 and Archive pst default to that location in outlook 2007 too.
Husband got new computer; other HP died. Was able to copy pst /ost files. can not find key to install outlook files. what do I do?
Well, you can install it... or should be able to.. but definitely won't be able to activate it. Unfortunately, if you cant find the key, you'll need to buy a new version. :(
Hi,
I was using Windows XP but the motherboard on my ancient (but stable) PC died. I have a clean install of Win7 on a new CPU and have transferred my old HDD to move some stored data across. These include my old e-mails. I am using Office 2007, have located the pst files but cannot seem to import them to my new mailbox. Is there anyway of retrieving them?
What happens when you try? You should just copy them over and open them in the profile - no need to import.
Does anyone know where Outlook stores the email account information? It's definitely not in the .pst file, because, if I transfer that file to a new PC and then open it from a clean version of Outlook, there are no email accounts setup. I quite regularly have to reinstall Outlook (usually because Windows and/or MS Office has corrupted and I've had to reinstall them) and, having around 10 email addresses which I have to monitor, I get really fed up with having to setup all the email accounts from scratch every time. (And before anyone suggests having all the emails… Read more »
The profile settings are in the registry. It's not recommended to use them on a different computer because they contain file locations but they can be used to restore a profile on the same computer. Outlook 2013 and up has the keys at HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\xx.0\Outlook\Profiles key. (xx= your version)
http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/config/how-to-backup-your-outlook-account-settings/
265KB = empty pst. Check in Outlook on the old computer, at File, Account settings - verify if the account was set up as pop3 or imap. In Outlook 2010, imap used a pst file, in 2013, it uses an ost file. I would definitely set a pst as default in outlook 2013 - you don't want calendar and contacts in the imap data file's 'this computer only' folder.