Backup hotmail?

Discussion of general topics about Mozilla Thunderbird
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racket
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Joined: August 9th, 2004, 9:19 am

Backup hotmail?

Post by racket »

Hello,
Apparently Thunderbird ( and other email clients) can be used to backup Hotmail.

a> One thing i read on doing this uses Outlook Express as an intermediary in the process. i am not sure why. Perhaps this ensures that any folder hierarchy is retained for the final import into Thunderbird?

b> I presume the use of TB (or other clients) means that folders are retained such that emails can be viewed in Thunderbird pretty much as though they were always in TB.

Does anyone have any experience of doing this?


What I would like to know is:
1> Can I backup Hotmail using windows 7 (there is no Outlook Express in windows 7) so that the mails end up in Thunderbird with everything intact. The backup purpose is to get all the Hotmail mails off the MS server and somewhere safe and accessible for a legal case and in case the HM account is either hacked or corrupted.

2> if the mails and folder structure cannot be readily imported directly into TB, is there software that can do this without drama?
many thanks
PS

have noted these:
> http://www.ehow.com/how_5846029_back-up ... puter.html
This one sounds too simple.
I cannot imagine this method would import folder structure etc??

> http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/44791/ho ... underbird/
This one does not mention Hotmail so I don't know
+++ Racket +++
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tanstaafl
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Re: Backup hotmail?

Post by tanstaafl »

Those articles seem to be written from the viewpoint of somebody who normally only uses webmail, as a way to use a email client to backup webmail. That is probably what is causing the confusion.

If you download mail from Hotmail it is is stored in a mail folder (using a "mbox file") in your profile like any other mail from a POP server. This occurs by default whenever you check for new mail. There is no need to use Outlook Express etc. Your "profile" is used to store your mail, address books, settings, saved passwords and add-ons. It is a separate directory, not part of the directory tree where Thunderbird is installed.

Mozbackup is the most popular way to backup/restore the contents of your profile (it also supports Firefox and SeaMonkey, and doesn't require you to know where your profile is stored) but there are`plenty of other solutions. The ImportExportTools add-on is another good solution, as it supports automated backups. Select the add-on in Tools -> Add-ons, press the Options button, press the Backup Scheduling tab, and then configure what should be backed up.

http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_backup
http://kb.mozillazine.org/Third_party_p ... d_services
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tanstaafl
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Re: Backup hotmail?

Post by tanstaafl »

If you configure tools -> account settings -> Hotmail -> server settings to uncheck "leave message on server" and don't check "fetch mail headers only" Thunderbird will download copies of any new messages it finds on the Hotmail POP server when it checks for new mail, and delete the original. That should solve your problem for the inbox folder.

The main limitation is that a POP account only knows how to fetch mail from the inbox, it literally does not know about the existence of other folders. So, it will not fetch mail from your Sent folder etc. If you save the mail as a .eml file using a browser the easiest way to import it is using the ImportExportTools add-on.

However you import mail from other folders into Thunderbird the bottom line is that once you're done, you need to stop using Hotmail webmail, and read/send all of your messages using Thunderbird or you will have to go through the process again.
willson45897
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Joined: April 30th, 2016, 1:37 am

Re: Backup hotmail?

Post by willson45897 »

hotmail backup utilities are available on internet. i searched it and found this solution http softaken.com/hotmail-backup-pro hope this software will solve this issue
Last edited by LIMPET235 on August 17th, 2017, 4:37 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Killed the live link/s.
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LIMPET235
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Re: Backup hotmail?

Post by LIMPET235 »

Locking this old thread.
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