How to Save Your Spartan Mail to Your Windows Computer or Transfer it to Another Mail Service

Objective

Following the steps in this article will create a backup of your Spartan Mail account to a local Windows machine that can then also be transferred to a new mail service if desired.

Environment

Windows
Locally installed, licensed Outlook client

Before You Begin

You MUST have a locally installed, licensed copy of Outlook to follow this procedure.

Steps

1. Export your Spartan Mail to a .PST file
   Instructions

   1. From the File menu, select Open and Export
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   2. Select Import/Export
   3. Select Export to a file
   4. Select Next
   5. Select Outlook Data File (.PST)
   6. Select Next
   7. Select your entire account (or if desired select only the folders you want to back up)
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   8. Select Next
   9. Enter a name and a path you will remember for the backup file
   10. Select Finish
   11. OPTIONAL - enter a password on the file if you want to prevent other people from opening it
   12. You're done! Your file is now exported and exists at the path you specified.
2. Open the .PST file to verify the backup
   Instructions

   1. To check that the export was successful, open the .PST file by selecting File > Open & Export > Open Outlook Data File
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   2. Once open it should show as a separate mailbox labled Outlook Data File
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   3. Select Outlook Data File and it should expand, showing all items you exported
   4. Once you are satisfied that everything is correct, close the data file by right-clicking Outlook Data File and choosing Close Outlook Data File
   • If all you want is a backup, you can stop after this point. To transfer to a new service, continue the steps below.
3. Verify that you have enough space to transfer your MSU email to the other service
   Instructions

   1. Check your Spartan Mail Quota - see this article (link) for instructions.
   2. Check to make sure you have enough space available on your new service by finding your usage and limits there
      Typically you can log in to your other service and search quota in their help section to find these instructions for that service
4. Add the other service to Outlook
   Instructions

   1. Open Outlook
   2. Select File
   3. Select Add Account
   4. Enter your email address from the other service (_____@gmail.com, _____@hotmail.com, etc) and select Connect
   5. Follow the prompts to add your password and finish adding the new account
   6. Once done, the email from the other service should appear in the folder pane on the left of your Outlook window
5. Import the .PST file to the other service
   Instructions

   1. If still open, first close the .PST file by right-clicking Outlook Data File and choosing Close Outlook Data File.
   2. Select the email from the new service that now shows in the folder pane on the left side of Outlook
   3. Select File
   4. Select Open & Export
   5. Select Import/Export
   6. Select Import from another program or file
   7. Select Outlook Data File (.pst)
   8. Select Next
   9. Select Browse...
   10. Navigate to the .PST file you created from before and select Open
   11. Select Next
       • If it says "This Outlook data file (.pst) is already in use in the current profile" you will need to cancel this process and ensure that step 1 was completed. Reboot if the error persists.
   12. We recommend keeping the default options on the next window and selecting Finish to begin the import.
       Depending on the size of your mailboxes, it may take a significant period of time to fully import.
   13. You're done! Your email has been successfully backed up and transferred to a new service.

Additional Info

A .PST file is a snapshot of how your mail account existed at that time the file was created. You can export your email, contacts and calendar items into the .PST file. You don't have to then import the .PST into another service, but should consider what would happen if your computer crashes because the .PST file only exists where you saved it. You could also copy the .PST file to another machine or storage device for further protection.