No one starts off planning on receiving their DBX file folder. No one does! Instead, they find themselves with this folder after some system upgrades or buying a new computer. After all, it takes only one such step to have all of their emails from Outlook Express in a file format that no computer program can read. Well, you might have been postponing this problem due to its perceived complexity. Now, let's debunk that misconception and show you that it isn't nearly as hard as people say.
The migration of Outlook Express emails from DBX to PST files is the easiest email transition anyone could ever undertake. Yes, DBX is an outdated file type. But migrating it to Outlook is pretty easy, secure, and very fast with the right program.
What Makes DBX Files Difficult to Work With Today
Outlook Express has been out of use for ages now, as has its database storage type, the DBX file format. All folders in your old Outlook Express mailbox – the inbox, the sent items folder, and the draft items folder, as well as custom folders – were stored in separate DBX files. It worked just fine back then. Now it's an issue of backwards compatibility.
MS Outlook doesn't support DBX files, nor does any other contemporary email application. They are a legacy technology unique to a non-existent platform now. And that's why, if you've got some DBX files on your computer and would like to move your emails from Outlook Express DBX to Outlook PST, you won't find any option of doing that in Outlook's import/export window. There simply isn't one.
Why Getting This Migration Right Actually Matters
The urge to treat old DBX files as low priority is understandable, but have you thought about what you actually find within such files?
• Conducted negotiations via e-mails
• Communication chains with clients which prove your decisions
• Approval emails from various projects
• Sentimental personal communications
• Long-time financial negotiations and invoices
Those emails can hardly be called junk; on the contrary, many users find them impossible to recreate. Hence, the issue is not how to convert your DBX files to PST; rather, it is how to do so while losing not a single one.
Fortunately, the answer to that problem lies in having a properly developed migration utility, as it ensures conversion of every file with all its contents preserved.
What a Complete DBX to PST Migration Covers
However, when one hears the phrase "email migration" or "migrate emails", he/she usually thinks only about moving emails. But the true function is much more complicated than that. So, here is the list of components migrated along with emails:
• E-mails – message contents, titles, texts, and inline images;
• File attachments – all the files attached to any of your emails within the DBX file;
• Information regarding sender and recipients – the data on "From", "To", "CC" and "BCC" will be migrated to corresponding places in Outlook.
• Timestamps – your emails are placed in a correct order according to their dates of sending/receiving;
• Read/unread statuses – to avoid unnecessary alerts that the user has not seen his/her e-mail yet;
• Folder structure – all the folders within your previous Outlook Express account are migrated as they were before.
Also, it is worth noting that if a certain user used subfolders in his/her previous Outlook Express mailbox, they will be migrated along with others.
Step-by-Step: How to Migrate DBX Emails to PST
Below are all the steps required to accomplish this task in a very straightforward manner.
Step 1 – Install the tool You only need to download and install this tool in order to access your DBX file. There is no need for any other installation, such as setting up an Outlook client. The entire process is very easy and straightforward, and there is absolutely no setup of any additional software needed before you begin.
Step 2 – Upload your DBX file Once the program is installed, open the application and navigate to the location of the .dbx file. No matter where the file is located, whether it is on the desktop, buried within the AppData files or stored in an old external hard drive from three computers ago, this program will have no problem accessing it.
Step 3 – Preview before migration. As soon as your DBX file is accessed, you will have access to your whole mailbox, which will be displayed for a preview.
Step 4 – Filter if required The best part of converting Outlook Express DBX folders to PST is that you can migrate selectively. You can choose which folders to move, what period, or even migrate selected items from your mail programme. If you need just some emails from a particular year or only certain folders, there's no need to migrate the entire file.
Step 5 – Choose PST format for saving Pick the PST format to transfer all to Microsoft Outlook. In case you will use the data elsewhere, you can choose one of several alternative formats: EML, EMLX, or MBOX.
Step 6 – Pick the output folder Save the migrated data either as a new PST file or merge it into another one. This last option comes in handy, especially if you migrate several DBX folders into a clean Outlook mailbox.
Step 7 – Start migrating Launch the conversion process and wait for it to finish. The tool runs in the background and does not slow down any processes on your computer while making a proper PST file.
Features That Make a Real Difference
If you are considering which program for transferring emails from DBX to PST format is worth trying on your Windows PC, then here is what actually makes all the difference between a viable software product and an unreliable one:
• Lossless transfer – the absence of lost or damaged emails, attachments, and metadata in the target file;
• Support for archived DBX files – it may happen that your archive consists of DBX files created ages ago in Windows XP, so the program must cope with such a challenge without a hitch;
• Precise filtering – folder-by-folder, date-by-date, type-by-type transfer;
• Full-fledged independent software solution – no dependence on OE or MS Outlook at all;
• Previewing prior to migration;
• Batch processing – several DBX files to migrate in series without the need to start the whole procedure from zero each time.
Recommended Tool
ToolsGround Outlook Express Easy Mail Migration from DBX to PST is designed specifically for this situation. ToolsGround DBX to PST Converter can work with DBX files regardless of their age and size, migrate all your folders along with every attachment and metadata accurately, and even allow you to see everything that is going to be converted in advance. Its intuitive design makes migration an effortless process – whether you are trying to recover one ancient mailbox or several at once. The software provides you with a free trial, allowing you to convert up to 10 emails without payment.
Final Thoughts
You don't have any reason to store those useless DBX files on that outdated hard drive anymore. The process of transferring emails from DBX to PST involves only one attempt – simple, quick and very manageable, especially with the appropriate tool at hand.
Your emails will be transferred into Outlook as they are. You will retain all your folder structure. All email attachments will transfer along. And when this process is over, you will have yourself a PST file you can easily access for years to come.
