How do I move my Microsoft Outlook contacts?

Dave, I just got a new computer, and want to move my Microsoft Outlook contacts to a new computer. How do I move this file?

Dave's Answer:

On first blush, it appears that you need to pay for a shareware application: Google "transfer Microsoft Outlook Contacts" and dozens of different applications show up which, I imagine, you could purchase if you were so inclined. Before you whip out your credit card, however, read on...

A bit more research, however, reveals a document on the Microsoft Office Online site that provide detailed instructions on how to export your Contacts from Outlook.

Here's the scoop:

In Outlook, on the File menu, click Import and Export.
Click Export to a file, and then click Next.
Click Comma Separated Values (Windows), and then click Next.
In the folder list, click the Contacts folder, and then click Next.
Browse to the folder where you want to save the contacts as a .csv file.
Type a name for the exported file, and then click OK.
Click Next.
Click Finish.

That gives you a comma separate list of your Outlook Contacts. Transfer that to your new computer, then you can import them into your new version of Outlook with the following steps:

On the File menu, click Import and Export.
Click Import from another program or file, and then click Next.
In the list, click Comma Separated Values (Windows), and then click Next.
Click Browse, locate your file, and then click Next.
Click your Contacts folder or another folder that contains contacts, and then click Next.
In the list, click the file that contains your address list, and then click Map Custom Fields.

That should get you going. If you need more help here are two reference pages from Microsoft, one on Exporting Outlook Contacts and another on Importing Outlook Contacts.

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Reader Comments To Date: 106

Norm said, on April 9, 2005 2:09 PM:

When I change to a new computer, I just copy my old "outlook.pst" and "archive.pst" to the new machine, overwriting the outlook.pst created by the new install of Outlook.

These files are usually found at:
documents & settings...
"user name"...
local settings ...
microsoft...
outlook

The Outlook .. File.. menu also provides for export/import.. of your data to a file.. pst..
or import of a pst file to your current outlook.
I used this function back when moving my pst files from Outlook '98 to Outlook 2003.

Loren said, on August 5, 2005 10:03 PM:

I had been trying to transport my contacts list from Outlook for several days... and found your site just as I was on the verge of beginning to retype all my entries. (I found all the other sites so unhelpful!)

Thanks so much for saving me hours of mind-numbing busywork. (Just think of all the extra TV I can watch now...)

speedy adkins said, on December 16, 2005 2:32 AM:

old computer motherboard died !!!1
got a computer up and running and put my old hard drive in new one as a slave drive .
have loaded all software as old computer had on it trying to get my old contacts from ms outlook
to new outlook how do i find the file and how do i put them in new outlook ?

Natalie said, on January 15, 2006 5:08 PM:

Thanks for the info, but is there anyway to recover the outlook contact files when you can't run the original program to export them? Our old hard drive is dying - we can see the files, but we can't run the programs. Is there anyway to save our contact files? I found the outlook.pst file, but I don't know what to do with it.

Thanks,
Natalie

Lawson Forrester said, on January 17, 2006 1:04 PM:

Dave, (Outlook 2000) I want to copy my contacts list, however when I click the export button the program crashes with one of the long 0xc0000005 messages. Is there a workaround where I can go to the Outlook file and get the information. The same version I have installed on my other computer works fine. Thanks, Lawson

Mike said, on March 3, 2006 11:28 AM:

when i try to move contact file from on comp to another, my file menu in outlook doesn't have import export. what do i do??

Beth said, on March 13, 2006 9:02 AM:

I am writing because I am trying to transfer contacts from one computer to another and they do not appear in the contact file of the second computer. I am transfering by scandisc.

Also, how can I combine subfolders in outlook?
This is new to me and driving me crazy.

dorothy21 said, on May 1, 2006 9:29 PM:

How do I get Outlook 2000 to use my contact subfolders to look for an emial address when creating a new email?

Tonya said, on June 1, 2006 12:26 PM:

Hello Dave. My question is the one of the same questions you've had before. I didn't see the answer posted so I cut and paste it below, in hopes that you will answer the question again.
Thank You!!

old computer motherboard died !!!1
got a computer up and running and put my old hard drive in new one as a slave drive .
have loaded all software as old computer had on it trying to get my old contacts from ms outlook
to new outlook how do i find the file and how do i put them in new outlook ?

Stahmi said, on June 24, 2006 9:35 AM:

Is it possible to transfer my "personalities" for Microsoft Outlook? i.e. I receive email for several different email addresses...do I have to reenter all that info on my new computer?

Brett said, on July 5, 2006 10:27 AM:

I transfered my inbox to the new computer but none of the email dates moved. The date field list the word "none". How do I transfer the dates?

Summer said, on August 17, 2006 3:07 PM:

Hi Dave!

Is there a way to save .pst contact files to disc? I have googled and found nada.

Thanks for any help you can give!

Douglass Carmichael said, on August 20, 2006 9:20 PM:

OK, confused. I don't see the answer to this. An old comnputer running outlook, a new computer running outlook. I moved the .pst file, and see all my old mail exactly as in the old comnputer, but in the new computer contact list is empty, whereas the old one has a few hundred contacts.

i conclude that my cntacts must be somewhere else than in the .pst file. What do i do?

Chris said, on September 19, 2006 8:30 AM:

Dave....
I have a question....I am trying to copy my task list on my computer and transfer it over to a friends computer here at the house. We are working on the same things and was wondering if this was possible. Thanks!

D'Lisa Simmons said, on September 20, 2006 9:45 AM:

Dear Dave,
In my old computer, my Microsoft contacts were limited to 1000......I "split" the database in the middle of the alphabet, and was able to add some more contacts, up to about 1300. All of my list e-mail addresses kept dropping out of the system, however. Now I have a brand new computer, and when we transfered all of the contacts to the new computer with Microsoft 2003, we still have the "split" database, no new contacts allowed due to volume already there, and lists disappearing again. Can you help?
Thanks,
D'Lisa

Rick said, on December 24, 2006 1:39 PM:

Hi Dave
Restored computer loaded new copy of office 2003 Trying to get outlook file from my backup copy

have loaded all software as old computer had on it trying to get my old contacts from ms outlook
to new outlook how do i find the file and how do i put them in new outlook ?

David Faulkner said, on December 31, 2006 12:56 PM:

Dear dave

My old computer motherboard died.

I have got a new computer up and running and have put my old hard drive in new one as a slave drive(D Drive).

I have loaded all the software as the old computer. I am trying to get my old contacts and e mails from ms outlook on the D Drive with no joy.

How do i find the files and how do i put them in new outlook on the C Drive?

Your help would be greatly appreciated

Regards

David Faulkner
Fareham
England

Tim said, on December 31, 2006 5:08 PM:

Hello to everyone who asked this question,

As Dave doesn't know the answer, I will show the guru who the real guru is, and answer it for you :p

If you old HD dies/gets replaced, and you have it as a slave/backup drive, you can copy your old outlook express contacts from the old HD to the new one. Read on:

the file you want is: your_user_name.wab

this is located at:

C:\Documents and Settings\your_user_name\Application Data\Microsoft\Address Book\your_user_name.wab

so, find the file from the old HD, and copy it over the one on the new HD.

simple :)

Dave Taylor said, on December 31, 2006 5:26 PM:

Ah, a true guru knows where to turn for answers, Tim, so I'm delighted you have offered up your expertise in this matter. :-)

Anthony Loo said, on January 31, 2007 7:17 PM:

Dell laptop inspiron 8100, when installed with WindowXp professional OS, it hanged after usage.
You have to restart by removing all power input to the equipt. This laptop drivers and utilities cd are for Window2000 OS. Therefore, I did not use it. What do I need to do or set to prevent the above from occurring again.

DICK L said, on March 29, 2007 10:29 AM:

Dave, I just got a new computer, and want to move my Microsoft Outlook email folders and contents( individual emails) to a new computer. How do I move this file? thanks

TED WARREN MSES said, on April 8, 2007 4:32 AM:

WOW THANKS A WHOLE LOT!!!!!! I THOUGHT AS AN ENGINEER AND COMPUTER EXPERT I KNEW EVERYTHING BUT "OUTLOOK" WAS MY "WATER LOO" DAMN! I NEVER THOUGHT MOVING OUTLOOK TO ANOTHER MACHINE WOULD BE SUCH A HASSLE, COULDN'T FIND FILES IN A NORMAL WAY TO STORE ON MY THUMB DRIVE NO HOW NO WAY! SO EMBARRACING WITH ONE OF MY NETWORK CLIENTS LOOKING OVER MY SHOULDER HEHE.

YOU ARE BRILLIANT AND YOUR INFORMATION WAS UNUSUALLY SUCCIENT AND TO THE POINT RIGHT ON IN EVERY WAY THANK YOU...KUDOS...I DEFER TO YOU :)

ANYTIME I CAN BE OF HELP PLEASE LET ME KNOW

TED WARREN

(HUGS AND KISSES LOLOL !!!!)

evan said, on April 10, 2007 8:25 AM:

informative, concise, effective. thank you, dave!
Evan

Michael said, on May 16, 2007 3:03 PM:

Dear Dave,

I use Microsoft Outlook and whenever I receive a text message from a cell phone (who's specific contact info has already been saved in my Outlook contact list) to my email, it appears in my Inbox "from" 8885551111@....messaging.com instead of the full contact name (ex. John Smith)as saved in my contact list. This only happens when receiving a text and not when receiving an email... I've tried many different ways of entering the SMS info into the specific contact list but nothing has helped. I would like to see the person's name appear in the "from" column....
Do you have a solution?

Thanks,

Michael

Lori Bigby said, on May 16, 2007 10:30 PM:

Thank you so much!! I've been trying to get my contact list copied for two hours, and your page here help me to do it in five minutes.

Lori

BILL P said, on May 17, 2007 11:57 AM:

How do I move Outlook Contact Groups to another computer

Naren said, on June 7, 2007 9:41 PM:

Its possible to move outlook contacts from lists or groups not on server.

1.) GO to the Contacts
2.) Double click the list to open it.
3.) From file menu choose Save As.
4.) Save it as a text file at the desired location.
5.) Now open the text file with Excel and bingo you have all the contacts in the file.

Regards,
Naren......

Yemmy said, on June 28, 2007 3:59 AM:

Dear Dave / anyone,
I have a machine that is running outlook 2000
on it. I have another machine that is also running
outlook 2000 on it.
Is there a way of merging their inbox and sent box ?
One machine doesnt have contacts so ill use your
method above. But I am assuming if I copy over a
.pst file it will over write and I will lose one
set of inbox and sent box.
Is this correct ?

Joe Maddox said, on September 9, 2007 12:33 PM:

I went to a new hotmail format a few days ago--my old add. book went somewhere--my new add. book only has email addresses not names--I want my old book back-
thanks, Joe

Stasi said, on September 9, 2007 4:41 PM:

I just installed an additional hard drive. The old one is still accessible, but the programs will run on the new one. Here is my question: I copied the .pst files and received my primary contacts list, however, I did not receive the sub directories. How do I fix this?

Thanks for your help!!!
Stasi

jfgrissom said, on September 26, 2007 9:07 PM:

I found an easy way to do this.

On your old copy of Outlook. Find the .pst file (Mine was HIDDEN in
C:\Documents and Settings\\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook\outlook.pst
The file is hidden from local settings. So a seach didn't show it for me.. I just happened to look there.)

1) I extracted the outlook.pst from a backup I had made the day before. (used XP's build in Backup Utility) I put it in a tmp dir on my desktop.

In the new copy of outlook click:
File->import & export->import from another program or file->next->personal folder file(.pst)
->next->browse->desktop->tmp->outlook.pst->open->do not import duplicates->next->finish.

When that was done all my email and addresses were restored from my backup to my new instance of outlook.

Hope this helps other find an EASY way to restore their outlook from a backup.

maxine said, on October 3, 2007 4:52 PM:

Hi Dave
An outlook 2003 question that it really bugging me... do you know any way to change the username that displays in contacts at top left hand corner or remove it altogether as I am using several email accounts but the contacts seem to default to just one name. This shows up when you print or print preview. Help really really appreciated
thanks
maxine

SMP said, on December 16, 2007 11:31 PM:

THANK YOU!!!! I have been searching for awhile trying to figure out how to transfer my files from a HDD to my new computer. I searched and found the .pst files on the HDD and copied to the same folder in the new computer. Now I have all my old e-mails, contacts and calendar info. I am amazed that it was such a simple solution and yet I had to scour the internet for hours trying to find it.

Tino said, on December 18, 2007 9:27 PM:

Hi,

I copied the .pst files from MS Outlook 2000 (old computer) to MS Outlook 2003 (new computer.)
Now the Address Book is blank, but I still have contacts folder with all the details.
How do I get my Address Book back with all the contacts in it?

Dindin said, on January 24, 2008 6:19 PM:

Thank you for your instructions! I was about to manually enter the addressess. What a lifesaver. Many thanks again.

Paul said, on January 25, 2008 11:41 AM:

I had a laptop die and needed the outlook data (as well as a bunch of other stuff) so I put the drive in an external USB case and plugged it into a different desktop machine, installed outlook, and copied the pst files into the "c:\docs and settings\user\localfiles\app data\ etcetera" directory expecting everything to be there.

Lo and behold only the email showed up (no contacts). So I then Imported from outlook the old pst file and it lets you select contacts, inbox, etc. Importing the contacts in this manner worked.

Thanks to the post above that mentioned importing rather than moving the files manually.

shaun doyle said, on February 3, 2008 5:17 PM:

Thanks
Saved me hours

MARYANN said, on March 2, 2008 12:20 PM:

thank you for having this space. I know enough to get into trouble with files and to poor to pay the experts at 100/hr to do it. So I really do appreciate this help! Also glad to see so many others are just as perplexed at this "Easy" task!

George said, on March 2, 2008 5:32 PM:

I used the Import/Export info I found on this site to make a back-up copy of my contact list I made for my Outlook 2007 e-mail program and put it on my Western Digital 500 MB "My Book" External Hard Drive. It of course is in .csv format of course, Question: so if my PC crashes and I lose my main e-mail info from Outlook 2007, I can Import it back into Outlook 2007 the same as if it were being moved to another Outlook program? (The scenario given was moving it from older outlook to newer I think. Thanks.

Tathagata Biswas said, on April 3, 2008 6:11 AM:

this document is excellent.....it really resolved my problem and it is really trustworthy.....thanks for this information......

Shannon Raftery said, on April 6, 2008 11:50 PM:

Hi,
I just bought a new pc for work.
On my old pc in micro outlook i have a few folders with heaps of emails with attachments which i need to put on new pc either in outlook or a separate file.Could you please help
Cheers
Shannon

Larry Gohl said, on April 7, 2008 7:54 PM:

Dave,

After typing the first 2-3 letters in the "TO" box of a new email in Microsoft Outlook 2002 SP3's, several previously used "TO" email addresses pop up for your choice.

Where is the file these auto, pop-up addresses are stored? It can't be just in contacts because whenever I send a misspelled email address, it returns with error messages and still pops up even though I have not changed my contacts.

Please respond to my email address with your answer, if you will.

Thank you,

Larry Gohl

Stephanie said, on April 29, 2008 7:39 PM:

Ok so this is the issue. My old laptop broke, so i got a new one. I have an outlook email address and i want to continue using that address. I know longer have the other computer but i can access my email through cox.net Is there a way to get it into the new computer cause i installed outlook again.

Ankit said, on July 21, 2008 6:03 AM:

Hi Dave..
I want to ask u that, i want to uninstall microsoft outlook and want a new outlook with a different account.
Please tell me how to install a new Microsoft outlook and how to uninstall old one

Thanks
Ankit

Jackson said, on August 21, 2008 2:39 PM:

That worked like a charm! Thanks.

Roger Sorvari said, on September 12, 2008 9:48 AM:

I have been using Outlook 2003 for several years. Just today, I entered a new 'contact' in my address book, saved it several times, and it does not show up when I click on address book, contacts. If I choose the 'find' on the very top of my screen,all the info shows up. Where is this data being saved, and why doesn't it show up in the regular address book?
Thanks, Roger

barbara watts said, on October 3, 2008 8:43 AM:

my computer had a bad bug in it recently and the computer man saved all my files and told me i can recall my outlook addresses through goggle import but i have a problem at the beginning it said to go to import and export and at that point i have to stop as there is no way to choose both only one or the other help me if you can bwattsn@bellsouth.net

Maha said, on October 10, 2008 5:28 PM:

Dave,

My C drive is almost all full. I would like to move all my emails to my D drive. How do I do this? I cant even FIND my emails on the C drive, let alone move them!!
Help!!

Dee said, on November 23, 2008 7:28 PM:

Dave,
Please help,
I'm trying to copy my Hotmail contacts to paste onto another site to email my friends holiday cards.
I can't figure out how to copy all contacts.
Can you walk me through it?
Thanks
Dee

lorance said, on December 1, 2008 6:05 PM:

I have Vista contact list. How do i transfer Vista contact list to Mircosoft Outlook. currently i only have XP version. Pls assist me. Thank you.

Chris Burger said, on January 12, 2009 12:42 PM:

How do I transfer emails and address book from work outlook (one email account) to outlook web access (a different email account)?

don said, on January 23, 2009 11:17 AM:

My hard drive was replaced, I can pull up my distribution list but cannot send a message from it, why?

Julie Klotz said, on February 24, 2009 2:01 PM:

Along these same lines but in a different direction, I have a user that is using Outlook for his personal email and when he accesses his company email through OWA, he wants to be able to access his Outlook contacts while in OWA. There is no import option in OWA and supposedly it is supposed to be an "automatic" thing but I can't make it work for him. What am I doing wrong?

Harvey S. Cohen said, on February 25, 2009 7:50 AM:

I want to have the same Outlook Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, and Notes on my home and office PC's, but different mailboxes and mail folders. This would be easy if I could keep my default Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, and Notes in a different pst file from my mail. Is there a way to do this?

ajit said, on March 18, 2009 1:12 AM:

i want to transfer my contect in address book in ms outlook so how can i do that tell me

rola said, on March 19, 2009 3:26 AM:

i want to transfer my contact in address book in ms outlook to my mobile phone so how can i do that tell me please

Rob Anderson said, on April 5, 2009 9:26 AM:

How do I change the settings so I can see if someone that sent me an email is one of my contacts?

Dawn Brady said, on April 15, 2009 9:55 AM:

Dave,
I have a computer that was used by another employee. We had everything changed from her stuff to mine because she got a new pc. Problem is, when I send emails, it pulls from her contact list and not mine. How can I stop this? I do not need any of her contacts.

Carrie said, on April 20, 2009 3:00 PM:

Thank you so much!!! Those were the easiest instructions ever. You've made my life so much easier!!

Nemesis said, on April 29, 2009 7:29 AM:

A new question: (haven't seen it)
I have a weekly automatic backup of "My_Documents" scheduled.
I would like to MOVE the default location of the Outlook contacts files to the My_Documents folder so that it gets backed up also without having to export and save the csv file esch time I make a change.
How can this be done?

Nemesis said, on April 29, 2009 2:42 PM:

OOOps... Never mind, I found this:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/HA011124801033.aspx

PMF said, on May 9, 2009 5:53 PM:

Dave, I want to keep two different companies completely separate on one laptop. I've been using one account with separate email accounts for each, but this is becoming a problem. I created a new account for co. 'B'. I now need to get the data in the old account to the new account. Even if the new account contains co. A's emails, it won't matter. I'll just delete A's stuff and leave B's in the new acct. What is the best way to move the data in Outlook 2007.

Patriia said, on June 30, 2009 3:32 PM:

Hello

I would like to group my contacts by categories. For each contact, I have indicated which category it belongs to (in some cases a contact will be long in mulptile categories, like Business and Restaurant) and would like to create contact groups based on these categories. Is there a way to do this? Also is there a way to do this and still keep the contact in the contact folder? When I did this with an iPhone app it put my contacts in the first category indicated and took it out of the main contact folder. I would appreciate any assitance with this people could offer. Thank you.

Jason said, on July 1, 2009 7:04 PM:

Hi, Dave.

I use Outlook 2007 with a Vista OS. At one point, I believe that I changed the directory where "Contacts" is stored. I have since deleted that directory, but it keeps being recreated (presumably by Office) and the "Contacts" folder comes back from the dead. Can you direct me on how to change the default location for this thing? Looks like I had enough rope to hang myself.