How to Change the Default Location of Mail and News Folders

            NOTE: Use this information at your own risk.

   This article contains information about configuring or using
   Windows 95 in a manner that has not been tested and is not
   supported by Microsoft Technical Support.

   We suggest you back up your data before performing these steps.
   If the steps described in this article do not function properly,
   you may need to reinstall Windows 95 in order to restore your
   system to its previous state.

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Outlook Express version 4.0 for Windows 95
• Microsoft Outlook Express version 4.0 for Windows NT 4.0

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SUMMARY

This article describes how to change the default storage location of Outlook Express mail and news folders.

MORE INFORMATION

By default, the Outlook Express mail and news folders are located in the <Windows>\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook Express folder, where <Windows> is the folder in which Windows 95 is installed. In Windows NT and in Windows 95 with user profiles enabled, the Outlook Express mail and news folders are located in the <Windows>\Profiles\<Username>\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook Express folder, where <Windows> is the folder in which Windows is installed, and <Username> is the name you use to log on to Windows. To change the default storage location of these folders, follow the steps in the appropriate section below:

NOTE: If Microsoft Internet Mail and News was present on your computer when you upgraded to Outlook Express, the default storage location of Outlook Express mail and news folders is Program Files\Internet Explorer\Internet Mail and News.

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys And Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it.

Windows 95

To change the storage location of Outlook Express mail or news, change the "Store Root" value to the full path for the folder you want to use as the new storage location. This value is located in the following registry key:

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Outlook Express

   HKEY_USERS\<username>\Software\Microsoft\Outlook Express

Windows NT

To change the storage location of Outlook Express mail or news, change the "Store Root" value to the full path to the folder you want to use as the new storage location. This value is located in the following registry key:

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Outlook Express