How do I backup my AOL email?

EQ Admin

EQ Forum Admin
Staff member
How to use your My PC Filing Cabinet to backup your AOL Email

To backup mail in your AOL saved on my pc filing cabinet:
  • On your computer search for a file called {AOL screen name}.abi
  • Go up one directory to your main AOL folder
  • Highlight the organize folder, then go to the menu bar and select Edit -> Copy
  • Use my computer to go to the place, for example a flash drive, where you want to save your backup copy
  • Go to the menu bar and select Edit -> Paste
  • When the copy finishes, put the backup copy in a safe place.
 
Last edited:

lisa martin

Blacklisted
Hi, you didn’t mention your version of Windows in the original post. So, for now. The following are the manual steps to backup the AOL email items in Windows 10:
  • Quit your AOL Desktop application.
  • Click and open the file explorer or the Windows Explorer.
  • Enter as below in the address bar:
    • C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\AOL\UserProfiles\ (press enter)
  • Click and open the folder which has several numbers as name.
  • Click and open the folder name with your AOL screen which is followed by the .mail extension.
  • Right click the CLS folder and then choose “Copy”.
  • Now browse the location where you need to place the backup copy (such as placing it in another directory on your hard drive or a USB drive), then right click on the folder or drive name and click “Paste”.
The above steps work with Windows 10. See the first post for older OS's. if your OS version is another one.
 
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