OE is really pretty simple. If you click on File, you'll find "Import" and "Export" as options.

You really should "compact folders" as a separate operation before you backup, but then just "Export" messages and/or address books and copy the result to the CD for your backup.

When you want to restore, you "Import" and chose the import from "backup" or "external store" (label varies with version).

It is important that when you copy the exported files to backup you copy the whole folder, since otherwise you may miss the index file(s) that are needed to restore.

You can usually restore messages that you backed up just by copying the OE folders somewhere, but using the export function is more reliable.

The biggest inconvenience with the export/import functions in OE is that you have to restore whole folders. Since email is stored in a database format, you can have multiple emails with the same "filename" so if your backup has a message that's already in your active folder, you can end up with two (or more) copies. Do this a few times, and your working folders "balloon" to very large.

If you want to "backup" individual messages, you can do a "File - Save As" and save each message as the default .eml somewhere outside the OE folders. (You don't have to open the message to save it. Just select each one and save.) When you "double click" one of these .eml files in Win Explorer, it will open in OE, and if you want to put it back in the active folder, you just "Edit - Copy to Folder." The problem is, you have to do it one message at a time. The advantage is, you can access single messages from backup without importing whole folders.

John