How to Save Hotmail Emails to Hard Drive & Computer with Hotmail Backup Tool ?
The Turgs Hotmail Backup Tool saves Hotmail emails, contacts, and calendars to your hard drive in over 20 file formats including PST, PDF, EML, and MBOX. It connects via IMAP, never stores your credentials, supports date-range filters, and runs on all Windows versions. A free trial backs up a limited number of items.
Hotmail, now integrated into Outlook.com, stores all your emails on Microsoft’s servers. That’s convenient until there’s an outage, account compromise, or accidental deletion. If you’ve ever lost an important email and wished you had a local copy, this guide is for you.
The Turgs Email Backup Wizard is a dedicated Hotmail backup tool that saves your emails, contacts, and calendar data to your hard drive in the format you choose. It connects to your Hotmail account via IMAP, downloads your data, and saves it locally without storing your credentials in any database or software cache.
Why Back Up Hotmail Emails
Five situations make a local Hotmail backup genuinely valuable:
First, server outages. Microsoft experiences occasional service interruptions. A local backup means you can still access critical emails during downtime. Second, account compromise. If your Hotmail account gets hacked and emails are deleted, a local backup is your only recovery option. Third, migration. Moving to a different email platform is easier when you have a local archive you can import. Fourth, compliance. Many businesses are required to retain email records for a defined period. A local backup fulfills this requirement independently of Microsoft’s retention policies. Fifth, peace of mind. Knowing you have a copy of 10 years of email history on your own drive is worth the 20 minutes it takes to set up.
Before You Start: App Password Setup
If two-step verification is enabled on your Hotmail or Outlook.com account, you’ll need to create an app-specific password before the backup tool can connect. Microsoft requires app passwords for third-party tools when 2-step verification is active.
Here’s how to create one:
- Go to Microsoft Security Settings.
- Sign in with your Hotmail email address and select Security.
- Click Manage how I sign in.
- Scroll to App Passwords and click Create a new app password.
- Copy the generated password and use it in the backup tool’s login screen instead of your regular password.
If two-step verification is not enabled on your account, skip this step and use your normal Hotmail password directly.
How to Back Up Hotmail Emails to Hard Drive
Download and install the Turgs Email Backup Wizard on your Windows PC. Installation takes under a minute.
Step 1: Launch the application. Select Hotmail from the email source list.
Step 2: Enter your Hotmail account credentials. If you created an app password in the previous step, use that here. Click Login to connect to your account.
Step 3: The tool loads your Hotmail folder list: Inbox, Sent, Drafts, and any custom folders you’ve created. Select the folders you want to back up. You can select all folders or choose specific ones.
Step 4: Choose your output format. The tool supports PST, EML, MSG, MBOX, PDF, HTML, and over 20 other formats. Select PST to open the backup in Outlook, MBOX for Thunderbird, or PDF for read-only archives. You can also migrate directly to cloud services like Gmail, Office 365, or Yahoo Mail.
Step 5: Apply filters if you need a targeted backup. The tool supports date range filtering, sender-based filtering, and folder-specific selection. For a compliance backup covering a specific period, use the date filter to narrow the export precisely.
Step 6: Set your destination folder. Choose where on your hard drive or external storage the backup files will be saved.
Step 7: Click Convert to start the backup process. The tool downloads your Hotmail data and writes the output files to your chosen folder. Progress appears in real time.
Step 8: When the backup completes, a confirmation popup appears. Click OK. Your Hotmail emails, contacts, and calendar data are now saved locally.
Also read: How to Solve the Hotmail Not Working on Apple Mail Issue
Key Features of the Hotmail Backup Tool
20+ output formats: The tool supports PST, EML, MSG, MBOX, PDF, HTML, and cloud migration targets including Office 365, Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Outlook.com, and Exchange Server. You get one tool for both local backup and cloud migration.
Contacts and calendar backup: The tool backs up not just emails but also Hotmail contacts and calendar items in a single pass. Select the contacts and calendar folders alongside your email folders and everything exports together.
Advanced filters: Date range, sender address, and email label filters let you back up only what you need. This reduces export time and keeps your backup files focused.
Zero credential storage: The tool connects to Hotmail via IMAP and processes the download in memory only. No credentials are written to a database or stored in software caches.
Windows-wide compatibility: The tool runs on Windows 7 through Windows 11 and all Windows Server editions through Server 2019. No Outlook installation is needed.
Limitations to Know
Limitations
- The free trial backs up a limited number of emails. Purchase the full license to remove this restriction and back up your entire Hotmail mailbox.
- If two-step verification is enabled, you must create an app-specific password first. The tool cannot connect with your regular Hotmail password when 2-step verification is active.
- The tool runs on Windows only. There is no native Mac version of this specific Hotmail backup utility.
- Large Hotmail mailboxes with years of email history take considerable time to download and process. Plan for this when backing up accounts with extensive email history.
- Cloud migration targets like Gmail and Office 365 require the destination account credentials as well. Check that both accounts are accessible before starting a cloud-to-cloud migration.
- The backup process requires an active internet connection throughout. If the connection drops during a large backup, you may need to restart the process from the beginning.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I save Hotmail emails to my computer in MBOX format?
Install and run the Turgs Email Backup Wizard on Windows. Select Hotmail from the source list, enter your account credentials, choose the folders you want to back up, select MBOX as the output format, set your destination folder, and click Convert. The tool exports your Hotmail emails to MBOX files compatible with Thunderbird and other MBOX-supporting clients.
Does the Hotmail Backup Tool work on Windows Server?
Yes. The tool is compatible with all Microsoft Windows versions including Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows Server 2016, and Windows Server 2019. You install and run it just like any other Windows application.
Can I back up Hotmail contacts to Outlook?
Yes. Select only the Contacts folder during the folder selection step, then choose CSV or vCard as your output format. Import the resulting file into Outlook via File, Open and Export, Import/Export. Alternatively, choose PST as the output to get contacts in a format that imports directly as an Outlook data file.
Does the tool store my Hotmail password anywhere?
No. The Turgs Email Backup Wizard connects to your Hotmail account via IMAP during the backup session and processes the data in memory. It does not write your credentials to any database, log file, or software cache.
Can I migrate Hotmail to Gmail using this tool?
Yes. Instead of choosing a local file format in Step 4, select Gmail as the migration target. Enter your Gmail account credentials when prompted. The tool migrates your Hotmail emails directly to the Gmail account without creating a local file intermediate.
What Hotmail account types does the tool support?
The tool supports all Hotmail and Outlook.com account types including personal Hotmail accounts, Outlook.com accounts, and Microsoft 365 personal or business accounts. All account types use the same IMAP connection method during the backup process.
