Where Did My Outlook Email Addresses Go?

Some Outlook 2003/2007 users don't create contacts for their email addresses, they just use the "TO: cache" in the TO: box. This is where you can start typing a name and the email address shows up for you. This isn't a good idea because you can't easily remove entries from the cache (if they are wrong) nor is the file backed up or in a common place.

However, sometimes you have to deal with it. For instance, you might move someone from an old machine to a new one and they'll ask you, "where did all my email address goes?"

Here's how you find the cache file and move it to another computer:

1. Quit Outlook.
2. Click Start, and then click Search.
3. In the Search Companion left-side panel, click All files or folders.
4. In the All or part of the file name: box, type *.NK2.
5. In the Look In box, click to select your local hard disk.
6. Click More advanced options, click to select Search hidden files and folders check box.
7. Click Search.
8. Right-click the .NK2 file with the name of the profile that you want to copy, and then click Copy.
9. Navigate to the drive where you want to copy the file to (like a thumb drive) and right click and then Paste.
10. Quit Windows Explorer.
11. Go to the computer where you want the file to be.
12. Repeat steps 1 thru 7.
13. Instead of step 8 where we copied, right-click the file and click Rename.
14. Rename the file outlook.nk2.old
15. Make a note of where the file was and open Windows Explorer to that location (you should see outlook.nk2.old there).
16. Open the thumb drive in Windows Explorer.
17. Navigate to the file you copied in the step above and right-click and select Copy.
18. In the Explorer window where outlook.nk2.old is, right click and click Paste.
19. Close the Windows Explorer windows.
20. Restart Outlook.