How to Convert DBX file into Outlook PST or Office 365

When it comes to emailing platforms, Microsoft products (Outlook, Express, Exchange, etc.) have managed to maintain their dominant share in the market. However, with the introduction of cloud-based emailing, more and more people are turning towards Office 365.

While it is one thing to start using the new from scratch, which most organizations and professionals today are probably doing, it is another thing entirely to switch from an already established on-premise emailing setup to a totally cloud based solution. Focusing on a leaf of the same, we’re discussing how users can smoothly transit from Outlook Express (DBX) to Office 365.

DBX to Office 365 – why take the leap?

Migrating between emailing platforms is a tedious task, to say the least. It needs investment, planning, close monitoring, efficient management, risk-migitation, as well as testing to ensure perfect deployment. When it sounds like such a big effort, why do organisations even consider going for it?

Surely their current mailing systems were serving their purpose before the new alternative was launched?

Behind the decision to switch from one platform to another are several reasons. Take the case of DBX to Office 365 migration for example. There are many causes that may prompt an organisation to want to switch to Office 365:

• DBX files can store only a maximum of 2GB data. If users try to add more data than that to a DBX file, it causes Outlook Express to crash
• Office 365 is a cloud-based platform meaning that organisations don’t need to invest in preparing the necessary on-premise hardware setup
• Since all data is on the cloud, protecting it from threats is left to Microsoft. It is not a concern for organisations anymore, though backing up however is.
• Office 365 updates regularly, so the platform is always equipped with the latest technology

These and quite a few other reasons are currently driving people and organizations to perform DBX to Office 365 conversion.

Converting DBX to Office 365 Manually

To convert DBX files to Office 365, you need to perform a conversion from DBX to PST. The resultant PST files can then be imported into Office 365. Here are the steps for DBX to Outlook PST conversion:

1. Download and install the latest Windows Live mail on your system
2. Install Microsoft Outlook on your system
3. Launch Windows Live Mail and click on “File -> Import Messages”
4. The Import Messages dialog box will appear. Select Microsoft Outlook Express and then click on “Next”
5. Select the radio button that says “All Folders” and click on “Next.” This will import all Outlook Express mailbox data into Windows Live Mail
6. Now in Windows Live Mail, click on “File -> Export Mail -> Email Messages”
7. The Export Mail Setup dialog box will appear. Select Microsoft Exchange and then click on “Next”
8. When prompted with a confirmation message, click on “OK”
9. Again select the radio button that says “All Folders” and click on “Next.” This will import all Windows Live mailbox data into Microsoft Outlook.

10. Click on “Finish” to complete the process

Why the manual method is not much preferred?

Although the manual method described above is free of cost and doesn’t require much technical expertise to follow, it isn’t often preferred. The reasons being:

• After the conversion, the data in some email messages might get lost or turn corrupt
• The Images and Attachment in the resulting mailbox data might get lost or become corrupt
• Email headers might get skipped from the conversion
• Also, some of the email messages or attachment might get skipped from the conversion