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Windows 7 does not back up email file. Why?

I just ran a Windows backup on a Windows 7 workstation. According to Outlook 2010: (File > Account Settings > [double-click user] > More Settings > Advanced > Outlook Data File Settings The email file is in C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook/useremail@domain.org.ost. When I look in that folder using Windows explorer, that file is there and is currently 4GB. When I select 'Restore Files' in the backup program and navigate to that folder, the file is not on the backup. Why not?

This workstation is using Outlook 2010 conneted to Exchange 2007 on a SBS2008 domain. Redirected folders are enabled and the email account is set to use cached exchange mode in Outlook.

On another non-domain connected workstation the .pst file is found on the backup in the same folder as specified above. Is the domain/redirection configuration the reason backup does not copy the email file? I think that's a bit of a problem. I assume Windows must believe this file is recoverable elsewhere and therefore doesn't feel backing up this email is important. Are these files available elsewhere? Is Windows backup flawed and should not be relied upon?
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Darr247
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To what media is the backup being copied?

e.g. If you're using an external drive formatted to FAT32, 4GB is the max file size.
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Mark

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I believe WIN7 will only backup to an external or network drive. This is backing up to a 500GB USB drive formatted to NTFS. Also, I've checked other Windows backup on other workstations and they do not appear to be saving the .ost files. I've also checked in the redirected folders on the domain server and I don't see a place for .ost files.
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Darr247
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Darr247: Yeah, I tried all the things the various participants in that link tried including most recently telling the WIN7 backup facility to backup the entire C: drive. It still skipped redirected folders and, specifically, the email .ost file. That link had a good discussion including Microsoft's (lame) reason for not backup up .ost files. As another poster countered, there are simple tools for converting .ost's to .pst's which would make these files perfectly useful for recovering deleted emails, etc.

So, I guess my solution will be to buy a *real* backup program like Acronis: http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/trueimage/, 30 bucks or $80 for 3 PCs. I've used that program before to create restorable images and we actually use the business version on the office SBS 2008 ... and you can actually restore the image to completely different hardware and it boots! I've tried it.

I'll leave this question open for a day or so for any additional feedback.

Thanks
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I bought Acronis True Image 2013, $30 on special. It not only backups up *everything*, but I can restore the total backup to a completely different drive. I did this and upgraded an XP with 40GB to 500GB in about 20 minutes, restore time. Plus, it will do incremental and/or differential backups. I'm going to remove the mostly useless scheduled Windows backup and replace with Acronis TI on all workstations.