Easy ways to migrate Outlook PST to MBOX file format

Microsoft Outlook stores all your personal data in PST file format. Due to several bugs or Malware, sometimes the system may crash your outlook. In that case, users want to transfer all their important data from PST to MBOX format which is a widely used file format. Users also create a backup of their database to other email clients.
MBOX format is used by various email clients, such as - Apple Mail, Thunderbird, Entourage, Eudora, PocoMail, etc. But these file formats use different platforms and different structures to store the data so, that becomes much more difficult for a user to convert PST files to MBOX.

Need to migrate PST files to MBOX

Here we will discuss why users need to transfer all their important PST files to other file formats such as MBOX -

• As users' personal or professional data is important and there is a risk of corruption of Outlook files. There may be chances that hard disk crashes that would result in data loss.
• Another reason is to switch the operating system. In that case, it becomes necessary to convert PST files to MBOX format.

Users can transfer their data to MBOX using several manual techniques.

Manual Approach to convert PST to MBOX format using Thunderbird

The Manual approach is more typical to execute. Hence, users need to be careful and attentive in following every step mentioned below. If you skip any step or execute it in any abnormal manner then it may possibly lead to data loss. And once data is lost, then you may never be able to bring it back.
Note:  Create a complete backup of all your PST files before applying the below procedure to duplicate PST files.

Step 1: Enable IMAP in Gmail

• Login to Gmail, Click on “Gear icon” and after that select “Settings”.
• Click on “forwarding and POP/IMAP”
• Click on “Enable IMAP”

Step 2: Sync Outlook with Gmail

• Go to the “file” in Microsoft outlook
• Click on the “Add account”
• After filling all the required credentials, go to the “Manual configure server settings”
• Click to the “Internet Email” and then after this, Click on “Next” button.
• Fill the required details in “Add New account”
• Change “Account type” to “IMAP” and to the “incoming mail server” enter “imap.gmail.com” and to“outgoing mail server”, “smtp.gmail.com” 
• Click on to the “more settings” and after that click to the “Advanced” 
• Click on the “Outgoing server”, and go to “My Outgoing Server (SMTP)” and then click “use same settings as my incoming Mail server”
• Click on “OK” and after that “Next”

Now you can add Emails, calendars, and other Outlook items by using these steps -

• Click on “file settings”
• Go to the “open & export” and there choose the “Import/Export” option.
• Select “Import from other program or file”, & then click on “Next”
• Choose the Outlook data file (.pst)
• Browse PST file.
• Click on “finish” for completion of the process

Now outlook will automatically get synced with Gmail, as the IMAP account works as the mirror between the Email server and Email client.

Step 3: Save your data from Gmail by using Google Takeout

In Gmail, Google Takeout is a feature that is used to move the data in a simple way. Users can also download the data in compressed files using this feature. You can save your Gmail database to MBOX by using the following steps -

• Login to Google Takeout and click on the “Select None” option located in Navigation Bar.
• Click “create an archive” option
• Choose Gmail in the service and go to create an archive option.

The manual method for conversion of PST to MBOX is the more complex process, users can opt for the third party software for an easy and secure process.

Alternative Third Party method 

You can use a third party PST to MBOX converter tool to migrate all your PST files in MBOX format with an easy approach and without any risk of data loss. Sit back and relax. The PST to MBOX Converter tool offers to convert 25 emails for free in its Demo version.
Let’s see how it works step by step -

1. Install and run the tool.
2. Press the “Add file(s)” button and pick the PST file.
3. Click on the check “Single-mode”, then hit “Next”
4. A tree-like structure will form, select the files to be converted and choose “Save as MBOX” in the dropdown and click on convert.
5. If the file size exceeds 500MB then click on the “MBOX Split” checkbox.
6. Choose the “Destination Path” and click on “Apply”

Wait for a moment till all PST files are converted to MBOX. Once the conversion is completed, click on the “OK” button.

Conclusion

Above we have discussed several possible ways to convert PST to MBOX format file format. Users can convert manually as discussed but the process becomes quite complex and time-consuming. So, you can also opt for an Alternative third party method for an easy, effective and much secure process.