How to Find Your Windows Mail or Outlook Express Settings in Windows's Registry

Windows Mail and Outlook Express keep most of your email settings (filters, signatures, how often to check for new mail, and just about everything else) in the Windows registry. But where? Find out where your Windows Mail or Outlook Express settings are to easily tweak or destroy, but also to back up and restore them.

Find Your Windows Mail Settings in the Windows Registry

To go to your Windows Mail settings in the Windows registry:

• Type "regedit" in in the Start menu's Start Search box.
• Click regedit under Programs.
• Travel down the registry tree to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\­Software\­Microsoft\­Windows Mail.

Find Your Outlook Express Settings in the Windows Registry

To locate the position of your Outlook Express settings in the Windows registry:

• Select Run... from the Start menu and type "regedit".
• Hit Enter.
• Travel down the registry tree to \HKEY_CURRENT_USER\­Identities.
• Open your Outlook Express store folder and make note of the random string that signifies your identity.
  • It should look something like "{63682237-R041-496B-8388-091T5LS7348F}" and is located in the path of your store folder.
• Go back to regedit.
• Continue digging deeper into the tree by selecting {your identity string}\­Software\­Microsoft\­Outlook Express\5.0.

That's it! Below this key you can find all of your Windows Mail or Outlook Express settings.