When I upgraded to the newest version of Outlook I lost my entire address nook listing

Question

When I upgraded to the latest version of Outlook I lost my entire address book!

Answer 1

Hi Mike Templeton,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum. 

Based on your description, the Contacts/Address Book may not be appearing in People after the update, but the items are often still recoverable or can be brought back with the steps below.

1. Restore contacts if they were removed in the new Outlook

• Open People in the new Outlook.
• Select Deleted, choose the missing contact/contact list, then select Restore.
• If you don’t see them in Deleted: go to People > Deleted and select Recover deleted (Recover items deleted from this folder), select the contacts, then select Restore.

2. Check Outlook on the web to confirm whether contacts are still present

• Sign in to Outlook on the web with the same account and open People/Contacts.
• If contacts appear there, the data is still present and can display again in the new Outlook after syncing refreshes.

3. If contacts were stored locally (Windows People/Windows Mail), import them into the new Outlook

• In the new Outlook: People > Manage contacts > Import contacts > Browse to your saved.csv file > Import.

4. If contacts are still visible in Classic Outlook, export to CSV and import so the new Outlook can display them

• Export contacts to a CSV from Classic Outlook, then import that CSV into the account used by the new Outlook so they can sync and appear in People.

Once the steps above are completed, contacts typically reappear under People in the new Outlook (either via Restore/Recover deleted or after CSV import).

Please feel free to let me know if you have any further updates, thanks.

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Answer 2

In new Outlook for Windows, the address book is built from contact folders and, for Exchange accounts, the Global Address List (GAL). Upgrading itself does not delete contacts, but the new Outlook does not support adding/removing separate address books like classic Outlook.

To access contacts in new Outlook:

1. Select New mail from the Home tab.
2. In the message window, select To, Cc, or Bcc.
3. The address book opens; search for names and add them with Add next to the contact.

If contacts are missing, they may be:

• Stored in a different profile or data file (PST) only visible in classic Outlook.
• In an Exchange GAL that is not connected in the new profile.

To recover from a previous Outlook installation (classic Outlook scenario):

1. Locate old Outlook data files (.pst) under typical paths such as Documents\Outlook Files or AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook on the old Windows/profile or backup.
2. Open classic Outlook and use File > Open & Export > Open Outlook Data File to attach the PST. Contacts in that PST then appear in the address book.
3. If desired, import from that PST into the current mailbox using File > Open & Export > Import/Export > Import from another program or file > Outlook Data File (.pst).

If the address book loss is from an older product like Outlook Express after an OS upgrade, the Windows Address Book (*.wab) must be located and imported into Outlook Express, then migrated into Outlook.

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References:

• Open and use the address book in Outlook
• OLEXP: Mail Folders, Address Book, and E-mail Messages Are Missing After You Upgrade to Microsoft Windows XP
• How do I recover my old email messages, my contacts and everything else I had in Outlook? - Microsoft Q&A