If you changed your computer or your operating system or you had a very serious crash and lost your data and have to reinstall all your system it is good to know how to import all your previous email rules, provided you have backed them up earlier in a safe place like a CD,DVD or external HD
Here how to do:

1. Click Start > Run
   
2. In the Open Box type Regedit and click OK.This opens the Windows Registry Editor
   
   
   
3. Expand HKEY_CURRENT_USER and scroll down through HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Identities/{Identities number}/Software/Microsoft/Outlook express/5.0/Rules/Mail find this  select it and click  edit >Export




4. Browse to a folder easy to remember like MyDocuments ,in  the filename Type Mail-Rules.reg and press Save.You can burn this file on a removable media later on.

If you had previously saved Mail-Rules.regon a CD or DVD is now the time to insert the removable media in the DVD burner on the Computer where you want to restore it.

1. Click Start
   
   
2. Click Run/AllPrograms/Accessories/Notepad
   
3.  Click Open in the File menu and locate the Mail_rules.reg file and open it

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4. In the second line select the text after "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Identities\" including the braces{}.Press ctrl + C to copy this text.
   


5. Click Edit/Replace.Click into the Find What box,and then Right-click and Paste to paste the text into this box.Do not close Notepad until you get to the end of this process.




6. Start the Registry editor like in the step 1 of How to backup e-mail Rules and expand HKEY_CURRENT_USER and select Identities In the right pane double-click on USER ID and click on the Value data on the window that appear press ctrl+C to copy that.Than click cancel and close the Registry Editor.
   
   


7. Go Back to Notepad click in the Replace With box, and press ctrl + V to paste the text.Click Replace All to replace all the text strings.Scroll through and check that all the registry keys have been replaced.On the file menu click Save and close Notepad
   
   
8. Go to the Mail_Rules.reg file and double click it,click Yes when you are prompted:"Are you sure you want to ..." to import the Mail Rules to the Registry..