Contact Problems

How to Find Missing Outlook Contacts After Moving to a New Computer

Ayan Masood Oct 21, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user needs to recover or locate missing Outlook contacts after migrating to a new computer, despite emails functioning normally.

How to Find Missing Outlook Contacts After Moving to a New Computer

Product: Microsoft Outlook
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Migrating Outlook data to a new computer and setting up existing email accounts.
Observed behavior: Emails synchronize and work properly, but the address book and contacts list appear empty or missing.

Before you start

Determine your email account type by navigating to File > Info > Account Settings in Outlook, as the contact recovery method depends entirely on whether you use POP, IMAP, or Exchange.

Solution 1Recommended

Recover Contacts for POP Accounts via PST File Transfer

For POP accounts, all emails, calendars, and contacts are stored locally in a single PST file which must be manually moved.

POP accounts do not sync contacts with a server. To restore your contacts, you must locate the original Outlook Data File (.pst) on your old computer, copy it to a USB drive, and import it to your new setup.

Locate the PST file on the old computer

On your old PC, open Outlook and go to File > Account Settings > Account Settings. Click the 'Data Files' tab, select your account, and click 'Open File Location'. Copy the highlighted .pst file to a USB flash drive.

Transfer to the new computer

Insert the USB drive into your new computer and copy the .pst file to a secure folder, such as your Documents folder.

Import the PST file into the new Outlook

Open Outlook on the new PC, navigate to File > Open & Export > Import/Export. Choose 'Import from another program or file', select 'Outlook Data File (.pst)', browse to the file you copied, and complete the wizard.

Recover Contacts for POP Accounts via PST File Transfer

Data Location Tip: If you cannot open Outlook on the old PC, look for the PST file in the default location: C:\Users\[YourUsername]\Documents\Outlook Files.

Solution 2

Restore Contacts for IMAP Accounts

IMAP accounts often store contacts locally in a 'This computer only' folder, requiring a manual export before moving computers.

Solution 3

Sync Contacts for Exchange and Outlook.com Accounts

Exchange and Outlook.com accounts store contacts on the server, meaning they should synchronize automatically.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why did my emails transfer to the new computer but not my contacts?

If you use an IMAP email account, your emails are synchronized with the server, but contacts are often saved locally in a 'This computer only' folder. Because they are not on the server, they do not automatically transfer when you add the account to a new PC.

Can I recover IMAP contacts if I no longer have access to my old computer?

Unfortunately, if your IMAP contacts were stored locally in the 'This computer only' folder and you cannot access the old PC or its hard drive to export them, the contacts are permanently lost.

Where is my Outlook PST file located by default?

By default, Outlook PST files are typically located in C:\Users\[YourUsername]\Documents\Outlook Files on newer versions of Windows, or in C:\Users\[YourUsername]\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook on older setups.

How do I force my Exchange account to sync contacts if they are missing?

You can force a sync by going to the Send/Receive tab and clicking 'Update Folder'. Alternatively, try removing the email account from File > Account Settings and adding it back to prompt a fresh download from the server.

Outlook & Email Problems