The easiest way to backup your OUTLOOK information is to EXPORT it.

Its also a good idea to do this before cleaning up or deleting a lot of data from outlook.

1) In Outlook click FILE then IMPORT/EXPORT

2) Choose EXPORT TO A FILE and click Next

3) Choose PERSONAL FILE FOLDER (.PST) and click Next

4) Scroll to the top and click on PERSONAL FOLDERS

5) Check the INCLUDE SUBFOLDERS box and clck Next

6) Click BROWSE and find the location you want to save the file to

-If on a network you can save it to your server, or your Mydocuments or Desktop

-Be sure to back it up to a CD/DVD or memory stick if you dont save to a server.

7) Click FINISH (some versions require you to then click OK to continue)

Now that your data is backed up you can learn how to cleanup your outlook file HERE

Copy this file, Burn it to a Cd or DVD, save it somewhere as the whole point of a backup is to get it off your system in case of hardware failure.