How to Archive Gmail Emails to Hard Drive in Bulk? Complete Guide

Currently, most of the people are using Gmail email for their communication. But there are many situations when we have to archive Gmail emails to hard drive.

Downloading emails locally, helps you in a number of ways, whether it’s to back up your email, create an archive, or free up space in your Gmail account.

But most users don’t know the proper method to archive Gmail emails to hard drive. Don’t worry, here we will mention the best and most amazing methods to accomplish this task.

But before starting the process, have a look at all the reasons, why users want to archive their emails:

Reasons to Backup Gmail Emails to External Hard Drive

1. Backup: – It gives you a security saving in case your Gmail emails got deleted by mistake
2. Access: – You can access your Gmail email from anywhere even if you are having an internet connection is not available or your Gmail account is unavailable
3. Storage: As you know Gmail has limited storage space, to archive Gmail emails to hard drive will give you free space in your Gmail account.
4. Organize: It will help you to keep your Gmail Emails organized way by creating folders as per your requirement as it can be easily accessible whenever that particular mail is required.

How to Archive Gmail Emails to Hard Drive Manually?

As you know Freepchacks provide you only manual methods for user help. So here we are with one of the best and most free manual methods to backup Gmail emails to external hard drive easily.

Important Note: All the mentioned methods are available on the Internet; we do not suggest you personally. So, select the method according to your choice and at your own risk.

Method 1: Archive Emails from Gmail

Archive: Before starting the process, let’s first understand the meaning of Archive. It means moving your emails into another folder that is not important or older for you on Gmail. To manage your emails, archiving is the best method. But for storage space and other work, downloading your emails locally is important for safety.

1. Login into your Gmail account.
2. Choose the needed Inbox folder.
3. Click on the Archive option from the ribbons.

And your emails are successfully archived on Gmail, Now if you want to save your emails locally then follow the another method.

Method 2: Backup Gmail Emails to External Hard Drive as PDF

1. Open your Gmail account.
2. Open the email which you want to save.
3. Now click on the Print All button from the top.
4. A new window will appear, choose the “Save As” option as the destination.
5. Browse the location as per your choice and hit the Save option.

Your email will backup as PDF on the selected location. But there are some limits, which you have to keep in mind.

Points to be Noted

• Users can not back up multiple emails from Gmail at once.
• You have to repeat the process again and again for each mail.

Also Read: How to Save an Outlook Email as a PDF with Attachments?

Method 3: Archive Gmail Emails to Hard Drive using Google Takeout

1. Open a Google Mail account by following this link.
2. Click on the Data & Privacy button from the list.
3. Scroll down and choose the “Download your Data” option.
4. Click on the Deselect Option scroll down and choose the Mail button. (Also, you can enable the option of which data you want to download).
5. Choose the Frequency as per your choice, and File Type & Size option.
6. Hit the Create Export button to archive Gmail emails to hard drive.

Your data will be downloaded in MBOX format after 10 to 20 days. But again, here are some limits, which you have to keep in mind.

Manual Limitations

• This method will take around 10 to 30 days to be accomplished depending on the data.
• Data will be downloaded in an MBOX format, which can open with multiple email clients.

Method 4: Drag and Drop Email from Gmail

1. Again, login to your Gmail account.
2. Open the email that you want to backup Gmail emails to external hard drive.
3. Now click on the More (3 Dots) button.
4. Choose the “Download Message” option from the list.
5. After that, your email will be saved in the Download folder in .eml format, which can easily open with multiple email clients.

If you have limited emails to be saved, then you should go for this method, because you can not archive Gmail emails to hard drive at once in bulk. And you have to repeat the process again and again for each email.

Method 5: Backup Gmail Emails to External Hard Drive using Outlook

Here first we will connect the Gmail account to Outlook account, and then we will export Gmail emails in PST format. Follow the all steps that are mentioned below:

Step 1: Connect Gmail to Outlook

1. Open an Outlook account.
2. Click on the File >> “Add Account” option.
3. Enter the Gmail email address and hit the Next button.
4. After that enter the server details manually and put the app password that you have created before.
5. After entering all the correct details hit the Finish button.

Now your Gmail account will show in your Outlook account with all the folders.

Step 2: Export Gmail Emails as PST Format

1. Restart the Outlook email client.
2. Click on the “File” >> “Open & Export” >> Import/Export option.
3. Now choose Export to a File >> Outlook Data File (.pst) and hit the Next button.
4. Select the Gmail folder that you want to download.
5. Browse the location to save the file, enable the advanced filters, and hit the Finish button to archive Gmail emails to hard drive.

Manual Method Limitations

• Outlook must be installed on your computer properly.
• This method will take a long time to complete.
• Also, many errors will appear to downloading Gmail emails to hard drive.

Time to Say Goodbye

Here we have mentioned all the possible methods to archive Gmail emails to hard drive. This write-up explained the 4 manual methods with all the limitations. Because manual methods have some limits, I personally suggest you use manual methods for certain data. But if you have a large amount of data, then you should use any third-party tool.