Trying to get .pab from old HD in new external HD. Instructed to use messaging service such as outlook (which I think you have to buy) or Microsoft exchange. How do I set it up?

A PAB file is a physical file that is stored on your computer system. The file contains a ".pab" file name extension. Outlook's Address Book is a virtual file that is stored within the email application's data file. You cannot move Outlook's Address Book file to a network drive or another physical disc without moving the entire data file, including profiles and settings. You can, however, copy, move, import and export a PAB file to use it within the specified version of Outlook.

If the old hard drive is an internal drive then plug in the external drive and perform any one of these steps to copy the file:

- You can copy (Ctrl + C) the file from the old drive and paste it (Ctrl + V) in the new drive.

- You can drag and drop the file from the old drive into the new drive. Select the file, right click on it and select copy. Navigate to the desired location, right click on an empty space to click paste.

If you want to know how to open this .pab file in Outlook then you may post that specific question in the Microsoft Office Community Forums: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum?tab=Threads