Backup email

Could someone please tell me how to backup all my email in windows mail I have a corrupt file in start-up C:\ntoskrnl.exe which is causing problems with windows update so I am having to restore my PC to factory status. I can backup all my office and photo files but as I have several very important emails I need them for future reference but I have no idea how to save them... I would also appreciate any advice on what else to do to keep my files safe that I have not thought about.
I use Windows Mail and I have tried exporting to a file on C: but this does not work
Thanks K8atod

Your Windows Mail files should be located here:

C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Mail

If you copy it to another Vista box, you should be able to do an Import on those files. Assuming they're not corrupted / damaged.