contacts backup for Outlook 2003

[Gordon]

i have struggled with this for years! Why is it so difficult? I live in
fear
of losing everything. After trying for ages, I now just about manage to
save
a backup of my outlook called .pst in "my documents", but how can I save
it
(eg. onto a data stick or CD or someone else's computer or an external
drive)
and then open it when I'm away from my laptop,

You can certainly save it to any media you like. Be aware that only Outlook
can open a pst file, but if it's in the 97-2002 pst file format, ANY version
of Outlook, where ever it is, can open the file from your removable media.