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OT Help Needed

falcon409

falcon409

Moderator
Staff member
Not at all FS related but I have a problem I hope someone with "Outlook" as their e-mail program can assist with. Outlook has suddenly quit (worked this morning til about noon. . .this afternoon an error message says I must reinstall because it's unable to initialize).
Am I correct in assuming that if I reinstall I will lose everything currently held in Outlook (correspondences, invoices, etc.)? If so, can anyone give me a short description of how to save those files that contain that info, so that I can add them back in once I do a reinstall? I've posted this on the MSOutlook Forums but looking at the dates, it isn't very active so no telling when or if anyone will reply.

Thanks.
 
No, you will not lose your correspondence, invoices, etc., unless those files are corrupted.

MS Outlook saves e-mails in *.pst files. Reinstalling Outlook will not affect them, however as a precaution I would back them up.

I've used Outlook for years. I changed their default location to make it easier to backup.

You can also create new *.pst files that you can add or remove from Outlook. I have one specific for older FS9 and FSX purchases, correspondence, etc.

So, to answer your question - first find where Outlook has the files stored. Mine is under the Documents\Outlook Files directory. Outlook typically creates one using your e-mail address. Once you find the file ending in *.pst, just make a copy and store it elsewhere. Make sure Outlook is closed when you do this.
 
Thanks WH. Got the folder backed up and then ran into an installation problem which it appears, will require at least a "Repair" for Win7 before the Install disc will work.

Addendum: It dawned on me (as things sometimes do) that I should try a restore first just for grins. I did and after 15 minutes, it reloaded Win7 and told me the restore had encountered a problem and failed, lol, lol. Just as one more test, I tried to open Outlook. It immediately started a Windows MUI Installation and when that was done (less than a minute) Outlook opened without any problems. No idea what happened there. . .how all that came together to fix what seemed like a complete reinstall of Microsoft Office or a Non-Destructive Installation of Win7. . . .but it worked.
 
A system restore might fail if your firewall is running. I've had that with AVG and a temporary disable while I did the system restore cured it.
 
dhasdell said:
A system restore might fail if your firewall is running. I've had that with AVG and a temporary disable while I did the system restore cured it.
Click to expand...
Yea, I've tried restores in the past and had the same problems, so I'll remember next time. . .thanks
 
Falcon,

What I always do is create a .pst file (archive) in which I store all my purchase records, important mails and so forth. You can put them in a safe place and still have them for when things go really bad and you'll never loose your important mails.

Just woke up and saw this thread. Glad you've got it sorted!

Cheers,

Johan
 
Dumonceau said:
Falcon,
What I always do is create a .pst file (archive) in which I store all my purchase records, important mails and so forth. You can put them in a safe place and still have them for when things go really bad and you'll never loose your important mails.
Just woke up and saw this thread. Glad you've got it sorted!
Cheers,

Johan
Click to expand...
Thanks Johan,
I was able to save a copy of the pst file and have that tucked away so I'll back that up periodically if this goes south on me again.
 
Glad you got things sorted out, falcon.

While we're on this subject, one more piece of advice. In the future you may want to consider compacting your Outlook file(s). Not only can you reclaim some HD space, but it runs a little more efficiently.

The *.pst files can grow to fairly large sizes and increase the potential for corruption. You need to Right Click within Outlook, go to "Data File Properties" then "Advanced" and you will see the option for compacting. I learned how to do this back in the days of floppy disks in order to reduce the file size for copying.
 
WarHorse47 said:
Glad you got things sorted out, falcon.

While we're on this subject, one more piece of advice. In the future you may want to consider compacting your Outlook file(s). Not only can you reclaim some HD space, but it runs a little more efficiently.

The *.pst files can grow to fairly large sizes and increase the potential for corruption. You need to Right Click within Outlook, go to "Data File Properties" then "Advanced" and you will see the option for compacting. I learned how to do this back in the days of floppy disks in order to reduce the file size for copying.
Click to expand...
Yea, I noticed yesterday that the "pst" file was over a Gig, which I was really surprised to see. Considering how much is saved there though I guess it shouldn't be so thanks for the HU.
 
falcon409 said:
Yea, I noticed yesterday that the "pst" file was over a Gig, which I was really surprised to see. Considering how much is saved there though I guess it shouldn't be so thanks for the HU.
Click to expand...

Ed,

pst files have the same file structure as databases. Even if you clean them up, they still retain their sizes. Rightclick on the file in outlook, select properties, go advanced and then click on compress!

This is however not valid for your mailbox itsel, as that is an ost file that will not compress at all.

Cheers,

Johan
 
Last edited:
falcon409 said:
Yea, I noticed yesterday that the "pst" file was over a Gig, which I was really surprised to see. Considering how much is saved there though I guess it shouldn't be so thanks for the HU.
Click to expand...
Each "pst" file is like a small HD with a lot of wasted space. Compressing the file eliminates the wasted space. The e-mails alone are just text files. Any attachments like images or texture files will not be compressed.
 
WarHorse47 said:
Each "pst" file is like a small HD with a lot of wasted space. Compressing the file eliminates the wasted space. The e-mails alone are just text files. Any attachments like images or texture files will not be compressed.
Click to expand...

Wow! It never entered my noggin to consider zipping them up. I just saved myself 1GB of space. Thanks for that. :encouragement:
 
Compressing and zipping 'files' are two different file 'format'. Outlook may be able to 'see' or 'use' compressed files, but I doubt if it can 'see' or 'use' zipped files. Totally different file 'format'.
Chuck B
Napamule
 
napamule said:
Compressing and zipping 'files' are two different file 'format'. Outlook may be able to 'see' or 'use' compressed files, but I doubt if it can 'see' or 'use' zipped files. Totally different file 'format'.
Chuck B
Napamule
Click to expand...
Correct. Compressing should be done within Outlook as I mentioned in my previous post.

I recommend opening Outlook and going to the help menu by pressing F1. Do a search on "Compress" without the quotes. Read the instructions on "Reduce the size of Outlook Data Files (.pst and .ost)"
 
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