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Old 06-21-2009, 05:47 PM
alio31583 alio31583 is offline help with pst files Windows XP help with pst files Office XP
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help with pst files
 
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Default help with pst files


Hi!

I was trying to import some Outlook pst files from an old computer onto a new one (there are 5 pst files in total, and I have only imported 2 at this point). The pst files are grouped alphanumerically. The first file only contains emails pertaining to numbers, and the folders and subfolders start with "#". When I moved the files onto the new computer, and tried importing this one, the main and subfolders were mixed in with the existing personal folders under the main Personal Folders data file section. I thought that I identified the subfolders, and created a new folder to group them under. I created a new data file section, and moved them under that. It appears that it might have inserted a # in the existing folder names.
The second file I tried to upload was grouped by the letters R-Z. After the importing finished, it looks like the folder saved under the Deleted items folder. I moved this down to the second data file, and it looks like it made a duplicate data file. I deleted that, and now when I go back to check the existing emails under that folder, it only imported old emails dating back to 2007.
I guess my main questions are
1: can you tell what i'm doing wrong?
2: is there a way to easily identify which folders were in the original folders under the existing pst file so i can remove what i uploaded?
3: is it possible to undo any of this?
4: would a system restore fix the problem?

I sincerely appreciate any advice or guidance you can provide!!!

Best regards.
Alison
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  #2  
Old 01-18-2011, 05:00 PM
atrivedi atrivedi is offline help with pst files Windows 7 help with pst files Office 2010 (Version 14.0)
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Default Help with .pst files

Hello.

I recommend performing a system restore on your computer so you can have a fresh start with the importing process.

Please follow the instructions below on how to import a .pst file. (The instructions are for Outlook 2007).

1. In Outlook, click on File > Import and Export.

2. Highlight "Import from another program or file " > Click Next.

3. In the menu that comes up, select "Personal Folder File (.pst)" and then select Next.

4. Select "Do not import duplicates" so you don’t forget this later. You will now need to browse to the location that the PST file is located at.

Click the Browse button.

5. As soon as you hit the Browse button you should see the default location where you PST files are located. If you have several PST files, you will need to open the correct one. The one that was modified last should be the correct one.
The default PST file is named Outlook.

6. Once you select the PST file to import, you will proceed to the next screen. On the screen below, make sure to select the base folder (the very top of the list). Check the box that says Include subfolders. Select Import items into the same folder in. Choose yourself from the drop down list. Click Finish...and that’s it!

NOTE: Do not turn off Outlook or disconnect your computer from the internet for approximately two or more hours depending on the PST file size. 1 gig could potentially take up to 10-12 hours depending the internet connection speed and the computer itself.

Also, please find below, a useful article on organizing PST files to make it easier to import them into Outlook.

1. Relocate your PST files
2. Rename your PST files
3. Consolidate your PST files
4. Archive your PST files

Why should you organize them?
There are many reasons. Here are some to consider:

1. If a PST file gets too big (i.e. 2 gigs), it will break. You will not be able to open it or anything it contains.
2. Why not have a place to archive your old e-mail, contacts, calendars, and tasks? If you mailbox gets too big, you can archive anything older than a specific date (i.e. 3 months) to the PST folder and stay within your mailbox quota!

Relocate your PST Files

You may have many PST files, or you may have only one. Regardless, we need to make sure you know where they are and how to back them up. The first thing you want to do is place them in a place that you will remember. We recommend CLOSING ALL APPLICATIONS, then opening up the My Documents folder and creating a folder called "Outlook". This is where you will store your PST files. Open the Search tool and search all folders in your C drive for "*.pst". Select the files that it finds and move them to the Outlook folder you just created. Congratulations. You are officially past the first step of organizing your PST files!

Rename your PST files

Everything we have done so far has been without the use of Outlook. Do NOT open Outlook yet. That will come in the next step. For now, you should have a folder in My Documents called Outlook with whatever files you found that end with ".PST". You can click View > Details to see the size of each file. You probably want to choose the largest one. Rename that file to whatever name you want to use in your organization. For example: 2005.PST. Now we can open Outlook.

Consolidate your PST files

When Outlook opens up, you should be prompted for a file as it cannot find the original file it was working from (because you moved it and renamed it in the steps above). So browse to My Documents and look inside the Outlook folder for the 2005.PST (or whatever you named it). Outlook should then open the file normally. You should then go to File > Open > Outlook Data File and select the other PST files in your Outlook folder. You will probably notice that the file names are listed in the left column for each PST file open. If you expand each one, you should notice the structure looks the same (i.e. each should/could have Contacts, in box, calendars, etc).

Archive your PST files

Now that you have all of your PST files in a central location, it is time to use Outlook to add the finishing touches. Your PST file should be open in Outlook, but it could get too large. To keep the file size reasonable, we will discuss how to archive your older email to another PST so that the old stuff is still accessible. First, create a new PST file by going to File > New > Outlook Data File Click OK and save it to a name (i.e. 2004.pst) and location of your choosing (i.e. in the Outlook folder in My Documents that you created). Once it is opened in Outlook, you should see it located on the left hand side.

If you do not want to import a PST File into Outlook, but just want to Open and Close it to view it's contents, please follow the instructions below.

Opening a PST file in Outlook

Please follow these steps:

1. In Outlook, go to File > Open > Outlook Data File

2. Browse to the location of the PST file. Pleas note that the first place you will be directed is the default location of the PST file (usually called outlook.pst) unless you changed the location and/or name.

3. You should notice the PST file open in the Navigation Pane on the left.

4. You are able to close the desired PST file by RIGHT-clicking the PST file in the Navigation Pane > Click Close

Thats it!

Hope this information helps.

A. Trivedi

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  #3  
Old 01-28-2011, 09:52 AM
bschorr-MVP bschorr-MVP is offline help with pst files Windows 7 64bit help with pst files Office 2010 64bit
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Quote:
Originally Posted by alio31583 View Post
Hi!

I was trying to import some Outlook pst files from an old computer onto a new one (there are 5 pst files in total, and I have only imported 2 at this point). The pst files are grouped alphanumerically. The first file only contains emails pertaining to numbers, and the folders and subfolders start with "#". When I moved the files onto the new computer, and tried importing this one, the main and subfolders were mixed in with the existing personal folders under the main Personal Folders data file section. I thought that I identified the subfolders, and created a new folder to group them under. I created a new data file section, and moved them under that. It appears that it might have inserted a # in the existing folder names.
The second file I tried to upload was grouped by the letters R-Z. After the importing finished, it looks like the folder saved under the Deleted items folder. I moved this down to the second data file, and it looks like it made a duplicate data file. I deleted that, and now when I go back to check the existing emails under that folder, it only imported old emails dating back to 2007.
I guess my main questions are
1: can you tell what i'm doing wrong?
2: is there a way to easily identify which folders were in the original folders under the existing pst file so i can remove what i uploaded?
3: is it possible to undo any of this?
4: would a system restore fix the problem?

I sincerely appreciate any advice or guidance you can provide!!!

Best regards.
Alison
System Restore won't do anything to your PST files - it simply restores settings, programs and drivers; not data. You'd need to restore from backup to undo the changes to the PST files.
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