Plan B.



As a test, we are going to make a copy of your existing Outlook Profile and see if we can remove the missing data file from that Profile using the Control Panel Mail app.

Please read through all of these steps before you start and let me know if you have any questions or aren't clear on what to do. If something doesn't go as planned, just bail out and continue to use your existing Outlook Profile.

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Close Outlook

Control Panel -> Mail
[Show Profiles ...]

- Select your existing Outlook profile
[Copy ...]
New Profile Name: TEST 2025-03-25

- Select the TEST profile
[Properties ...]
- You will receive the same message that you get while opening outlook
[OK] and [Cancel] to get to the next window

[Data Files ...]
- Select the deleted Outlook data file
[Remove]
[Close]

- You are back at the Control Panel Mail main window
(o) Prompt for a profile to be used
[OK]

Start Outlook
Use the TEST Profile
Look around to ensure that all your data is there.
Make sure your can Send/Receive emals.
Close Outlook

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Reply back with the results.

Until we move to the next step, always choose your existing profile (not TEST) when starting Outlook.

Thank you for pointing this out. Since Outlook 2013 the default IMAP local file is an OST.

Here's where I got to:


--------------------------------------------------------------------
Close Outlook
Outlook is closed
Control Panel -> Mail
[Show Profiles ...]

- Select your existing Outlook profile
[Copy ...]
New Profile Name: TEST 2025-03-25

- Select the TEST profile
[Properties ...]
- You will receive the same message that you get while opening outlook
[OK] and [Cancel] to get to the next window

[Data Files ...]
- Select the deleted Outlook data file
[Remove]
[Close]

- You are back at the Control Panel Mail main window
(o) Prompt for a profile to be used
[OK]

Start Outlook
Use the TEST Profile
Look around to ensure that all your data is there.
Make sure your can Send/Receive emals.
Close Outlook

I am sorry. But I can't make my setup give the same results as yours.

Use the Control Panel -> Mail app to Remove the TEST Profile and Always Use your exiting profile.

Let me do some more research and I'll try to come up with a new approach.

Thanks for trying. It appears that whatever is going on with Outlook is something permanent. Fortunately, I only have to start Outlook a few times per day, so it's not any more annoying than it's been...

It is certainly not permanent. There is always the option to create a new Profile from scratch and add any archive PSTs or Import their contents. I figured you needed a little time off from this problem before we start.

At minimum, I've learned NEVER, if you can at ALL avoid it, NEVER EVER GO IN AND SCREW AROUND WITH THIS STUFF IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING!


Are y'all SURE it wouldn't work if I just took the "old" version of the PST file that USED to be in there, put it BACK in (I can get a copy), let Outlook spend whatever time it needs to get happy, than have somebody that knows what they are doing just tell me how to disconnect and delete the old one?

Make a backup copy of your current profile:

Close Outlook
Control Panel -> Mail
[Show Profiles ...]
- Select your existing Outlook profile
[Copy ...]
New Profile Name: BACKUP 2025-03-27
- OK your way out

Then give it a try.

If it just makes things worse, go back to the Control Panel Mail app, rename your current profile (e.g. BAD 2025-03-27), and rename BACKUP 2025-03-27 to your current profile.

I'm probably missing something.



I have a data file in the account settings for the current gmail account with it's own location. on the "C:" drive with all it's own stuff. Works fine.


I also have one for personal folder "p:\outlook.pst" thats for my existing outlook folder. It ALSO looks fine and works OK.


And last, I have the personal folder "D:\outlook.pst" that is visible in the data files but I can't use for anything.


If I was going to use data file "D:\outlook.pst" that doesn't work, why wouldn't I just put the outlook.pst file into the SAME D:\outlook.pst file outlook wants me to use? Add a disk, create a partition, call it "d", copy the file named outlook.pst to the "D" partition, and let Outlook find it?


It's exactly the same as the OLD outlook file was, and when I start it up Outlook SAYS should try to wants to find "D:\outlook.pst" and use it.


I'm not trying to create anything, just letting Outlook use the EXISTING physical hard drive it used BEFORE so it can finish whatever it started. THEN hopefully it'll let me CLOSE the "D:\outlook.pst" hard drive, and CLOSE the existing personal personal folder, and I can close the
"D:\outlook.outlook.pst" and delete it...


OR, is there some big, ugly mess this is going to cause?

I do not know what Outlook will do if you give it a duplicate of an existing data file in place of the missing D:\outlook.pst.

All I can suggest is that you - 1) Make a copy of your existing Profile and 2) A backup of both of the "good" data files. Then try your idea with the Profile copy to see what happens. If it goes south, put back the backup copies of the "good" data files and revert to your existing Profile.

I still think that the safest way to solve this problem is to:

Export your existing Calendar and Contacts.
Create a new Profile from scratch (let Outlook create a new data file for the GMail account cache)
Add the "p:\outlook.pst" data file to the Profile.
If needed - Import your Calendar and Contacts.

I'll play with it - there's no rush and it's not so bad it's unusable. I'd rather have it be kludgy and annoying than broken and having to fix it, so I think I'll just ignore as much as possible.


Thanks for the ideas and troubleshooting.