samitqhaq - is there a reason you copied my post?
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One of My Outlook pst files has reached it's maximum size! Now what do I do?
I would rather "store" my information than delete it. Never know when I'll need to refer back to it. Have thousands of contacts, many calendar items. What should I do to save the info (archive?), but then have it accessible? Is there another way, or place, to keep it handy if I should need it?
For example, can I "store" emails and/or email files in a file on my computer or desktop, and then remove them from my Inbox, etc., and still be able to find or access them?
(Using Outlook 2007.)
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Answers
@leew: I have a number of pst files. Sorry, don't recall how I found out, but when I was dabbling with them, something told me one of (I know which one) them was at it's maximum capacity, is all. Thing is, with all of my contacts (4000 in main one, 11,000 in another... many duplicates, but overall should be about 3000), and used storage, I am intrigued by being able to make them work more efficiently.
What kind of pst files are there? Mine are Outlook 2007, might have some 2003 or earlier with some old databases that I'm not currently using, but would like to meld all into one someday. How can I tell the difference? How do I put them into the proper format??
Had no clue I could BREAK UP the PST file into multiples, create additional ones (i.e., Calendar, Contacts, E-mail) for previous years and CURRENT, but I think this may be a brilliant way to go about it. I just need to know how I can do this, preferably with some detail since I am in unknown territory. I can't afford to lose or damage this, either, so I'll probably need to do a backup prior to making the changes.
@wolfcamel: How do I "select 2007 type"? How do I run scanpst to tidy up the files, to help with performance? I am always interested in making my system run better, so anything you can share here would be helpful.
OVERALL: I suspect it would be nice to meld every contact I have into one, even from years past pst files, while maintaining my current e-mail and calendar, etc. Then I could eliminate duplicates, improve performance hopefully, and then back it all up. Voila, a nice, fresh start. At what point I should divide the pst files into calendar, contacts, e-mail?
To identify the type of PST file(s) you are currently using, follow the instructions here:
http://reliableanswers.com
To create new PST files, go to the File Menu, select New... then Outlook Data File.
To determine the location of existing PST files go to the File menu and select Data File Management.
To determine the size of the PST file(s), select one of the data files in Data File Management (Account Settings Window, Data Files tab; same as above), and click the "Open Folder..." button.
PST files near 2 GB that are the old type are in danger or corruption. PST files of the new type can be AT LEAST 10x larger (20+ GB; I've not seen a published limit just references to files being AT LEAST 21 GB in size).
It depends on the final size (I personally wouldn't want to have all my eggs in one basket (depending on size) - more difficult to backup and you lose EVERYTHING if it fails. BUT... you CAN do that - put everything into one file. I would probably suggest trying to keep the PST file at or below 4 GB (when using the newer PST Files. Just create a new file of the new "Regular" 2007 type and copy all your data into it.
And you may then need to set it in Data File Management to be your default.
Interesting... the "one" pst file that is at capacity is a 1997-2002 Outlook pst file. Question now: can I convert it to the newer version?
Would you recommend that I can go back, conglomerate all old pst files into one, then break them out into contacts, e-mails, calendar, etc., CURRENT and PREVIOUS, remove duplicates at that point, and then back it all up... and that way I'd have everything together, starting anew? Or, do you think that would be worth my while? I suspect this is how it would look:
- CURRENT - Inbox, Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, etc. (4-6 pst files)
- PREVIOUS - Inbox, Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, etc. (4-6 pst files)
- BACKUP - All current, all previous (8 - 12 pst files into 2 backups)
I suspect it would make it all easier to manage, and to know what I have, and this way I wouldn't have "all my eggs in one basket."
Does this scanpst then work to tidy up the files and help with performance? Do you know where to find and/or run scanpst from? Any other performance enhancers, besides keeping it to 4GB file-size and under?
You cannot. There is no "coversion" - you have to create a new file and copy the contents of the old file into the new file.
What you do depends on how much data you have. Some people think "my gosh, I have a lot of mail" when they have 2 GB. I don't consider that a lot. To me, a lot is 5-10 GB+. What you do depends on the sizes of the folders. I find most people - even the very heavy mail users I work with, don't have multiple GB of e-mail per year... so breaking down e-mail on a per year basis is usually pretty good. PERHAPS, depending on exactly how much you have, you could do one PST per 2 years or even 3 years and still stay under my recommended 4 GB PST size.
Your contacts, calendar entries, and tasks likely use very little space compared to your mail and I wouldn't worry about breaking them up; I'd leave them in the "primary" PST folder.
I would recommend that you get disciplined (maybe you are; most people are not) and backup your mail to DVD or an external drive or something on a regular basis. Basically, close outlook and copy the PST files to the backup drive/burn them to disc.
That 4 GB limit I'm recommending is my recommendation based primarily on paranoia. You may well be able to reliably go FAR beyond that with a unicode based PST file... but *MY* comfort level is to stay relatively small. And 4 GB fits easily on a DVD for backup purposes. (And a point - one time I was at a client who's outlook kept crashing - it was because the OST file (a PST-like file that Outlook creates when connecting to an Exchange Server) had a bad sector. By keeping the file smaller, you reduce the risk that this happens at some point (in THEORY, you shouldn't get any, but you can't control disk failure).
As for ScanPST, I've only used it to attempt repairs (and frankly, it's only worked sporadically). If you want to try to compress/compact a PST file, you can do that directly through Outlook - see: http://support.microsoft.c
as per leew..
most of my clients tha have psts..
1 - create a new file
file, data file management
add
make sure you select outlook pst and not outlook 97-2002 pst
move old sent items, and old inbox items
some chooses..
I would either have different pst files for each YEAR - as this will make it easy to fnd
or
one pst for large emails only (sort your inbox by size and move over only the large ones)
or
psts for each customer or project
you really have two issues
size and organisation
you dont want to make it too hard to find old emails because they are all overthe place so whatever method you use you need to be able to find things.
Personally I like one folder for each year.
if you are worred about losing things then you really should be backing up the pst file(s) that you are using anyway - and/or make a manual copy of your main pst before you start to move things around.
Sorry for making you wait so long on this. Again, very good, very helpful answers. I will try to close this out in the next day or so, but so sorry for the wait. I know you guys like quick responses, but this is not my full-time job, so I have to pick my spots, and sometimes work is required to check out what is being suggested, and I'm not the most knowledgeable, or quickest, for sure. I do appreciate your patience!
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by: leewPosted on 2009-11-08 at 00:07:47ID: 25769756
How do you know it's reached maximum size?
What, in your opinion, is maximum size?
What kind of PST file is it?
Older (pre 2003) PST files are limited to 2 GB
Newer PST files (2003, 2007) can have PST files 10x+ in size. BUT, they must be in the proper format (older format files are still limited to 2 gB).
You can always BREAK UP the PST file and use multiple PST files. Create additional ones and put data in all - perhaps keep all your contacts in one and your CURRENT (less than 1 Year Old) e-mail in the primary and create additional files that can hold previous years.