How do you shrink down in Outlook 2007 PST file
I have a PC running windows XP Pro with Outlook 2007. When I go to the property page of the personal folder it shows the total size of the mail folders at 1.3 GB. When I checked the size of the actual PST file it shows over 8 GB.
- I ran the Outlook compaction tool but it made no change in the physical size.
- Interestingly enough, I performed a full export of all the mail folders to a file called backup.PST. It showed up as 1.3 GB. , Very close to the same size as recorded in the properties of the personal folder.
My question is,
- what is the actual size?
- Does the 8 gigabyte file have a lot of white space that the compaction tool can I get rid of?
- Could I just delete the original 8 GB file and rename the backup.PST to Outlook.PST and point Outlook to this 1.3 GB file file?
I see this dozens of times. Any recommendation greatly appreciated.
- I ran the Outlook compaction tool but it made no change in the physical size.
- Interestingly enough, I performed a full export of all the mail folders to a file called backup.PST. It showed up as 1.3 GB. , Very close to the same size as recorded in the properties of the personal folder.
My question is,
- what is the actual size?
- Does the 8 gigabyte file have a lot of white space that the compaction tool can I get rid of?
- Could I just delete the original 8 GB file and rename the backup.PST to Outlook.PST and point Outlook to this 1.3 GB file file?
I see this dozens of times. Any recommendation greatly appreciated.
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Exporting a PST file can fix errors, and if the backup has your email, contacts and calendar all intact, then you should be fine with the backup. I have done that before myself.
Of course, SCANPST on the original may work as well, but that would leave you in the same place if it does (that is, fixed original = exported backup).
... Thinkpads_User
Of course, SCANPST on the original may work as well, but that would leave you in the same place if it does (that is, fixed original = exported backup).
... Thinkpads_User
ASKER
I ran the scanpst.exe file. It said it found and made repairs. Ran the compaction tool again. The PST file is still 8GB. Interestingly, the outlook log created byt the scanpst shows hundreds of entries that it could not repair. See attached.
Amazingly, the Outlook is working fine but I dont like the large phantom 8GB size.
I myself have restored a complete PST file using the exported file with no issues. My plan is to use the clean exported file.
If you can make "heads or tails" of this Outlook log file, I'd appreciate it.
Christine-s-Personal-Folder.log
Amazingly, the Outlook is working fine but I dont like the large phantom 8GB size.
I myself have restored a complete PST file using the exported file with no issues. My plan is to use the clean exported file.
If you can make "heads or tails" of this Outlook log file, I'd appreciate it.
Christine-s-Personal-Folder.log
I took a quick look, but I am not in any position to say why the errors occured. So long as you are satisifed that your cleanly exported PST file is correct, then that is what I would use. Just move the large file to a safe location for a couple of weeks and then delete it after that.
... Thinkpads_User
... Thinkpads_User
I've requested that this question be deleted for the following reason:
The question has either no comments or not enough useful information to be called an "answer".
The question has either no comments or not enough useful information to be called an "answer".
My post (ID: 37787743) pointed to the use of the smaller, exported backup file which agieryic appeared to accept. ... Thinkpads_User
ASKER
thinkpads_user - was kind enough to respond and was the only responder. The suggestion He/She recommended is something that I was already performing - supporting my clients. I was hoping there was another way of shrinking down the database without having to export the file and point Outlook to the new exported file. I must have run into this issue close to hundred times before I recently posted my issue here on experts exchange.
Obviously, this is a very clean way of doing it but extremely time-consuming. The normal Outlook compaction tool doesn't do a great job of shrinking the database as does exporting the file. I was just hoping that an actual database engineer that's familiar with the Outlook PST file - had another suggestion
I assume the best thing to do this point is us to go ahead and close the case because I can make it work this way using the exported file.
I would like to go ahead and award the points to "thinkpads_user"
Obviously, this is a very clean way of doing it but extremely time-consuming. The normal Outlook compaction tool doesn't do a great job of shrinking the database as does exporting the file. I was just hoping that an actual database engineer that's familiar with the Outlook PST file - had another suggestion
I assume the best thing to do this point is us to go ahead and close the case because I can make it work this way using the exported file.
I would like to go ahead and award the points to "thinkpads_user"
Thank you and thank you for following up.
... Thinkpads_User
... Thinkpads_User
ASKER
Is it possible that I need to run the scanPST.exe to fix the file?
The Outlook seems to be functioning normally but I think it's more than just the compaction issue.
I was not planning deleting the file until the backup file works. However, I'm going to try to run a scanPST.exe to see if it fixes any issues.