[Bob Cerelli]

nbox 513,832
Sent 98,450
Deleted 7059
Imp. to Keep 98450
Plus several others UNDER 100 KB

All this adds up to much more than 625,999.

Right now it is very difficult to determine exactly what is going on.

For example, since Outlook2003 does not have a 2 gig file size limit, I asked earlier why you are getting that error message but have not gotten a response to that question. A lot of them have gone unanswered or not been answered for days which makes the process fairly slow and somewhat questionable.

[Bob Cerelli]

"I had this problem aseveral months ago. I was told to delete the file and download the Outlook Personal folder.pst and use that instead. That created a bigger problem because I lost my Address Book. I recovered the old file and have been using it ever since, but now I can't add any email adresses or make any deletetions to the email list."

Maybe it would be better to start from the beginning, since the problem started several months ago.

Exactly what was done to what?

[mis2ko]

Here's the error message:

"Outlook has reached it's max size. The reduce the amount to data within this file, select some items you no longer need and permanently dlete them using SHIFT & DELETE, you should consider using the New Outlook Peronal Folders File (.pst) that provides greater capacity for storing items."

My Oulook file has 4 files in it:

Archive.pst
extend.dat
outlook. pst (1,918,545)
Personal Folder. pst (678,545)

Previously (2 times) I have deleted outlook.pst and was hoping to use Personal Folder .pst. After I was able to read my email, but the address book was gone. The only way I could restore the Address book was to restore the deleted outlook.pst.

Someone advised me a way where I could copy my address book to the Personal Folder - but when I pasted it I got this: "The source and destination folders for this operation cannot be the same". I deleted outlook.pst because I "thought" the address book was in the Personal Folder, but when I opened outlook the again was no Address book.

One thing I didn't think of...do you have to direct Outlook to a new File when you delete the Old File? If that's the answer - hold to I do that in Outlook?

[Bob Cerelli]

"My Oulook file has 4 files in it:"
What are you doing to determine that?

Since it doesn't just happen on it's own, how is it you have two different PST files - outlook.pst and personal folder.pst.

Which one did you actually compact?
Which one showed when you looked at the Advanced button?
Can you simply copy and paste the text from that screen? You only showed the location but not the actual file name as requested.

[Bob Cerelli]

To again get back to the beginning, here are critical questions that have yet to be answered but are important to solving the problem:

1. Which PST file is Outlook using as the default. So far only the directory has been given but not the file name.
2. Which PST file was compacted. If it was not the correct one, that would explain why the file size did not go down. But without knowing the answer to #1, it is impossible to be certain.
3. Why and how are more than one PST file being used
4. Why is the 1.9 gig file showing it has reached the max size when Outlook2003 has a 20 gig default max size. How did this file get created in the first place?

[mis2ko]

My Oulook file has 4 files in it:"
What are you doing to determine that?

Since it doesn't just happen on it's own, how is it you have two different PST files - outlook.pst and personal folder.pst

.Because I downed the Personal Folder.pst when I got the problem.

Which one did you actually compact?

outlook.pst was compact

Which one showed when you looked at the Advanced button?

I don't know about the Advanced Button?

Can you simply copy and paste the text from that screen? You only showed the location but not the actual file name as requested.

The files from that location are:
Achive.pst
extend.dat
outlook.pst
Peronal Forder.pst

1. Which PST file is Outlook using as the default. So far only the directory has been given but not the file name.

Outlook.psk


2. Which PST file was compacted. If it was not the correct one, that would explain why the file size did not go down. But without knowing the answer to #1, it is impossible to be certain.

Outlook.pst was compacted

3. Why and how are more than one PST file being used

Because of the error it told me to get the new Outlook Persinal Folders file.pst

4. Why is the 1.9 gig file showing it has reached the max size when Outlook2003 has a 20 gig default max size. How did this file get created in the first place?

I have no idea - it was in my computer when the problem started.

[DoubleHelix]

Outlook 2003 has a maximum 2GB file size, not 20 GB.

Deleting the Outlook.pst file deletes your e-mail, addresses, calendar, everything.

If you want to delete the entire PST file and save what you call addresses (if they're in Outlook, they're called Contacts), I posted a link to exact steps for exporting them to a separate file. Then you could create a new PST file and import them back in. I think you posted something about getting an error during this process. That's likely caused by not reading the dialog boxes thoroughly or not saving the exported file to a valid location.

I hate to see someone go through 70 posts and end up in exactly the same spot they started.

You're simply not going to get anywhere repeatedly trying to compact the PST file. You've done it several times, and that's why the process goes so fast. There's nothing left to compact. You've also apparently deleted everything you can think of, and the size doesn't change.

Frankly, the file may simply be too corrupt to work with, and you won't be able to save, export, or salvage anything. If you have no backup of your Contacts, you might want to just print them off so you at least have the information if something goes wrong during this process.

Without going through all the posts again, I think you posted something about Apple. There is no Outlook 2003 for Macs. There's a 2004 version. You might want to clarify exactly what you're running.

[Bob Cerelli]

Originally Posted by DoubleHelix

Outlook 2003 has a maximum 2GB file size, not 20 GB.

For starters, might want to read:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/830336

"By default, the limit for a Unicode .pst file in Outlook 2007 and in Outlook 2003 is configured to be 20 GB. "

I would not recommend deleting any PST file since that has already caused you problems from the information in the first post. As you experienced, you may need the information it contains.

If Outlook.pst file is the main one being used in Outlook, and clicking on the Advanced button / Compact Now is not working, it's going to be a bit more complicated than simply exporting and importing back in again, as you have been experiencing. This is because, even after compacting, the file is too large.

What you may want to do is export your contacts and any e-mail and calendar entries to either the same or different PST files, create a new PST default data file, and import into that new empty data file the contacts, e-mail and calendar items. There is no need to delete any PST files. Just have Outlook eventually only use the one you want. Make this new PST file the default Office2003 format so you don't have that 2 gig limit as mentioned earlier.

Do you see your contacts at all? Again, if so, simply export them to a PST file. Much easier to import that way. Do the same with e-mail and contacts. If you can do this to a the same PST file, that is fine. Then you can just have Outlook use that single new PST file as the default. Remove the other pst files from Outlook. Don't delete them from the computer. Just configure Outlook not to use them.

For example, just to export your contacts:
File / Import and Export
Export to a file
Personal Folder File (.pst)
Next
Select your Contact folder only from whichever PST file currently has your contacts
Next
Give it a location and name you will remember

Now you hopefully have a PST file you can import into your main, new, blank PST file that you will be using. This is shown in the Advanced button what was detailed how to use earlier.

---

To import these contacts
File / Import and Export
Import from another program or file
Personal Folder File (.pst)
Select the file you just exported

----

Go the basics are:

1. Export as much as you can (e-mail, contacts, calendar) to a single new pst file (if possible). If not export to different PST files. Use the default Outlook2003 format to remove the 2 gig file size limit.
2. Use that new pst file as new the default data file for Outlook
3. If everything was exported to a single PST file, then you can reconfigure Outlook not to use the other ones.
4. To configure Outlook to use the new PST data file as the default, see http://www.onecomputerguy.com/app_in...m#existing_pst

Another option is to simply make "Personal Forder.pst" the default data file instead of outlook.pst (which is too large). Then export what you want from outlook.pst and import it into Personal Forder.pst

At this point there are lots of solutions possible. But don't delete any PST files as was mentioned.

[Bob Cerelli]

As you see, I'm certainly sticking with you on this one. Although it has taken a while, you have learned quite a lot about Outlook

1. There is no 2 gig file size limit on the native Outlook2003 file format
2. The difference between Outlook folder size and the actual file size
3. How to determine the Outlook folder size and the sizes of the individual folders within that file
4. How to determine the exact PST file Outlook is using as the default
5. How to compact an Outlook PST file
6. How to create additional PST files and copy e-mails to that PST file

There is probably more but that's just what I can remember you have learned so far. It's easy for someone to come back in fairly late again and comment on what hasn't worked. But until those basic and common things were tried, we just didn't know.

Good job on doing all those things.

[shergar6837]

I've been reading this thread over the past few days and although I'm off work at the moment, I can see where our friend has his problem. We were using Outlook 2000 as our default client with our company's Exchange 2003 server(s). I can confirm that Outlook 2000 DOES have a 2gb limit as we hit it a number of times and the only solution was to uninstall Outlook 2000 and install 2003 which removed the .pst limitation. Note that these .pst files where actually 'Archive Folders' but that shouldn't make a difference as far as this problem is concerned.

[Bob Cerelli]

Yes, previous versions of Outlook had the 2 gig limit. Wanted to clear up the misinformation that Outlook2003 still does.

Not only do you have to install Outlook2003, but use a native Outlook 2003 PST file. Just using the same PST file, as you see, does not remove the 2 gig limit.

That's why I later suggested, after we determined that compacting the file did not solve the problem, to export whatever was needed (e.g. e-mail, contacts, calendar) to a native Outlook2003 PST file and use that as the new default data file.

[shergar6837]

That's exactly the solution we applied.

[Bob Cerelli]

Yep, that native Outlook2003 file format removes that 2 gig limit.

So hopefully the suggestion to export whatever they need to one will solve the problem. Likely the personal folder.pst file is already the correct type. Easy enough to check.

[mis2ko]

arrghh.. My address book has disappeared! I need to send an important email to someone who is in my address book. I am so confused about all these instructions I must have done something wrong!

[mis2ko]

Is there someway to DIRECT outlook to look at the proper file?