Best way to access .pst from multiple PCs

[GPO]

I have three PCs at home, networked via a four port modem router. I also have
a NAS with a public folder visible to all my PCs. All PCs are running Office
(one Office XP, one Office 2003, one Office 2007.

Is there a way I can safely access my e-mails from any PC? I thought I was
being o-so clever by putting the .pst file in the NAS public folder on the
network, and it certainly SEEMS OK but I've been told that because of
Outlook's indexing and so on, that storing it on a network drive present's a
real risk of data corruption.

My only workaround at present is to take a daily backup of this file and
hope for the best.

Surely the desire to have one single source of e-mails/contacts etc across
many home PCs is not unique to me. What do others do?

 

[Jocelyn Fiorello]

Yes, it's true that sharing a .PST file across a network increases the risk
of file corruption. You might take a look at
http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/share.htm for some additional ideas and
third party programs.

 

[GPO]

Gadzooks! What a diabolical mess. MS seems to have really been caught napping
here. There's a real opportunity for the open source world to offer a free
mail server that outlook could connect to. Does one already exist, that runs

 

[F. H. Muffman]

Gadzooks! What a diabolical mess. MS seems to have really been caught
napping
here. There's a real opportunity for the open source world to offer a free
mail server that outlook could connect to. Does one already exist, that
runs
on Windows?

Tons. Look for freeware IMAP servers.

Tho, I'm not really sure why MS has been caught napping. They make a mail
server. And, I hate to say it, I think you're in the minority of users in
what you want to do, and even then, you're looking for a free solution. So,
not only would they be creating a tool few users would use, but also that
fewer users would pay for.

Not napping at all, merely not believing there's a business need (and I
don't blame them).

 

[Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]]

Sharing has always been the job of servers - Outlook is a mail client, not a server. Microsoft makes a couple of products to provide this option to users, Exchange for large and medium size businesses and SBS for small businesses and some adverturous home users.

--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact. All
unsolicited mail sent to my personal account will be deleted without
reading.

After furious head scratching, GPO asked:

| Gadzooks! What a diabolical mess. MS seems to have really been caught
| napping here. There's a real opportunity for the open source world to
| offer a free mail server that outlook could connect to. Does one
| already exist, that runs on Windows?
|
| "Jocelyn Fiorello" wrote:
|
|| Yes, it's true that sharing a .PST file across a network increases
|| the risk of file corruption. You might take a look at
|| http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/share.htm for some additional ideas
|| and third party programs.
||
|| --
|| Jocelyn Fiorello
||
|| *** Messages sent to my e-mail address will NOT be answered --
|| please reply only to the newsgroup to preserve the message thread.
|| ***
||
||
|| "GPO" wrote:
||
||| I have three PCs at home, networked via a four port modem router. I
||| also have a NAS with a public folder visible to all my PCs. All PCs
||| are running Office (one Office XP, one Office 2003, one Office 2007.
|||
||| Is there a way I can safely access my e-mails from any PC? I
||| thought I was being o-so clever by putting the .pst file in the NAS
||| public folder on the network, and it certainly SEEMS OK but I've
||| been told that because of Outlook's indexing and so on, that
||| storing it on a network drive present's a real risk of data
||| corruption.
|||
||| My only workaround at present is to take a daily backup of this
||| file and hope for the best.
|||
||| Surely the desire to have one single source of e-mails/contacts etc
||| across many home PCs is not unique to me. What do others do?

 

[Jocelyn Fiorello]

While there are those of us power users who wish Microsoft would make it
easier to share data across small networks (including home networks), as the
others who replied to you have said, we are in the minority when it comes to
Outlook users. Most heavy-duty users of Outlook are business users and there
are plenty of choices for them. Sure, they're not free, but businesses
should have to pay for software that helps them to make their money.

Also, Microsoft deliberately chooses to leave some "gaps" open for 3rd party
developers to fill...things that only a relatively small number of Outlook
users want and need, and would take Microsoft a lot more time to develop and
test. Note that many already consider Outlook "bloatware" and choose to use
simpler mail clients instead.

Go ahead and make your thoughts known to Microsoft, though...the more votes
they get on an issue, the more likely they'll consider it. Go to the Office
communities portal at
http://www.microsoft.com/office/community/en-us/default.mspx, and when
starting a new post, choose the "Suggestion for Microsoft" option. A
disclaimer will appear at the bottom of your post saying it's a suggestion,
and others can vote on it.