help...my computer died

D

Dude

I need some guidence. My computer died (mobo) and my hard drive was
partitioned Ubuntu and XP pro. Anyway I cant just throw the hard drive
in another box and boot it up. Thats not working because of GRUB.. the
whole dual boot thing going on.
So I built a new computer and I want to try and retrieve my email,
contacts, etc from Outlook. I dont have an recent backup of outlook in
a PST file so I was wondering if I'm screwed or can I slave my old
hard drive onto my new machine and point Outlook to the old Outlook
directory and recover this?

Cheers,
Chris
 
U

Uncle Grumpy

Dude said:
I dont have an recent backup of outlook in
a PST file so I was wondering if I'm screwed or can I slave my old
hard drive onto my new machine and point Outlook to the old Outlook
directory and recover this?

You can easily take that old PST file from the old drive and then copy
it over the existing one on your new drive.
 
R

Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]

You can, but you'd be a fool if you did. That will invariably corrupt the
profile, and may corrupt the PST file.
 
D

Dude

You can, but you'd be a fool if you did. That will invariably corrupt the
profile, and may corrupt the PST file.
--
Russ Valentine






- Show quoted text -

So is the PST file thats there uptodat with all my email and contacts
up to the day that system died? I was thinking that it was only as up
to date as my export of the pst file for backup purposes. If thats the
case then I can just move it to the new machine and import it and be
done.

Chris
 
R

Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]

I would suggest reading the information I provided and following it instead.
All your data is in the PST file. You never import a PST file. You never
overwrite a PST file. You open it in Outlook.

--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
You can, but you'd be a fool if you did. That will invariably corrupt the
profile, and may corrupt the PST file.
--
Russ Valentine






- Show quoted text -

So is the PST file thats there uptodat with all my email and contacts
up to the day that system died? I was thinking that it was only as up
to date as my export of the pst file for backup purposes. If thats the
case then I can just move it to the new machine and import it and be
done.

Chris
 
U

Uncle Grumpy

Russ Valentine said:
You can, but you'd be a fool if you did. That will invariably corrupt the
profile, and may corrupt the PST file.

Then I'm a fool: I do it all the time between my desktop and my
laptop. Have beend doing it for years without problem.

BTW... top posters suck.
 
U

Uncle Grumpy

DL said:
Of course ovewriting an existing pst will likely corrupt it

Must be an urban legend because I do it all the time when I switch to
using my notebook when on the road.
 
R

Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]

No. You are speaking for yourself. The advice you are giving is incorrect
and can cause harm. That is why I posted the correction.
 
M

Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Bottom posters have no memory. And are invariably grumpy about the extra work they have to do.

--
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, Uncle Grumpy asked:

|
|| You can, but you'd be a fool if you did. That will invariably
|| corrupt the profile, and may corrupt the PST file.
|
| Then I'm a fool: I do it all the time between my desktop and my
| laptop. Have beend doing it for years without problem.
|
| BTW... top posters suck.
 
B

Brian Tillman

Milly Staples said:
Bottom posters have no memory. And are invariably grumpy about the
extra work they have to do.

Excuse me? Grumpy, perhaps. No memory? But I do. And I'll remember YOU ,
Missy! <smile>
 
M

Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

ROTFLMAO!

--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact.

After furious head scratching, Brian Tillman asked:

|
|| Bottom posters have no memory. And are invariably grumpy about the
|| extra work they have to do.
|
| Excuse me? Grumpy, perhaps. No memory? But I do. And I'll
| remember YOU , Missy! <smile>
 
D

Dude

I would suggest reading the information I provided and following it instead.
All your data is in the PST file. You never import a PST file. You never
overwrite a PST file. You open it in Outlook.
Thanks Russ,
Those links are really usefull.
One comment though. You said "You never import a PST file. You never
overwrite a PST file. You open it in Outlook."
http://www.howto-outlook.com/Howto/backupandrestore.htm your link
clearly has how to "import pst-file" which is what I do everytime I
have to redo someone's machine. I export the PST file. Save it
somewhere. Move it onto the new system. and Import it with Outlook. So
what did you mean You never import a PST file."?

Cheers,
Chris
Merry Christmas : )
 
B

Brian Tillman

Dude said:
One comment though. You said "You never import a PST file. You never
overwrite a PST file. You open it in Outlook."
http://www.howto-outlook.com/Howto/backupandrestore.htm your link
clearly has how to "import pst-file"

You'll also notice that it says, "It's a general misconception that an
export of your mail is a good backup.".
which is what I do everytime I
have to redo someone's machine. I export the PST file. Save it
somewhere.

Why not just make a copy of the original PST? Clearly it's a simpler
process.
Move it onto the new system. and Import it with Outlook. So
what did you mean You never import a PST file."?

Exactly what it says. Why import (which loses data) when you can simply
open the PST and see everything it contains?
 
R

Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]

Microsoft has never admitted how deeply flawed its export and import process
is for Outlook data. That's why we post so often the problems it causes so
people will learn to stop using it. If you think about it, you don't export
and import your Word documents or Excel spreadsheets, do you? No. You just
copy them.
Importing PST's will usually corrupt an Outlook profile by creating a
duplicate or "ghost" file that you can't remove. It will also lose:
1. Custom Forms
2. Custom Views
3. Connections between contacts and activities
4. Received dates on mail
5. Birthdays and anniversaries in calendar
6. Journal connections
7. Distribution Lists

Simply copying and opening a PST file will preserve all of these. That is
why we do not advise people to import Outlook data.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
I would suggest reading the information I provided and following it
instead.
All your data is in the PST file. You never import a PST file. You never
overwrite a PST file. You open it in Outlook.
Thanks Russ,
Those links are really usefull.
One comment though. You said "You never import a PST file. You never
overwrite a PST file. You open it in Outlook."
http://www.howto-outlook.com/Howto/backupandrestore.htm your link
clearly has how to "import pst-file" which is what I do everytime I
have to redo someone's machine. I export the PST file. Save it
somewhere. Move it onto the new system. and Import it with Outlook. So
what did you mean You never import a PST file."?

Cheers,
Chris
Merry Christmas : )
 

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