Outlook 2000 to Outlook 2003 Issues

[CommonLor]

1) Duplicate Personal Folders
I got a new computer and with new Microsoft Office 2003. I did not find any
automatic tools within Outlook 2003 to import my Outlook 2000 data, so I did
this manually. I manually moved my old Outlook 2000 .pst files from my old
computer and placed in my new computer in C:\Documents and Settings\Mia\Local
Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook.

I noticed that I have two Personal Folders in the Folder List. I can't
remove it. I followed Microsoft Help but the option to close is not
there--indicating the files are defaults. When I add files into one set, the
other set "magically" has the same file. They both must be reading from the
same location. I checked and they are both reading from the same Outlook.pst
file. It is unsettling to see two different folder sets. Is this because of
some attribute of Outlook 2000 that is not compatible with Outlook 2003?
Please Help!

Is there a better way to move the .pst files?

2) In the general view of my emails, new emails today are dated tomorrow.
When I open the actual email, the time stamp is correct.

Thanks,
Mia

 

[Jocelyn Fiorello [MVP - Outlook]]

1) The "ghost" .PST issue typically happens when you overwrite one .PST file
that Outlook is using with another one, and it sounds like that's what you
did. For future reference, you don't have to put a .PST file in a certain
location; you can put it wherever you want and just tell Outlook where to
find it. The easiest way to fix this problem is to create a new mail profile
via Control Panel | Mail | Show Profiles.

2) Not sure about this one -- what view are you using on the Inbox? There
is a View dropdown box on the Advanced toolbar that will give you the name of
the view.

--
Jocelyn Fiorello
MVP - Outlook

*** Messages sent to my e-mail address will NOT be answered -- please reply
only to the newsgroup to preserve the message thread. ***

 

[CommonLor]

Oh migosh. I had spent an hour documenting what I did with your help and
when I clicked on Post, Microsoft cleared out everything I had typed when it
prompted me for my password again! Jocelyn, I wanted you to go over the
mumble-jumble of steps so that the information would be more direct for
someone with the same problem.

Microsoft frustrates me so much.

Mia Lor

 

[CommonLor]

Jocelyn,

The information you provided in 1) was pivotal in helping me resolve the
issues. I used documentation from the Microsoft Outlook website help, too.
Your clues about the "ghost" .pst file and about creating a new mail profile
were the clues I needed. Here is a list of things I did in NO absolute
MEMORABLE order:

--- As you directed, I went into Control Panel | Mail | Show Profiles and
created a new profile called Outlook-new.

--- (with Outlook 2003 closed) In C:\Documents and Settings\Mia\Local
Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook, I copied my Outlook.pst file and
pasted into the same location. The new file was called Copy of Outlook.pst.
Pay close attention to the exact file size and time stamp.

--- (in Outlook 2003) In Tools | Options | Mail Setup | Email Accounts |
View or change existing e-mail accounts, I clicked on the drop-down menu
below “Deliver new e-mail to the following location†to review how many
profiles/files were called Personal Folders. I had two.

--- Still in the same menu, I clicked on New Outlook Data File, then chose
the default setting Office Outlook Personal Folders File (.pst), and finally
clicked OK. At the next window, I chose the Copy of Outlook.pst file then
clicked OK.

--- Still in the same menu, I clicked on New Outlook Data File. You will
probably see multiple files/profiles—all named exactly the same—Personal
Folders. Pay close attention to which one is highlighted. I chose the last
Personal Folders which would move the e-mail from the “ghost†profile to a
new one—that is really just a decoy. Click Finish.

--- In the Tools | Options | Mail Setup | Data Files, and added a new
profile/directory (?) by clicking “Add.†In the next window, I chose the
default setting which was Office Outlook Personal Folders File (.pst). I
then chose the Copy of Outlook.pst file.

Apply all of your changes and exit the menu.

--- In the folder List, I noticed that I had 3 Personal Folders now. I
exited Outlook 2003.

--- I went to my Gmail account and emailed to my Outlook email account. I
opened Outlook 2003 and received my test email. I exited Outlook 2003 again.

--- I went back to C:\Documents and Settings\Mia\Local Settings\Application
Data\Microsoft\Outlook and noticed that both the Outlook.pst and Copy of
Outlook.pst had the same time stamp and file size.

--- Start Outlook 2003. In my Folder List, starting at the bottom Personal
Folders, I right-clicked on one Personal Folders and chose Close “Personal
Folders.†That action deleted the folder immediately. I repeated this
action on the next Personal Folders until I only had one Personal Folders
left.

--- Testing: I sent an email out to my Gmail account to get a time stamp
on my Outlook.pst files. I started Outlook 2003, received my test email and
exited.

--- In C:\Documents and Settings\Mia\Local Settings\Application
Data\Microsoft\Outlook, I noticed that only the Outlook.pst time stamp had
changed. The Copy of Outlook.pst file still had the old time stamp. I
deleted the Copy of Outlook.pst file.

--- Start Outlook 2003. I went back into Tools | Options | Mail Setup |
Email Accounts | View or change existing e-mail accounts. Now I only have
one Personal Folders.

--- Testing: I sent an email out to my Gmail account and also sent an
email from my Gmail account. I received the email in my Outlook 2003, exited
Outlook, and verified the time stamp for Outlook.pst file was updated. Whew!
(Sorry. I am anal about verifying my data.)

Good luck.

Warm regards,
Mia Lor

 

[Jocelyn Fiorello [MVP - Outlook]]

Thanks for posting that detailed list of steps for others' benefit, and I'm
glad you got it working on your end

--
Jocelyn Fiorello
MVP - Outlook

*** Messages sent to my e-mail address will NOT be answered -- please reply
only to the newsgroup to preserve the message thread. ***

 

[DrDos]

Hi,

I am new to Outlook (not to computers), so pardon me if I am off on a
tangent with my attempt to help with this one.

I recently bought a new computer, and wanted to restore my old e-mails from
the old computer, so I had to backup the Outlook.pst from the old drive which
had Outlook 2000. At this point, I was not certain if I should use the
overwrite method (replacing the new pst file with the backed up one) or the
Import & Export method since I am now using Outlook 2003. The following is
my thinking/suggestion on this:

When you are importing an old pst file from Outlook 2000, 2002, or 2003 to a
new installation of Outlook 2003 by using the overwrite method, you are
simply replacing one profile with another and thus the folders are showing
the same e-mails, etc. (you lose the new ones). However, since the Import &
Export method offers you the option to "allow duplicates to be created", etc.
you can retain your existing e-mails as well as the newly imported ones.

Does this make sense? Incidentally, under Outlook 2003 (not certain about
2000 and 2002), you can individually backup your e-mails using the File/Save
As method to save the file as file type MSG to save both the text message and
the attachments. Due to the tedious nature of this, I do not recommend
using it for more than a few
e-mails. An even easier way, is to simply drag and drop the e-mails to your
desktop, etc. The e-mails will automatically save as file type, MSG, saving
the text message as well as the attachments! To restore them, simply drag
and drop them back into the Outlook folder.

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

You should use neither.
Never overwrite a PST. You'll corrupt your profile.
Never export/import a PST. You'll lose data.
Just copy a PST and open it in the other installation.
Take a look at these pages for info on Outlook data backup or transfer:
http://www.slipstick.com/config/backup.htm
http://www.howto-outlook.com/Howto/backupandrestore.htm
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA010771141033.aspx

 

[dallen]

Ok, now I'm really confused. Microsoft advice for converting non-unicode to
unicode pst is to create a new folder and import from old pst. Is there a
better way? Please advise.

You should use neither.
Never overwrite a PST. You'll corrupt your profile.
Never export/import a PST. You'll lose data.
Just copy a PST and open it in the other installation.
Take a look at these pages for info on Outlook data backup or transfer:
http://www.slipstick.com/config/backup.htm
http://www.howto-outlook.com/Howto/backupandrestore.htm
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA010771141033.aspx
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Hi,

I am new to Outlook (not to computers), so pardon me if I am off on a
tangent with my attempt to help with this one.

I recently bought a new computer, and wanted to restore my old e-mails
from
the old computer, so I had to backup the Outlook.pst from the old drive
which
had Outlook 2000. At this point, I was not certain if I should use the
overwrite method (replacing the new pst file with the backed up one) or
the
Import & Export method since I am now using Outlook 2003. The following
is
my thinking/suggestion on this:

When you are importing an old pst file from Outlook 2000, 2002, or 2003 to
a
new installation of Outlook 2003 by using the overwrite method, you are
simply replacing one profile with another and thus the folders are showing
the same e-mails, etc. (you lose the new ones). However, since the Import
&
Export method offers you the option to "allow duplicates to be created",
etc.
you can retain your existing e-mails as well as the newly imported ones.

Does this make sense? Incidentally, under Outlook 2003 (not certain about
2000 and 2002), you can individually backup your e-mails using the
File/Save
As method to save the file as file type MSG to save both the text message
and
the attachments. Due to the tedious nature of this, I do not recommend
using it for more than a few
e-mails. An even easier way, is to simply drag and drop the e-mails to
your
desktop, etc. The e-mails will automatically save as file type, MSG,
saving
the text message as well as the attachments! To restore them, simply drag
and drop them back into the Outlook folder.

 

[Brian Tillman]

Ok, now I'm really confused. Microsoft advice for converting
non-unicode to unicode pst is to create a new folder and import from
old pst. Is there a better way? Please advise.

I and others have posted the process many times. Google Groups is your
friend.
<http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.outlook.contacts/msg/fe504e259e604292>

 

[dallen]

OK, I'll try that. Thanks for your help.

I and others have posted the process many times. Google Groups is your
friend.
<http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.outlook.contacts/msg/fe504e259e604292>