Outlook Connector - OST Files

[Mike]

FOR OST FILE EXPERTS

* Outlook 2003, SP3
* Outlook Connector 12.1.4518.1068
* Download Mode = Download Headers

I have 3 old (e-mail address removed) accounts attached to my Outlook via outlook
connector.

The associated OST files seem to be growing in size even when I reduce the
total number of messages in each account.

I'm guessing this:
1. For every new mail message header and/or message body item that arrives
an a account, it's stored in the OST file as some form of database structure.
2. Every time I delete a message, it's record is deleted (or flagged as
deleted) in the OST file.
3. Both above similar to the main PST file.

Even though messages have been deleted (and I mean a lot), the OST file does
not shrink in size, but continues to grow with new incoming messages.

I have experimented by removing a hotmail account, then adding it back using
outlook connector, the new OST file is much smaller than the original one.
* Understanding that message bodies have not been downloaded yet.

I guess the PST file must get very fragmented. Not the file on disk, but
it's contents / structure.

My 2 questions:
1. Are my assumptions for points 1~3 above roughly correct?
2. Is there a way to 'Compact Now' the OST file similar to the PST file, or
some maintenance utility to clean it up.

Thanks.

 

[Mike]

I forgot to add that I do empty the "Deleted Items" folder.

 

[Roady [MVP]]

It's indeed roughly correct. When you delete items from the pst- or ost-file
you leave "white-space" in the database file so the file is not directly
truncated. When more than 5% of the total file size is white space, Outlook
will automatically begin truncating the file when the computer is idle (both
processor and disk). For ost-files created by the Outlook Connector there is
no way to truncate it directly.

 

[Mike]

My CPU is seldom idle, always processing something in the background, eg.
Outlook send/receive every 20 mins, MSN messenger keep-alive etc.

So I guess for now, all I can do is periodically delete the Hotmail account,
and it's attached OST file, then re-add it into outlook connector.

 

[Roady [MVP]]

Well, idle is relative to your computer's performance. I'm not sure when it
is actually being considered idle but there are different thresholds for
when the user is actually active on the system or not. Otherwise background
processes will always end up terminating itself or each other ;-)

 

[Freudian]

Is there a utility (command line or gui) that can analyse an OST for white
space/fragmentation and clean it up if required? Yes, this should go on in
the background anyway, but for those of us with suspicious minds and perhaps
too much time on our hands...

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

Is there a utility (command line or gui) that can analyse an OST for white
space/fragmentation and clean it up if required? Yes, this should go on in
the background anyway, but for those of us with suspicious minds and
perhaps
too much time on our hands...

SCANOST can analyze the internal structure of an OST, but I can't imagine
why you'd need to do the rest of what you describe. Just delete it and let
Outlook recreate it.