Microsoft KB Archive/290793

= OL2002: How to Move Your Personal Folders File to a Network Server =

PSS ID Number: 290793

Article Last Modified on 1/22/2003

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The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Outlook 2002

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This article was previously published under Q290793





SUMMARY
This article describes how to move your personal folders (.pst) file (sometimes called the Personal Information Store or *.pst file) to a network server. You can then configure your e-mail profile to use the .pst file from the network server location.



MORE INFORMATION
NOTE: Depending on the network traffic, the performance of Outlook can significantly slow down when you configure your e-mail profile to store your .pst file information on a network server.

For additional information about whether to place your PST file on a network share, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

305519 OL2002: Why .pst Files Are Not Recommended Over a LAN or WAN Link

By default, Outlook stores all of the information in your .pst file on your hard disk. Your .pst file contains a collection of Messaging Application Programming Interface (MAPI) folders, and can include your Calendar, Contacts, Inbox, Journal, Notes, Outbox, Sent Items, and Tasks folders. Your .pst file can also contain custom MAPI folders.

Depending on your profile configuration, your .pst file may or may not be your default delivery location. This article discusses procedures for using your .pst file from a server location, regardless of your delivery location.

This article covers the following three-part process to configure Outlook to use your .pst file from a network server:
 * How to identify the .pst file that is used by your e-mail profile.
 * How to copy your .pst file to a network server where you have full rights.
 * How to configure your profile to reference the new location of your .pst file.

The following information in this section describes how to configure Outlook to use your .pst file from a network server.

How to Identify Your .PST File Name and Location

 * 1) Start Outlook.
 * 2) On the Tools menu, click Options.
 * 3) On the Mail Setup tab, click the Data Files button
 * 4) Note the path and file name of your .pst file. For example, C:\Exchange\Mailbox.pst indicates a .pst file that is named Mailbox.pst located in the Exchange folder on your drive C.
 * 5) Click Close, click OK, and then click Exit and Log Off to quit Outlook.

How to Establish a Persistent Connection to the Network Server

 * 1) Click Start, point to Programs, and click Windows Explorer.
 * 2) On the Tools menu, click Map Network Drive.
 * 3) Select the drive, type the path to the location of the .pst file, click to select the Reconnect At Logon check box, and then click OK.

How to Copy Your .PST File to the Network Server

 * 1) Quit all programs.
 * 2) Use Microsoft Windows Explorer to locate and copy the .pst file to the network server. This is the file that you noted in step 4 in the &quot;How to Identify Your .PST File Name and Location&quot; section of this article.

NOTE: You can save the .pst file in any folder on the destination computer as long as you have full rights, and remember both the location and the file name.

How to Configure Your Profile to Use the .PST File from the Network Server
 Start Outlook. On the Tools menu, click Options. On the Mail Setup tab, click the E-mail accounts button, even if you do not have an e-mail account specified. Click to select the View or change existing e-mail accounts check box, and then click Next. Click the New Outlook Data File button. Under Types of storage, click Personal Folders file (.pst), and then click OK.</li> In the File Name box, type the network path to your .pst file on the network server, and then click OK twice.</li> Under Deliver new e-mail to the following location, click Personal Folders file located on the network in the drop down list box, and then click Finish.</li> If this is your default mail delivery location, you will receive the following message:

You have changed the default deliver location for your e-mail. This will change the location of your Inbox, Calendar, and other folders. These changes will take effect the next time you start Outlook.

Click OK.</li> On the Mail Setup tab, click the Data Files button.</li> Click to select the .pst file that was identified in step 4 in the &quot;How to Identify Your .PST File Name and Location&quot; section of this article, and then click Remove to remove the local .pst file from your profile.</li> Click Close, and then click OK to close all dialog boxes.</li> On the File menu, click Exit.</li> Restart Outlook.</li></ol>

If the .pst is your default delivery location, you will receive the following message:

The location messages are delivered to has changed for this user profile. To complete this operation, you may need to copy the contents of the old Outlook folders to the new Outlook folders. For information about how to complete the change of your mail delivery location, see Microsoft Outlook Help. Some of the shortcuts on the Outlook Bar may no longer work. Do you want Outlook to recreate your shortcuts? All shortcuts you have created will be removed.

Click Yes to have Outlook update the Outlook Bar shortcuts so that they point to your new .pst file location, or click No to leave the shortcuts for your original local .pst file.

Your profile now points to your .pst file that is located on the network server.

Multiple .PST Files
NOTE: Only one program can open your .pst file at a time. You cannot run Outlook on two different computers, each using the same .pst file at once. In this case, when you attempt to open the .pst file with the second Outlook program, you will receive the following message:

The file <path and filename>.pst is in use and could not be accessed. Close any application that is using this file, and then try again.

It is possible to configure your e-mail profile to use more than one .pst file. For example, you can use one .pst file locally and one .pst file from a server, or open a shared .pst file from another user's profile.

Additional query words: OfficeKBHowTo OL2K

Keywords: kbhowto KB290793

Technology: kbOutlook2002 kbOutlook2002Search kbOutlookSearch kbZNotKeyword3

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