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Question

How to Create a PST if I can't open Outlook

Aug 5, 2012 4:07AM PDT

I've got an old hard drive (no longer actively used) from a laptop that ran Windows 98 and Outlook 2000. The monitor of the laptop died and was replaced, but the hard drive didn't fit in the new laptop encasement so I've just held onto it.

I had about a year's worth of email on there in Outlook, and unfortunately only clicked "YES" one time early on when Outlook gave me the weekly "Would you like to archive your messages now?" If only I had listened to it...

So now I want to retrieve all those emails. I have an adaptor that allows me to plug the hard drive in as a USB device on my current desktop PC. The data is all still there and intact on the old hard drive. I did a search and found one PST file (from that lone backup I did) but as expected it only has the couple of weeks worth of email that I actually backed up.

Ideally I'd be able to open the old Outlook2000 and view my inbox with the full year's worth of email, but I cannot do this because of obvious technical limitations/incompatibilities between the Outlook installed on an old hard drive. (I've tried anyway. It doesn't work.)

The big question is: The email data *is* on the hard drive because, up till the day it became un-usable, it was all visible to me in my Inbox when running Outlook. Yes, it's not on the PST, but it's gotta be somewhere on the hard drive. How do I get it off???

I've spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to figure this out and would be gracious for any help anyone could offer. MSFT isn't helping because Outlook 2000 is "no longer supported." Thanks!

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Outlook 2000 does run in Windows 7.
Aug 5, 2012 4:09AM PDT

Why didn't you install OL2000 and then open the PST?

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re: Why didn't you install OL2000 and then open the PST?
Aug 5, 2012 7:01AM PDT

Thanks for your reply.

I have no problem opening the PST on my new desktop, which runs OL2007. It opens just fine and I can see that it only has ~2 weeks worth of emails in it.

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Another thing that trips up folk.
Aug 5, 2012 7:26AM PDT

Be sure the VIEW is set to ALL. Maybe it's not in this PST but somewhere else?
Bob

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Answer
Re: Outlook
Aug 5, 2012 7:13AM PDT

"The data is all still there and intact on the old hard drive."

Are you sure? If it isn't in that PST-file I'm inclined to say it's nowhere. Are you sure there isn't an 'archive' folder in that PST-file? Make a copy and compact it. How big is it now (in MB): 2 weeks of mail or 1 year of mail?

Or maybe in some other 'personal' pst archive file?

Kees

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re: re:
Aug 5, 2012 8:33AM PDT

I got the prompt asking me to backup every week or so, but I rarely did. Yet, I had hundreds of emails in my inbox in Outlook available for my viewing whether I was connected to my server, or if I was offline.

The PST file is only 1.5MB -- I'm guessing that goes along with having only a couple week's worth of emails.

As I think about it, I believe I did back up more often than just those two weeks worth that I found (though it was still not done with any diligence). But if my explorer search comes up with only one PST file (the one I mentioned), where else could the data be? (I did un-hide all hidden files when doing the search).

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Answer
Sounds like the Archive was working.
Aug 5, 2012 8:49AM PDT
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Re: re:
Aug 5, 2012 10:13AM PDT

Thanks Bob, but unfortunately I searched the entire hard drive. The Outlook.pst 1.5MB file (which I mentioned and was able to successfully open) was the only PST file on the entire drive.

Any other thoughts?

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I'll check on this later
Aug 5, 2012 2:30PM PDT

I wonder if the archive has to be a .PST.

Also, how are you searching? Windows is notoriously bad at finding files. Example? Type XP TAKE PERMISSION and how when you move a drive over a folder might be excluded for too many reasons.

Do you know the old DIR command?
Bob

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Re: re:
Aug 6, 2012 11:32AM PDT

I'm searching through Windows 7 Explorer window on the entire F: (attached USB) drive. The Outlook.PST came up no problem. I also made sure to show all hidden files before doing the search.

I'm not sure I follow your question
>>Do you know the old DIR command?

I am quite sure I didn't set up any special locations to back up my data, and don't see why there'd be another PST file hidden somewhere else.

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And why we don't use Windows to search if we want to find
Aug 6, 2012 2:34PM PDT

I'd fall back to the command line. If you recall the name of the archive I'd use that for the DIR along with the usual /A/S/P switches.
Bob