Both of my directors have huge email inboxes - one has about 19,000 and the
other over 23,000 messages. They do have occasional random problems with
their email and it's hard for me to believe that the giant inboxes aren't a
part of the problem.

However, searching the web I wasn't able to find much to indicate that this
is a problem at this point in time. I found one website from 2005 suggesting
that Inboxes should be kept to 3000-5000 messages.

Does anybody have any thoughts on this? I know it will be a lot of work for
them to sort the Inboxes so I want to have something more than a feeling to
go on.

Thanks,
Elin

Hi Elin,

I'm not sure the number of items in your mailbox is much of an issue. I
currently have 21,000+ in mine and my mailbox is fine. It is currently
just 96MB. On the flip side I have a user who has just 5,000+ items in
their mailbox and the size of the mailbox is 425MB.

Maybe its the size that is the problem and not the total items involved.
This can be an even bigger problem if you are using .pst/.ost files as
your main storage area.

If you're not using .pst/.ost, then something is not right with
communication between your Exchange server and clients. What exactly are
the problems they are having?


ElinatCGC wrote:
> Both of my directors have huge email inboxes - one has about 19,000 and the
> other over 23,000 messages. They do have occasional random problems with
> their email and it's hard for me to believe that the giant inboxes aren't a
> part of the problem.
>
> However, searching the web I wasn't able to find much to indicate that this
> is a problem at this point in time. I found one website from 2005 suggesting
> that Inboxes should be kept to 3000-5000 messages.
>
> Does anybody have any thoughts on this? I know it will be a lot of work for
> them to sort the Inboxes so I want to have something more than a feeling to
> go on.
>
> Thanks,
> Elin
>
>

My one boss has 1.14GB in her PST file. I also found three old PST files on
her computer which seems like a problem waiting to happen - so I'm deleting
those.

But if number of messages isn't usually an issue, the issues probably have
more to do with trying to access the same files on multiple computers, Remote
Desktop and the configuration of the computers at home.

My other boss often can't open his email and has a problem with the SPAM
rule that I wrote for him (i.e. if the subject has the word spam send to
trash) never working automatically which it does on every other computer on
which I made a SPAM rule.

Thank you very much for your help,
Elin

"Kirrin Jones" wrote:

> Hi Elin,
>
> I'm not sure the number of items in your mailbox is much of an issue. I
> currently have 21,000+ in mine and my mailbox is fine. It is currently
> just 96MB. On the flip side I have a user who has just 5,000+ items in
> their mailbox and the size of the mailbox is 425MB.
>
> Maybe its the size that is the problem and not the total items involved.
> This can be an even bigger problem if you are using .pst/.ost files as
> your main storage area.
>
> If you're not using .pst/.ost, then something is not right with
> communication between your Exchange server and clients. What exactly are
> the problems they are having?
>
>
> ElinatCGC wrote:
> > Both of my directors have huge email inboxes - one has about 19,000 and the
> > other over 23,000 messages. They do have occasional random problems with
> > their email and it's hard for me to believe that the giant inboxes aren't a
> > part of the problem.
> >
> > However, searching the web I wasn't able to find much to indicate that this
> > is a problem at this point in time. I found one website from 2005 suggesting
> > that Inboxes should be kept to 3000-5000 messages.
> >
> > Does anybody have any thoughts on this? I know it will be a lot of work for
> > them to sort the Inboxes so I want to have something more than a feeling to
> > go on.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Elin
> >
> >
>

If your pst is stored locally, there is a limit of 2GB of mail before it
starts to crash or not open at all. I usually tell our users here to archive
1 years' worth of mail. This will create another pst file usually called
Archive.pst. This way, the user can still see the emails but it will be in a
folder called Archive.

"ElinatCGC" wrote:

> My one boss has 1.14GB in her PST file. I also found three old PST files on
> her computer which seems like a problem waiting to happen - so I'm deleting
> those.
>
> But if number of messages isn't usually an issue, the issues probably have
> more to do with trying to access the same files on multiple computers, Remote
> Desktop and the configuration of the computers at home.
>
> My other boss often can't open his email and has a problem with the SPAM
> rule that I wrote for him (i.e. if the subject has the word spam send to
> trash) never working automatically which it does on every other computer on
> which I made a SPAM rule.
>
> Thank you very much for your help,
> Elin
>
> "Kirrin Jones" wrote:
>
> > Hi Elin,
> >
> > I'm not sure the number of items in your mailbox is much of an issue. I
> > currently have 21,000+ in mine and my mailbox is fine. It is currently
> > just 96MB. On the flip side I have a user who has just 5,000+ items in
> > their mailbox and the size of the mailbox is 425MB.
> >
> > Maybe its the size that is the problem and not the total items involved.
> > This can be an even bigger problem if you are using .pst/.ost files as
> > your main storage area.
> >
> > If you're not using .pst/.ost, then something is not right with
> > communication between your Exchange server and clients. What exactly are
> > the problems they are having?
> >
> >
> > ElinatCGC wrote:
> > > Both of my directors have huge email inboxes - one has about 19,000 and the
> > > other over 23,000 messages. They do have occasional random problems with
> > > their email and it's hard for me to believe that the giant inboxes aren't a
> > > part of the problem.
> > >
> > > However, searching the web I wasn't able to find much to indicate that this
> > > is a problem at this point in time. I found one website from 2005 suggesting
> > > that Inboxes should be kept to 3000-5000 messages.
> > >
> > > Does anybody have any thoughts on this? I know it will be a lot of work for
> > > them to sort the Inboxes so I want to have something more than a feeling to
> > > go on.
> > >
> > > Thanks,
> > > Elin
> > >
> > >
> >

Elin, if you delete a .pst file then you are deleting all the e-mails
that's contained within. BE CAREFUL!!

As Jayson says, there is a limit on the size of a .pst file. I recommend
that you close Outlook and rename the most current .pst file and have
Outlook create another one, then just use the File | Open menu to open
the renamed .pst file as another folder so that your boss will still be
able to access is older e-mails.

..pst files have some DON'Ts that MS recommends. You should try not to
place a .pst file on a network drive as there are performance issues
that can cause problems. Only one Outlook session can access a .pst file
at one time. Accessing .pst remotely for use is a no no and comes under
the first don't.

HTH

ElinatCGC wrote:
> My one boss has 1.14GB in her PST file. I also found three old PST files on
> her computer which seems like a problem waiting to happen - so I'm deleting
> those.
>
> But if number of messages isn't usually an issue, the issues probably have
> more to do with trying to access the same files on multiple computers, Remote
> Desktop and the configuration of the computers at home.
>
> My other boss often can't open his email and has a problem with the SPAM
> rule that I wrote for him (i.e. if the subject has the word spam send to
> trash) never working automatically which it does on every other computer on
> which I made a SPAM rule.
>
> Thank you very much for your help,
> Elin
>
> "Kirrin Jones" wrote:
>
>> Hi Elin,
>>
>> I'm not sure the number of items in your mailbox is much of an issue. I
>> currently have 21,000+ in mine and my mailbox is fine. It is currently
>> just 96MB. On the flip side I have a user who has just 5,000+ items in
>> their mailbox and the size of the mailbox is 425MB.
>>
>> Maybe its the size that is the problem and not the total items involved.
>> This can be an even bigger problem if you are using .pst/.ost files as
>> your main storage area.
>>
>> If you're not using .pst/.ost, then something is not right with
>> communication between your Exchange server and clients. What exactly are
>> the problems they are having?
>>
>>
>> ElinatCGC wrote:
>>> Both of my directors have huge email inboxes - one has about 19,000 and the
>>> other over 23,000 messages. They do have occasional random problems with
>>> their email and it's hard for me to believe that the giant inboxes aren't a
>>> part of the problem.
>>>
>>> However, searching the web I wasn't able to find much to indicate that this
>>> is a problem at this point in time. I found one website from 2005 suggesting
>>> that Inboxes should be kept to 3000-5000 messages.
>>>
>>> Does anybody have any thoughts on this? I know it will be a lot of work for
>>> them to sort the Inboxes so I want to have something more than a feeling to
>>> go on.
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> Elin
>>>
>>>

This is only true for psts created in Outlook 2002 and older format. Outlook
2003 and 2007 support much larger - 20 GB is the default size but they can
be allowed to grow to 3TB.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]
Author, Teach Yourself Outlook 2003 in 24 Hours
Need Help with Common Tasks? http://www.outlook-tips.net/beginner/
Outlook 2007: http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/ol2007/

Outlook Tips by email:
dailytips-subscribe-(E-Mail Removed)

Outlook Tips: http://www.outlook-tips.net/
Outlook & Exchange Solutions Center: http://www.slipstick.com
Subscribe to Exchange Messaging Outlook newsletter:
EMO-NEWSLETTER-SUBSCRIBE-(E-Mail Removed)


"Jayson" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:F58072E6-E2D5-4838-AA19-(E-Mail Removed)...
> If your pst is stored locally, there is a limit of 2GB of mail before it
> starts to crash or not open at all. I usually tell our users here to
> archive
> 1 years' worth of mail. This will create another pst file usually called
> Archive.pst. This way, the user can still see the emails but it will be in
> a
> folder called Archive.
>
> "ElinatCGC" wrote:
>
>> My one boss has 1.14GB in her PST file. I also found three old PST files
>> on
>> her computer which seems like a problem waiting to happen - so I'm
>> deleting
>> those.
>>
>> But if number of messages isn't usually an issue, the issues probably
>> have
>> more to do with trying to access the same files on multiple computers,
>> Remote
>> Desktop and the configuration of the computers at home.
>>
>> My other boss often can't open his email and has a problem with the SPAM
>> rule that I wrote for him (i.e. if the subject has the word spam send to
>> trash) never working automatically which it does on every other computer
>> on
>> which I made a SPAM rule.
>>
>> Thank you very much for your help,
>> Elin
>>
>> "Kirrin Jones" wrote:
>>
>> > Hi Elin,
>> >
>> > I'm not sure the number of items in your mailbox is much of an issue. I
>> > currently have 21,000+ in mine and my mailbox is fine. It is currently
>> > just 96MB. On the flip side I have a user who has just 5,000+ items in
>> > their mailbox and the size of the mailbox is 425MB.
>> >
>> > Maybe its the size that is the problem and not the total items
>> > involved.
>> > This can be an even bigger problem if you are using .pst/.ost files as
>> > your main storage area.
>> >
>> > If you're not using .pst/.ost, then something is not right with
>> > communication between your Exchange server and clients. What exactly
>> > are
>> > the problems they are having?
>> >
>> >
>> > ElinatCGC wrote:
>> > > Both of my directors have huge email inboxes - one has about 19,000
>> > > and the
>> > > other over 23,000 messages. They do have occasional random problems
>> > > with
>> > > their email and it's hard for me to believe that the giant inboxes
>> > > aren't a
>> > > part of the problem.
>> > >
>> > > However, searching the web I wasn't able to find much to indicate
>> > > that this
>> > > is a problem at this point in time. I found one website from 2005
>> > > suggesting
>> > > that Inboxes should be kept to 3000-5000 messages.
>> > >
>> > > Does anybody have any thoughts on this? I know it will be a lot of
>> > > work for
>> > > them to sort the Inboxes so I want to have something more than a
>> > > feeling to
>> > > go on.
>> > >
>> > > Thanks,
>> > > Elin
>> > >
>> > >
>> >

what are the random problems?

The best reason for limiting the size of an inbox is management - it's
easier for most people if the inbox isn't so big. Depending on which version
of Outlook created the pst, you can have from approx 16000 to 65000 to
unlimited items in any folder.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]
Author, Teach Yourself Outlook 2003 in 24 Hours
Need Help with Common Tasks? http://www.outlook-tips.net/beginner/
Outlook 2007: http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/ol2007/

Outlook Tips by email:
dailytips-subscribe-(E-Mail Removed)

Outlook Tips: http://www.outlook-tips.net/
Outlook & Exchange Solutions Center: http://www.slipstick.com
Subscribe to Exchange Messaging Outlook newsletter:
EMO-NEWSLETTER-SUBSCRIBE-(E-Mail Removed)


"ElinatCGC" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:F895A710-2AEE-4536-8A0B-(E-Mail Removed)...
> Both of my directors have huge email inboxes - one has about 19,000 and
> the
> other over 23,000 messages. They do have occasional random problems with
> their email and it's hard for me to believe that the giant inboxes aren't
> a
> part of the problem.
>
> However, searching the web I wasn't able to find much to indicate that
> this
> is a problem at this point in time. I found one website from 2005
> suggesting
> that Inboxes should be kept to 3000-5000 messages.
>
> Does anybody have any thoughts on this? I know it will be a lot of work
> for
> them to sort the Inboxes so I want to have something more than a feeling
> to
> go on.
>
> Thanks,
> Elin
>
>