I recently switched from office xp to office 2003, and restored from a
backup. I've gotten some warnings and suggestions that I have an old-format
pst file and that I should use a new one instead.

Can someone give me / point me to step-by-step instructions on how to get
all my email, contacts, accounts, rules etc into the new file and have that
be my default pst?

GoBobbyGo <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> I recently switched from office xp to office 2003, and restored from a
> backup. I've gotten some warnings and suggestions that I have an
> old-format pst file and that I should use a new one instead.
>
> Can someone give me / point me to step-by-step instructions on how to
> get all my email, contacts, accounts, rules etc into the new file and
> have that be my default pst?

Before you start, export your rules to an RWZ file. I don't know that
you'll need it, but it doesn't hurt. Your accounts aren't in the old PST,
so if you have them set up, they'll still be there when you're finished with
what I describe next.

WIth Outlook closed, click Start>Control Panel. Click the User Accounts
category and run the Mail applet. Click the Data Files button and click
Add. Click OK. Browse to the folder where you want the PST to reside (or
accpt the default). Give the PST a file name (or accept the default) and
click OK. In the "Create Microsoft Personal Folders" dialogue, give the PST
a display name (in the Name field) or accept the default. (I'd choose
something other than "Personal Folders".) Click OK. You'll now be back at
the "Outlook Data Files" dialogue. Click Close. You'll now be back at the
Mail applet. Click E-mail Accounts>View or change existing e-mail
accounts>Next. In the "Deliver new e-mail to the following location"
drop-down at the lower left, select the PST you just added. Click Finish.
Close the Mail applet.

Start Outlook. It will open with a completely empty set of dfefault
folders. Click the "Folder List" button at the bottom of the Navigation
Pane. You'll see your old folders there as well as the new default folders.
For each old folder that is NOT a default folder (i.e., it is a folder you
created yourself at the same level as the default folders, not a subfolder),
right-click the folder and drag it to the ROOT of the new folder set and
release the button. Choose Copy. Continue until all non-default folders
are copied.

For each old default folder (i.e., the ones that Outlook created itself),
open the folder and select all of the items in it with Ctrl-A. Right-click
and drag the selection to the corresponding new default folder and release
the button. Choose Copy. For the calendar, you will need to switch to a
table view like By Category before Ctrl-A will work in that folder.

When you have copied the contents of all the old default folders,
right-click the root of the old PST (probably named "Personal Folders") and
choose Close. This will remove it from the Folder List. The next time you
stop Outlook, you can move the original PST to some off-line storage medium
like a CD, if you wish, for safe-keeping or simply delete it.
--
Brian Tillman [MVP-Outlook]