Changing Destination of "backup.pst" Changes File Size !

[admiral_victory]

I have XP Pro SP2 installed on my laptop with MS Outlook2003.

I only use Outlook as a Contacts list and , until today , this data
was saved as the file "backup.pst" in the path ;-
C:\D&S\User Name\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft \Outlook
and was 3241KB in size.

As I now wish to keep all data out of the C;\ drive I have now saved
this file to the E;\ drive and the file now has the path :-

E:\Outlook\backup.pst.

To my surprise this file is now only 1735 KB in size !

No Outlook contact data has been added or removed .

Can anyone explain this discrepancy ?

B.N.

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Perhaps, if you provided some information. You provided none.
We have no idea how you are creating this "backup" file. You should probably
mention at least that much, don't you think?

 

[admiral_victory]

Perhaps, if you provided some information. You provided none.
We have no idea how you are creating this "backup" file. You should probably
mention at least that much, don't you think?

Apologies for wasting your time with insufficient details.

Here is what I did exactly:-

My Outlook 2003 is installed in the path C;\Program Files\MS
Office\Office11\Outlook .exe

I have set this up so that , on clicking on Outlook.exe , Outlook
opens with the Contacts Folder displayed ( this is the only use I have
with Outlook)

To backup my contacts details I click FILE>IMPORT & EXPORTthus
launching the IMPORT & EXPORT Wizard.

In "Choose an Action to Perform" I choose "Export to a File" then
click "NEXT"

When this asks "Create a file type" , I choose "Personal Folder
File(.pst)

When "Select a Folder to Export From " appears , I choose "CONTACTS"
then select "NEXT"

This gives "Save Exported File As" with the path ;-

"C;\D&S\User Name\App Data\MS\Outlook\backup.pst " suggested.

I originally accepted this path and the resulting file "backup.pst "
is 3241KB in size.

However , since I now want to remove all data from the C;\ Partition
to the E;\ Partition , I created a folder "OUTLOOK" which has the path
"E;\OUTLOOK"

Now , when I repeat the backup operation detailed above I change the
destination of the created "backup.pst" file to
"E:\OUTLOOK\backup.pst"

The size of this "backup.pst" file is 1753 KB .

There has been no intervening deletions or additions to my Contacts
Folder data.

Why this difference ?

B.N.

 

[admiral_victory]

Perhaps, if you provided some information. You provided none.
We have no idea how you are creating this "backup" file. You should probably
mention at least that much, don't you think?

Apologies for wasting your time with insufficient details.

Here is what I did exactly:-

My Outlook 2003 is installed in the path C;\Program Files\MS
Office\Office11\Outlook .exe

I have set this up so that , on clicking on Outlook.exe , Outlook
opens with the Contacts Folder displayed ( this is the only use I have
with Outlook)

To backup my contacts details I click FILE>IMPORT & EXPORTthus
launching the IMPORT & EXPORT Wizard.

In "Choose an Action to Perform" I choose "Export to a File" then
click "NEXT"

When this asks "Create a file type" , I choose "Personal Folder
File(.pst)

When "Select a Folder to Export From " appears , I choose "CONTACTS"
then select "NEXT"

This gives "Save Exported File As" with the path ;-

"C;\D&S\User Name\App Data\MS\Outlook\backup.pst " suggested.

I originally accepted this path and the resulting file "backup.pst "
is 3241KB in size.

However , since I now want to remove all data from the C;\ Partition
to the E;\ Partition , I created a folder "OUTLOOK" which has the path
"E;\OUTLOOK"

Now , when I repeat the backup operation detailed above I change the
destination of the created "backup.pst" file to
"E:\OUTLOOK\backup.pst"

The size of this "backup.pst" file is 1753 KB .

There has been no intervening deletions or additions to my Contacts
Folder data.

Why this difference ?

B.N.

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

In no way is this a method for creating a valid backup. It is a method for
changing, losing or perhaps even corrupting your data. I would expect very
inconsistent results using this process, which you only now seem to be
discovering.
You back up your data file by creating a copy of it in Windows Explorer when
Outlook is closed.