Compacting PST folder

[Soapy]

I am using Office 2007 with Vista.

I compact my pst file every week after emptying my deleted folder. The exact
size of my pst is 713,114,624.

I have been doing this for YEARS. For some reason, as of two weeks ago, I
can no longer compact.

The process gets stuck in never never land, and then a message says Not
Responding.

I have not made any changes, additions, removals, etc to my system.

Anyone have any suggestions? thanks!

 

[Gordon]

I am using Office 2007 with Vista.

I compact my pst file every week after emptying my deleted folder. The
exact
size of my pst is 713,114,624.

I have been doing this for YEARS. For some reason, as of two weeks ago, I
can no longer compact.

The process gets stuck in never never land, and then a message says Not
Responding.

I have not made any changes, additions, removals, etc to my system.

Anyone have any suggestions? thanks!

You don't actually need to manually compact anymore. (Not sure whether it's
a function of the new Unicode format pst or whether it's a function of
Outlook 2007). Whatever, Outlook should compact automatically so you don't
need to do it at all.

 

[Soapy]

Hi Gordon:
That kind of doesn't make sense, as I have been using Vista and Office 2007
since the day it came out. I have been compacting all that time. This problem
just started two weeks ago.

If you say is true and we no longer have to manually compact (which I don't
like) where can I see the process that it HAS been compacted?

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

If you say is true and we no longer have to manually compact (which I don't
like) where can I see the process that it HAS been compacted?

Outlook, as far as I recall, has always automatically compacted based on
percentage of white space (i.e., allocated but unused) in the PST. What
puzzles me is why you think you need to compact. A PST containing white space
is more efficent and less of a drain on system resources (except for disk
space) than a compacted PST. If you have white space in the PST, Outlook can
simply add data to the PST without involving the file system. Asking the file
system to allocate more space because the PST isn't large enough to hold what
is being added is an "expensive" operation. It involves the file system and
the CPU as well. Allocating new space on disk is one of the slowest
operations a computer is asked to perform. Stop compacting the PST.

 

[Soapy]

Brian:
Every article re outlook PSt files suggest compacting, especially after
deleting multiple files, emails, etc.

I delete a jillion emails each month. Each time I compact I get rid of that
space that was taken up by those old files.

I want to continue compacting. I would like to know why all of a sudden it
no longer works.

Look at the following from MS. If we weren't supposed to be doing this, they
wouldn't have offered it, especially for multiple versions of outlook.

How to Manually Start PST Compaction
1. On the File menu, click Data File Management.
2. Click the personal folders (.pst) files that you want to compact, and
then click Settings.
Note For Windows Vista, the default path of .pst files is
drive:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook.
3. Click Compact Now, click OK, and then click Close.
APPLIES TO
• Microsoft Office Outlook 2007
• Microsoft Office Outlook 2003

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

Every article re outlook PSt files suggest compacting, especially after
deleting multiple files, emails, etc.

EVERY article? I think not.

I delete a jillion emails each month. Each time I compact I get rid of that
space that was taken up by those old files.

So? Disk space is cheap. Let Outlook decide when to compact and it will run
more efficiently than if you release the white space often.

I want to continue compacting. I would like to know why all of a sudden it
no longer works.

You haven't given proof that it no longer works. You've given proof that it
didn't work this time, but not that it never works. From things I read, I
gather Outlook sometimes doesn't release the white space unless the white
space is a significant fraction of the total PST space.

Look at the following from MS. If we weren't supposed to be doing this, they
wouldn't have offered it, especially for multiple versions of outlook.

That describes a how to do it manually (and is really the same method I
desacribed, just arrive at by a different route) but doesn't constitute a
recommendation to do so frequently.

 

[Soapy]

I think I must be missing something. Did you recommend a process to manually
compact the PST, or are you saying, allow it to happen by itself?

You said that Outlook IS being compacted by itself.
1. Where is this happening?
2. How can I see the compact results?
3. I want to do this myself, Is there a way?

This should not have anything to do with how much drive space costs; this
has to do with how I like to manage my file system.

I don't understand your attitude. Shouldn't we be trying to figure out why
this is not working, and not arguing about whether you agree with me about
the process?

The manual process worked up until two weeks ago and nothing has been
changed on my system, unless MS updates have caused this problem.

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

I think I must be missing something. Did you recommend a process to manually
compact the PST, or are you saying, allow it to happen by itself?

I'm saying that you should allow it to happen by itself.

You said that Outlook IS being compacted by itself.
1. Where is this happening?

In the background when Outlook isn't otherwise busy and the white space in the
PST exceeds the percentage needed to trigger the compaction.

2. How can I see the compact results?

Periodically (every couple of weeks to a month or so) check the size of the
PST. It should descrease on occasion.

3. I want to do this myself, Is there a way?

You already know how.

This should not have anything to do with how much drive space costs; this
has to do with how I like to manage my file system.

No it has to do with allowing the computer to do what it does best and you
doing what you do best instead of trying to second guess Outlook's algorithms.
You're deluding yourself if you think constant manual compaction is efficient
or beneficial.

I don't understand your attitude. Shouldn't we be trying to figure out why
this is not working, and not arguing about whether you agree with me about
the process?

Do you micromanage everything in your life? That has a name:
"obsessive-compulsive disorder".

The manual process worked up until two weeks ago and nothing has been
changed on my system, unless MS updates have caused this problem.

You still haven't offered proof that it's no longer working. Compaction won't
occur, even if you run the process manually, if the white space is below a
specific trigger limit. Try this experiment: create a new PST and move half
of all the items in your original PST to the new PST. Now try manually
compacting the old PST. Does it shrink?