Help Please: Missing emails need to be restored....How To....Thanks

[Flygirl]

Hello,

Prior to working on a friends computer, I backed up her pst file. She
had on huge attachment that was trying to send, and consequently
slowing down her whole system. I just deleted that email and presto,
her machine was back to norml. I was praised.

About a day or two later, she called me to tell me some of her email
had vanished. Everything else was functional, but many of her emails
(sent, etc.) were gone. I told her I would come by and use the backup
of her pst file to restore the missing emails.

Does anybody have a step by step, idiot's guide to restoring some of
the emails from a backed up pst? I'm really serious about the idiot
comment. I'm an old Eudora girl....

Thank you and Happy Holidays to everybody,

Flygirl

 

[Brian Tillman]

Prior to working on a friends computer, I backed up her pst file. She
had on huge attachment that was trying to send, and consequently
slowing down her whole system. I just deleted that email and presto,
her machine was back to norml. I was praised.

Deleting a large message that won't deliver shouldn't require backing up the
PST. You click File>Work Offline, stop and restart Outlook, open Outbox,
and delete the message. Then you click File, uncheck Work Offline, stop and
restart Outlook and you're back to normal without disturbing anything.

What else did you do that required backing up the PST and how did you
perform the backup?

Does anybody have a step by step, idiot's guide to restoring some of
the emails from a backed up pst? I'm really serious about the idiot
comment. I'm an old Eudora girl....

1) Start Outlook
2) Click File>Open>Outlook Data File
3) Browse to the backup PST
4) Select it and click OK. You'll now have access to all the data it
contains and you can move or copy items in it to the main PST.
5) Select a folder in the backup that you believe contains missing messages
(like Sent Items)
6) Select the missing item and click Edit>Copy to Folder
7) Specify the default folder where you want the missing item to go and
click OK.
8) When you're all done restoring items, right-click the root of the backup
PST and choose Close.

 

[Flygirl]

Deleting a large message that won't deliver shouldn't require backing up the
PST. You click File>Work Offline, stop and restart Outlook, open Outbox,
and delete the message. Then you click File, uncheck Work Offline, stop and
restart Outlook and you're back to normal without disturbing anything.

I did exactly what you suggested to delete the offending emial.

What else did you do that required backing up the PST and how did you
perform the backup?

Nothing. I just make it a habit of ghosting the entire hard drive
prior to working on it. At the time, I didn't know what was causing
the PC to run slow. It's just a habit I have. After the backup, I
saw what was running in the task monitor which directed me to Outlook.

1) Start Outlook
2) Click File>Open>Outlook Data File
3) Browse to the backup PST
4) Select it and click OK. You'll now have access to all the data it
contains and you can move or copy items in it to the main PST.
5) Select a folder in the backup that you believe contains missing messages
(like Sent Items)
6) Select the missing item and click Edit>Copy to Folder
7) Specify the default folder where you want the missing item to go and
click OK.
8) When you're all done restoring items, right-click the root of the backup
PST and choose Close.

I don't think I could have asked for a better instruction list. Thank
you for taking time to help. Have a great holiday season!!!

 

[Brian Tillman]

I did exactly what you suggested to delete the offending emial.

If you did nothing else, then there's nothing you did to remove anything
from the PST that your friend is using. In fact, Outlook should be using
EXACTLY the same PST it was using before you deleted the stuck message. If
things are missing, it's VERY likely that she did it.

I just make it a habit of ghosting the entire hard drive prior to working
on it.

Did you close all applications, especially Outlook, when you made the ghost
copy? If so, then the missing data _should_ be in the backup.

 

[Flygirl]

If you did nothing else, then there's nothing you did to remove anything
from the PST that your friend is using. In fact, Outlook should be using
EXACTLY the same PST it was using before you deleted the stuck message. If
things are missing, it's VERY likely that she did it.

Did you close all applications, especially Outlook, when you made the ghost
copy? If so, then the missing data _should_ be in the backup.

I agree that in all probability, she did something to eliminate the
missing emails, but since she is a dear friend, I can't go there.

Yes, whenever I ghost a drive, all running applications are closed.

I loaded her pst on my PC, and called her to verify some of the "lost"
emails. She verified that they were missing on her PC.

I'm going over tomorrow to restore them per your instructions. I'm
confident it will all go well.

Thank you