How do I recover lost Outlook 2003 data

[Guest]

My trial Office 2003 software recently ran out and shortly after all the
folders with e-mails, contacts data and calendar data have completely gone.
I have searched the entire hard drive for .pst files and it finds nothing
except an old archive file and previous back-up files.

 

[Roady [MVP]]

Meaning Outlook starts with an error that it can't find the pst-file? Did
you include hidden files/folders in your search as well? If so; restore from
backup. The trial edition doesn't delete your pst-file, not even when you
uninstall it.

 

[Guest]

My trial Office 2003 software recently ran out and shortly after all the
folders with e-mails, contacts data and calendar data have completely gone.
I have searched the entire hard drive for .pst files and it finds nothing
except an old archive file and previous back-up files.

"JLS" notes:
My personal folders, contacts, and addresses in "Outlook" vanished
yesterday. I had bought Microsoft Office 2003 software in October when I
bought a Sony Vaio laptop . The apparent cause was the attempt to remove a
dial-up account via Outlook email accounts , following the installation of a
broadband service. I too would like to get back my data. In addition I find
that the System Restore facility does not restore the system. I suspect that
this is the fault of Windows XP and Sony. Have you tried "system restore",
Puddleduck? It might work for you.
"JLS"

 

[Roady [MVP]]

Removing an account doesn't delete any data. What type of account did you
remove?
System Restore only affects configurations and installation files. It
doesn't affect data files like pst-file and doc-files. Use backup nd restore
for that.

--
Robert Sparnaaij [MVP-Outlook]
Coauthor, Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003


-----

 

[Guest]

"JLS" replies:
Thank you "Puddleduck" and "Roady [MVP]". Searching for '.pst' and including
'hidden files' has produced six files. They cannot be opened. Can anyone
tell me how I can find out what is in them and if appropriate transfer these
files back to my Outlook program?
"JLS"

Removing an account doesn't delete any data. What type of account did you
remove?
System Restore only affects configurations and installation files. It
doesn't affect data files like pst-file and doc-files. Use backup nd restore
for that.

--
Robert Sparnaaij [MVP-Outlook]
Coauthor, Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003


-----

"JLS" notes:
My personal folders, contacts, and addresses in "Outlook" vanished
yesterday. I had bought Microsoft Office 2003 software in October when I
bought a Sony Vaio laptop . The apparent cause was the attempt to remove
a
dial-up account via Outlook email accounts , following the installation of
a
broadband service. I too would like to get back my data. In addition I
find
that the System Restore facility does not restore the system. I suspect
that
this is the fault of Windows XP and Sony. Have you tried "system
restore",
Puddleduck? It might work for you.
"JLS"

 

[Guest]

I have searched for hidden files with no results, but not tried backup.
Excuse my ignorance but does Outlook automatically backup and how do you
restore?

Thanks

"JLS" replies:
Thank you "Puddleduck" and "Roady [MVP]". Searching for '.pst' and including
'hidden files' has produced six files. They cannot be opened. Can anyone
tell me how I can find out what is in them and if appropriate transfer these
files back to my Outlook program?
"JLS"

Removing an account doesn't delete any data. What type of account did you
remove?
System Restore only affects configurations and installation files. It
doesn't affect data files like pst-file and doc-files. Use backup nd restore
for that.

--
Robert Sparnaaij [MVP-Outlook]
Coauthor, Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003
http://www.howto-outlook.com/
Outlook FAQ, HowTo, Downloads, Add-Ins and more

-----

:

My trial Office 2003 software recently ran out and shortly after all the
folders with e-mails, contacts data and calendar data have completely
gone.
I have searched the entire hard drive for .pst files and it finds nothing
except an old archive file and previous back-up files.

"JLS" notes:
My personal folders, contacts, and addresses in "Outlook" vanished
yesterday. I had bought Microsoft Office 2003 software in October when I
bought a Sony Vaio laptop . The apparent cause was the attempt to remove
a
dial-up account via Outlook email accounts , following the installation of
a
broadband service. I too would like to get back my data. In addition I
find
that the System Restore facility does not restore the system. I suspect
that
this is the fault of Windows XP and Sony. Have you tried "system
restore",
Puddleduck? It might work for you.
"JLS"

 

[Brian Tillman]

I have searched for hidden files with no results,

Control Panel>Folder Options>View>Show hidden files and folders.

but not tried
backup. Excuse my ignorance but does Outlook automatically backup and
how do you restore?

Outlook does not create backup automatically. That's your job. See this:
http://www.howto-outlook.com/howto/backupandrestore.htm

 

[Guest]

from "JLS"

Removing an account doesn't delete any data. What type of account did you
remove?
System Restore only affects configurations and installation files. It
doesn't affect data files like pst-file and doc-files. Use backup nd restore
for that.

From "SLJ"
Agreed. Two problems remain nevertheless:
1. I still hope to recover lost data from the .pst hidden files. I do not
know if there was back-up because I paid a professional to install and
configure the Office package.
2. If removing an account [a dial-up account made redundant by a broadband
account] did NOT destabilize my system, what did? Yes, I had been invaded by
some downloads such as explorer 7, and Adobe 7, and I had made adjustments to
text size. Must I now suppose that the same thing can happen again at any
time? Like "puddleduck" am I unfamiliar with setting up a back-up system.

In short Outlook and Office 2003 are proving nerve-wracking, time-consuming,
and expensive!.
"JLS"

--
Robert Sparnaaij [MVP-Outlook]
Coauthor, Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003


-----

"JLS" notes:
My personal folders, contacts, and addresses in "Outlook" vanished
yesterday. I had bought Microsoft Office 2003 software in October when I
bought a Sony Vaio laptop . The apparent cause was the attempt to remove
a
dial-up account via Outlook email accounts , following the installation of
a
broadband service. I too would like to get back my data. In addition I
find
that the System Restore facility does not restore the system. I suspect
that
this is the fault of Windows XP and Sony. Have you tried "system
restore",
Puddleduck? It might work for you.
"JLS"

 

[Roady [MVP]]

It's hard to tell what you did from here. You can try using OutlookTools
(free) to locate your pst-file if you kept them in the default location;
http://www.howto-outlook.com/products/outlooktools.htm

As for more information on backing up and restoring Outlook information see;
http://www.howto-outlook.com/howto/backupandrestore.htm

--
Robert Sparnaaij [MVP-Outlook]
Coauthor, Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003


-----

from "JLS"

Removing an account doesn't delete any data. What type of account did you
remove?
System Restore only affects configurations and installation files. It
doesn't affect data files like pst-file and doc-files. Use backup nd
restore
for that.

From "SLJ"
Agreed. Two problems remain nevertheless:
1. I still hope to recover lost data from the .pst hidden files. I do not
know if there was back-up because I paid a professional to install and
configure the Office package.
2. If removing an account [a dial-up account made redundant by a broadband
account] did NOT destabilize my system, what did? Yes, I had been invaded
by
some downloads such as explorer 7, and Adobe 7, and I had made adjustments
to
text size. Must I now suppose that the same thing can happen again at any
time? Like "puddleduck" am I unfamiliar with setting up a back-up system.

In short Outlook and Office 2003 are proving nerve-wracking,
time-consuming,
and expensive!.
"JLS"

--
Robert Sparnaaij [MVP-Outlook]
Coauthor, Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003


-----

:

My trial Office 2003 software recently ran out and shortly after all
the
folders with e-mails, contacts data and calendar data have completely
gone.
I have searched the entire hard drive for .pst files and it finds
nothing
except an old archive file and previous back-up files.

"JLS" notes:
My personal folders, contacts, and addresses in "Outlook" vanished
yesterday. I had bought Microsoft Office 2003 software in October when
I
bought a Sony Vaio laptop . The apparent cause was the attempt to
remove
a
dial-up account via Outlook email accounts , following the installation
of
a
broadband service. I too would like to get back my data. In addition I
find
that the System Restore facility does not restore the system. I suspect
that
this is the fault of Windows XP and Sony. Have you tried "system
restore",
Puddleduck? It might work for you.
"JLS"