Installed Outlook 2007 - all my emails/Contacts are gone!

[Jimmy]

Just installed Office 2007 (PC with Win XP, Office XP)
On opening Outlook now, all my emails and contacts have disappeared.
Help!

 

[Roady [MVP]]

Reconnect your pst-file by File-> Open-> Outlook Data File...
Otherwise, post a lot more details about your configuration.

 

[Jimmy]

Hi Roady, and thanks.

The installation seems to have removed my pst file completely. There is a
new blank one generated now, but no old outlook.pst anywhere on my PC.

Installed Office 2007 Enterprise edition, onto a PC running Windows XP and
Office XP professional.

Jim

 

[Brian Tillman]

The installation seems to have removed my pst file completely. There
is a new blank one generated now, but no old outlook.pst anywhere on
my PC.

Open Windows Explorer and enter

%UserProfile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook

in the Address bar and click Go. I'll wager the old PST is there. It's a
normally hidden folder.

 

[Jimmy]

Nope.. it's not in there.

Open Windows Explorer and enter

%UserProfile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook

in the Address bar and click Go. I'll wager the old PST is there. It's a
normally hidden folder.

 

[DL]

An OL installation cannot delete a data file, only user intervention can do
that.
Search, to include hidden for *.pst

 

[Jimmy]

Well unfortunately, that appears to be incorrect.
My Contacts appear to have been permanently deleted by installation of 2007..

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Never happens. There is end user error involved here, and there is more to
your story.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Well unfortunately, that appears to be incorrect.
My Contacts appear to have been permanently deleted by installation of
2007..

 

[Sam]

Just installed Office 2007 (PC with Win XP, Office XP)
On opening Outlook now, all my emails and contacts have disappeared.
Help!

Just do a START-SEARCH-Files and Folders and search for *.pst. You'll find
it.

 

[Sam]

Open Windows Explorer and enter

%UserProfile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook

in the Address bar and click Go. I'll wager the old PST is there. It's a
normally hidden folder.

Leave out the LOCAL SETTINGS part of that address and you might find it
(like on my machine) running Office 2003.

Sam

 

[Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]]

However, the instructions were for Outlook 2007.

--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact.

After furious head scratching, Sam asked:

| ||
||| The installation seems to have removed my pst file completely. There
||| is a new blank one generated now, but no old outlook.pst anywhere on
||| my PC.
||
|| Open Windows Explorer and enter
||
|| %UserProfile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
||
|| in the Address bar and click Go. I'll wager the old PST is there.
|| It's a normally hidden folder.
|| --
|| Brian Tillman [MVP-Outlook]
|
| Leave out the LOCAL SETTINGS part of that address and you might find
| it (like on my machine) running Office 2003.
|
| Sam

 

[Brian Tillman]

Leave out the LOCAL SETTINGS part of that address and you might find
it (like on my machine) running Office 2003.

Well, the original poster Jimmy said he's using Windows XP. The default
location where Outlook creates the PST is where I said it is. If you have
yours in the %AppData% path, then your location is not the default location.
Outlook doesn't care where a PST file resides so it's perfectly fine for you
to have it there, but it creates them in the folder I said. For Windows
Vista the default location is %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Outlook

 

[Jimmy]

There is no "end user error".
I had Office XP. I had Contacts. I put in the Office 2007 disc, clicked Yes
to Install. Opened Outlook 2007... No Contacts.

Never happens. There is end user error involved here, and there is more to
your story.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Well unfortunately, that appears to be incorrect.
My Contacts appear to have been permanently deleted by installation of
2007..

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Expected outcome. Your previous data file is still there. Your error is that
you haven't been able to follow the directions posted here to find it.
Upgrade installations always create a new empty PST file, but they never
remove your old one.
Error number 2 is that you did not bother to take note of your data file's
location or backup your data file. You never upgrade an application without
backing up your data.
A proper search will find your data file.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

There is no "end user error".
I had Office XP. I had Contacts. I put in the Office 2007 disc, clicked
Yes
to Install. Opened Outlook 2007... No Contacts.

Never happens. There is end user error involved here, and there is more
to
your story.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Well unfortunately, that appears to be incorrect.
My Contacts appear to have been permanently deleted by installation of
2007..


:

An OL installation cannot delete a data file, only user intervention
can
do
that.
Search, to include hidden for *.pst

Nope.. it's not in there.



:


The installation seems to have removed my pst file completely.
There
is a new blank one generated now, but no old outlook.pst anywhere
on
my PC.

Open Windows Explorer and enter

%UserProfile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook

in the Address bar and click Go. I'll wager the old PST is there.
It's
a
normally hidden folder.

 

[Jimmy]

1. I have followed all instructions here, and other help websites I have
posted on, and not found my Contacts anywhere.
2. If an installation of software is going to delete my data, perhaps it
should come with a warning? Nowhere in the installation did it suggest making
a backup of anything. I didn't have to backup my Word documents, so why
should I backup my Outlook data?

We're not all technical experts, so perhaps your tone could be a little less
condescending.

Expected outcome. Your previous data file is still there. Your error is that
you haven't been able to follow the directions posted here to find it.
Upgrade installations always create a new empty PST file, but they never
remove your old one.
Error number 2 is that you did not bother to take note of your data file's
location or backup your data file. You never upgrade an application without
backing up your data.
A proper search will find your data file.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

There is no "end user error".
I had Office XP. I had Contacts. I put in the Office 2007 disc, clicked
Yes
to Install. Opened Outlook 2007... No Contacts.

Never happens. There is end user error involved here, and there is more
to
your story.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
Well unfortunately, that appears to be incorrect.
My Contacts appear to have been permanently deleted by installation of
2007..


:

An OL installation cannot delete a data file, only user intervention
can
do
that.
Search, to include hidden for *.pst

Nope.. it's not in there.



:


The installation seems to have removed my pst file completely.
There
is a new blank one generated now, but no old outlook.pst anywhere
on
my PC.

Open Windows Explorer and enter

%UserProfile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook

in the Address bar and click Go. I'll wager the old PST is there.
It's
a
normally hidden folder.

 

[Brian Tillman]

1. I have followed all instructions here, and other help websites I
have posted on, and not found my Contacts anywhere.
2. If an installation of software is going to delete my data, perhaps
it should come with a warning?

Installing Outlook doesn't delete the data.

Nowhere in the installation did it
suggest making a backup of anything. I didn't have to backup my Word
documents, so why should I backup my Outlook data?

If you don't back up your Word data, you're just as foolish as you are for
not backing up your Outlook data. You should always make periodic copies of
anything you find of value. That copy should be on a medium that can be
disconnected from the PC if need be, like a CD disk or DVD disk that you
burn or on a flash drive or a second hard drive. Hardware, if nothing else,
fails on occasion.

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

No one needs instructions to tell them to backup their data. That is the
first and most basic thing anyone learns when they learn to use a computer.
Again, installing Outlook did not delete your data. We have no idea why you
can't find it since we have no idea what you tried. The necessary
instructions have been posted. You are not following them correctly. You'll
have to provide more information for anyone to be able to help further.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

1. I have followed all instructions here, and other help websites I have
posted on, and not found my Contacts anywhere.
2. If an installation of software is going to delete my data, perhaps it
should come with a warning? Nowhere in the installation did it suggest
making
a backup of anything. I didn't have to backup my Word documents, so why
should I backup my Outlook data?

We're not all technical experts, so perhaps your tone could be a little
less
condescending.

Expected outcome. Your previous data file is still there. Your error is
that
you haven't been able to follow the directions posted here to find it.
Upgrade installations always create a new empty PST file, but they never
remove your old one.
Error number 2 is that you did not bother to take note of your data
file's
location or backup your data file. You never upgrade an application
without
backing up your data.
A proper search will find your data file.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

There is no "end user error".
I had Office XP. I had Contacts. I put in the Office 2007 disc, clicked
Yes
to Install. Opened Outlook 2007... No Contacts.



:

Never happens. There is end user error involved here, and there is
more
to
your story.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
Well unfortunately, that appears to be incorrect.
My Contacts appear to have been permanently deleted by installation
of
2007..


:

An OL installation cannot delete a data file, only user
intervention
can
do
that.
Search, to include hidden for *.pst

Nope.. it's not in there.



:


The installation seems to have removed my pst file completely.
There
is a new blank one generated now, but no old outlook.pst
anywhere
on
my PC.

Open Windows Explorer and enter

%UserProfile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook

in the Address bar and click Go. I'll wager the old PST is
there.
It's
a
normally hidden folder.

 

[Jimmy]

Are you actually reading my replies?

I have followed every suggestion given, to no avail. Please don't just tell
me I'm not following the instructions properly.

If installing Outlook didn't delete my data, then please tell me where it is?

As for backing up my data, until I had this problem, I didn't even know
about .pst files. Sorry.. Microsoft didn't mention that I should know about
files it puts in Hidden folders, and back them up before installing other
Microsoft programs.

It seems when people run out of ideas to help me, rather than admit defeat,
they just insult me.

"Most Valued Professionals"? No evidence of it so far.

Thanks and Cheerio.

No one needs instructions to tell them to backup their data. That is the
first and most basic thing anyone learns when they learn to use a computer.
Again, installing Outlook did not delete your data. We have no idea why you
can't find it since we have no idea what you tried. The necessary
instructions have been posted. You are not following them correctly. You'll
have to provide more information for anyone to be able to help further.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

1. I have followed all instructions here, and other help websites I have
posted on, and not found my Contacts anywhere.
2. If an installation of software is going to delete my data, perhaps it
should come with a warning? Nowhere in the installation did it suggest
making
a backup of anything. I didn't have to backup my Word documents, so why
should I backup my Outlook data?

We're not all technical experts, so perhaps your tone could be a little
less
condescending.

Expected outcome. Your previous data file is still there. Your error is
that
you haven't been able to follow the directions posted here to find it.
Upgrade installations always create a new empty PST file, but they never
remove your old one.
Error number 2 is that you did not bother to take note of your data
file's
location or backup your data file. You never upgrade an application
without
backing up your data.
A proper search will find your data file.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

There is no "end user error".
I had Office XP. I had Contacts. I put in the Office 2007 disc, clicked
Yes
to Install. Opened Outlook 2007... No Contacts.



:

Never happens. There is end user error involved here, and there is
more
to
your story.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
Well unfortunately, that appears to be incorrect.
My Contacts appear to have been permanently deleted by installation
of
2007..


:

An OL installation cannot delete a data file, only user
intervention
can
do
that.
Search, to include hidden for *.pst

Nope.. it's not in there.



:


The installation seems to have removed my pst file completely.
There
is a new blank one generated now, but no old outlook.pst
anywhere
on
my PC.

Open Windows Explorer and enter

%UserProfile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook

in the Address bar and click Go. I'll wager the old PST is
there.
It's
a
normally hidden folder.

 

[Brian Tillman]

It seems when people run out of ideas to help me, rather than admit
defeat, they just insult me.

No one has insulted you. No one called you names or used pejorative
statements. People have, however, asked you to describe EXACTLY what you've
done so that they can get an idea of how to advise you further. Stating
"I've tried all the suggestions" doesn't tell us what _you_ clicked and
exactly what happened when you did.

 

[John Sherman]

try .dbx extension. This is what Outlook Express uses