Can't delete items or move items in Outlook 2002

[Garret Swayne]

When I try to delete an item in Outlook 2002, I get an error message that
says:

"The messaging interface has returned an unkown error. If the problem
persists, restart Outlook."

I also get that message if I try to move an opened email to a different
folder using the Move To Folder command under the File menu.
And if I close the email and simply try to click and drag it to a different
folder, I get:

"Can't move item"

Can anyone please tell me how to fix these problems? I'm running Windows XP
Pro.
Could it be that my .pst file is too large? My outlook.pst file is over
1.9GB in size and my archive.pst file is about 1.5GB. Is there some sort of
upper size limit?

Garret Swayne
(garret at garretswayne dot com)

 

[Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]]

Yes, your .pst file is way too large. See this page for a tool to reduce
its size:
http://www.slipstick.com/problems/repair2gbpst.htm

--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact. All
unsolicited mail sent to my personal account will be deleted without
reading.


After furious head scratching, Garret Swayne asked:

| When I try to delete an item in Outlook 2002, I get an error message
| that says:
|
| "The messaging interface has returned an unkown error. If the
| problem persists, restart Outlook."
|
| I also get that message if I try to move an opened email to a
| different folder using the Move To Folder command under the File menu.
| And if I close the email and simply try to click and drag it to a
| different folder, I get:
|
| "Can't move item"
|
| Can anyone please tell me how to fix these problems? I'm running
| Windows XP Pro.
| Could it be that my .pst file is too large? My outlook.pst file is
| over
| 1.9GB in size and my archive.pst file is about 1.5GB. Is there some
| sort of upper size limit?
|
| Garret Swayne
| (garret at garretswayne dot com)

 

[Garret Swayne]

Thank you Milly for your reply. I read the info at the link you sent. It
was very helpful.
I'm interested in preserving all my email correspondence from the past 10
years or so and then beyond that. What can I do if I prune the
non-essential items from the file and then compact the file, and it still
approaches 2GB in size? Would it be possible to just "retire" that file,
renamed, say, as outlook_1996-2005.pst, and start a new outlook.pst file?
That way, if I had to retrieve some old email, I could just use the
File>Open>Outlook Data FIle command to open that older PST file. It might
be awkward, but that would work, right?

-Garret



"Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]"