Can't get rid of rogue PST file in Folder List

  • Thread starter Thread starter CJSnet
  • Start date Start date
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CJSnet

Hi, I have Outlook XP SP1 and latest updates.

After a recent reinstall of WinXP I now have 2 PST files listed. One is my
normal one, and the other is pointing at a file that doesn't exist. I get
the error when I click on it: "Unable to display the folder. Microsoft
Outlook could not access the specified folder location. The path specified
for the file ... is not valid."

I can't right-click to delete it. If I try to create a PST where it is
hoping to find one, it won't open it anyway. I've removed all references
(there were 2) to that PST from registry. What else can I do?
 
Create a new mail profile via the control panel (don't copy the existing
one) and delete the old one.
 
And lose all my settings, e-mail accounts, rules... yah, I don't think so.
There must be an easier way.
 
Okay, I've created a blank profile that points to where it cannot find one.
It now opens that, but when I try to right-click and delete, it now says "An
object could not be found". What the...! What do I do now?
 
not to sound like a smart @ss, but i don't understand creating a blank
profile that points to where it can't find one. (it makes me want to say,
why not create a new user profile on the machine and just recreate your
settings. however, i will let you know that you cannot delete your existing
mail profile and create it with the same display name. hence my suggestion
of create a new mail profile (don't copy the old) and delete the old one to
beat some oddities in caching.)
 
I've been struggling with this same problem for a few months, and
finally got it to work yesterday. What I had to do was:

1. I moved the rogue PST out of the directory in which Outlook
was finding it.

2. I used "regedit" and found a couple of keys in
"HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows
NT\CurrentVersion\Windows Messaging Subsystem\Profiles\outlook"
that referenced the original rogue PST. I exported these just in case
my next step screwed something up.

3. I deleted the two keys (mentioned in step 2) from the registry.

Upon opening Outlook, the rogue PST was no longer there. I
then (fearfully) opened the formerly-rogue PST from its new
location just to see if it once again was a problem. I was able to
close it without error. Of course, this morning, I notice the old
problem of a closed PST showing up twice in the folder list. This
time, however, both of them closed without problem.

NOTE - YOUR MILAGE MAY VARY. I'M BY NO MEANS
FAMILIAR ENOUGH WITH EDITING THE REGISTRY TO
BE ABLE TO PREDICT WHAT CHANGING IT WILL DO TO
THE STABILITY OF YOUR SYSTEM.

Good luck in solving the problem. HTH
 
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