Can't import a .pst file

[Guest]

Hello all,

I backed up my mail folders from Outlook 2003 to a backup.pst file. When I try
to import them on a machine at work which also has
Outlook 2003, I get a message: The C:\backup.pst is not a personal
folders file

Does anybody know what is wrong ? I tried backing up using both compressed
encryption and no encryption but I always get the same message.

Please let me know if you know how to solve this or at least
if you know what's wrong.

Thanks,
D.

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Why are you importing a PST file? PST is Outlook's native file format.
Just open it.
If you can't open it, then you'll have to provide the information we'd need
to know how you created and corrupted the file, including whether you placed
it on storage medium.

 

[Guest]

I tried opening the file as well and I get the same message.

I do not think I corrupted the file. I experienced that problem
awhile ago when I planned to format my machine, so I made a backup
of my emails by using export. What I did was export "personal folders"
and clicked on include subfolders option. I saved the .pst file on a CD, but
when I formatted the machine and tried to import/open the file to retrieve my
emails, I got the previously mentioned message: "the file is not a personal
folders file". I also tried to fix the file by using scanpst but the program
didn't
recognize the file either. So, finally I gave up with the thought that
probably
something happend and the file got irreversebly corrupted...

Now, today I wanted to transfer my emails from my laptop to my machine
in the office and THE SAME THING HAPPENED. I tried turning of the encryption
and it didn't work either. Just 5 minutes ago, I tried copying the pst fle
that
the outlook uses as mail delivery location... and that worked. I could
import that file smoothly on my machine in the office.

However I still want to know what is wrong with the file if one exports it ?
If I can figure it out, I will be able to retrieve all those email that I
lost due to formatting the mashine.

Please let me know what information exactly you need...

Thanks a lot in advance,
D.

Why are you importing a PST file? PST is Outlook's native file format.
Just open it.
If you can't open it, then you'll have to provide the information we'd need
to know how you created and corrupted the file, including whether you placed
it on storage medium.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Hello all,

I backed up my mail folders from Outlook 2003 to a backup.pst file. When I
try
to import them on a machine at work which also has
Outlook 2003, I get a message: The C:\backup.pst is not a personal
folders file

Does anybody know what is wrong ? I tried backing up using both compressed
encryption and no encryption but I always get the same message.

Please let me know if you know how to solve this or at least
if you know what's wrong.

Thanks,
D.

 

[Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]]

Outlook cannot use a file on a read-only CD. Copy the file to your hard
drive to the location of your choice, but do not overwrite your current .pst
file. REmove the read-only check mark from its properties and using
Outlook's File->Open->Outlook Data File, browse to where you copied your
..pst file and open it.

--
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, jazzy79 asked:

| I tried opening the file as well and I get the same message.
|
| I do not think I corrupted the file. I experienced that problem
| awhile ago when I planned to format my machine, so I made a backup
| of my emails by using export. What I did was export "personal folders"
| and clicked on include subfolders option. I saved the .pst file on a
| CD, but when I formatted the machine and tried to import/open the
| file to retrieve my emails, I got the previously mentioned message:
| "the file is not a personal folders file". I also tried to fix the
| file by using scanpst but the program didn't
| recognize the file either. So, finally I gave up with the thought that
| probably
| something happend and the file got irreversebly corrupted...
|
| Now, today I wanted to transfer my emails from my laptop to my machine
| in the office and THE SAME THING HAPPENED. I tried turning of the
| encryption and it didn't work either. Just 5 minutes ago, I tried
| copying the pst fle that
| the outlook uses as mail delivery location... and that worked. I could
| import that file smoothly on my machine in the office.
|
| However I still want to know what is wrong with the file if one
| exports it ? If I can figure it out, I will be able to retrieve all
| those email that I lost due to formatting the mashine.
|
| Please let me know what information exactly you need...
|
| Thanks a lot in advance,
| D.
|
| "Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]" wrote:
|
|| Why are you importing a PST file? PST is Outlook's native file
|| format.
|| Just open it.
|| If you can't open it, then you'll have to provide the information
|| we'd need to know how you created and corrupted the file, including
|| whether you placed it on storage medium.
|| --
|| Russ Valentine
|| [MVP-Outlook]
|| ||| Hello all,
|||
||| I backed up my mail folders from Outlook 2003 to a backup.pst file.
||| When I try
||| to import them on a machine at work which also has
||| Outlook 2003, I get a message: The C:\backup.pst is not a personal
||| folders file
|||
||| Does anybody know what is wrong ? I tried backing up using both
||| compressed encryption and no encryption but I always get the same
||| message.
|||
||| Please let me know if you know how to solve this or at least
||| if you know what's wrong.
|||
||| Thanks,
||| D.

 

[Guest]

I have always copied the file from CD to the hard drive. That is
not it. If you try importing the file from a disk
you get a different error message.

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

You aren't paying attention to us.
Again: Exporting and Importing are NOT the correct way to transfer Outlook
Data. They are, however, a very good way to corrupt your data, which you
seem to have done.
If the read only attribute has been removed from this PST file and you still
can't open it, then try repairing it with the Inbox Repair Tool. If you
still can't open it after that, then I hope you have backed up your data.

 

[Guest]

I'm sorry for the confussion but I am doing my best
to pay all the attention I can...

On the microsoft pages:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA011030811033.aspx

they officialy say that customers should use the import/export wizard to
back-up email. A lot of other sources on the web will tell you
the same thing. And that's what I did. Also, I did the same thing when I was
using Outlook 2000 and 2002 and it worked perfectly.

You claim that one should not do that. What does the export wizard then
do in Outlook 2003? Just corrupt your data and make it useless ?

I think there must be a better answer to this. I have seen multiple people
reporting the same problem:

http://www.experts-exchange.com/Applications/MS_Office/Outlook/Q_21371655.html
http://www.windowsitpro.com/articles/index.cfm?articleid=24017&cpage=15

and no good explanations...

Even if one tries to "open" the pst file instead of importing it, one gets
the same message: the file is not a personal folders file.
One person thought it might be due to the fact that the option "compressed
encryption" was turned on, but I tried it without the encryption and it
didn't work either.

D.

You aren't paying attention to us.
Again: Exporting and Importing are NOT the correct way to transfer Outlook
Data. They are, however, a very good way to corrupt your data, which you
seem to have done.
If the read only attribute has been removed from this PST file and you still
can't open it, then try repairing it with the Inbox Repair Tool. If you
still can't open it after that, then I hope you have backed up your data.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

I have always copied the file from CD to the hard drive. That is
not it. If you try importing the file from a disk
you get a different error message.

 

[Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]]

Importing is for converting a non-Outlook native file type (.csv, .txt,
etc.) to a format that Outlook can understand.

--
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, jazzy79 asked:

| I'm sorry for the confussion but I am doing my best
| to pay all the attention I can...
|
| On the microsoft pages:
|
| http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA011030811033.aspx
|
| they officialy say that customers should use the import/export wizard
| to back-up email. A lot of other sources on the web will tell you
| the same thing. And that's what I did. Also, I did the same thing
| when I was using Outlook 2000 and 2002 and it worked perfectly.
|
| You claim that one should not do that. What does the export wizard
| then
| do in Outlook 2003? Just corrupt your data and make it useless ?
|
| I think there must be a better answer to this. I have seen multiple
| people reporting the same problem:
|
|
http://www.experts-exchange.com/Applications/MS_Office/Outlook/Q_21371655.html
| http://www.windowsitpro.com/articles/index.cfm?articleid=24017&cpage=15
|
| and no good explanations...
|
| Even if one tries to "open" the pst file instead of importing it, one
| gets the same message: the file is not a personal folders file.
| One person thought it might be due to the fact that the option
| "compressed encryption" was turned on, but I tried it without the
| encryption and it didn't work either.
|
| D.
|
| "Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]" wrote:
|
|| You aren't paying attention to us.
|| Again: Exporting and Importing are NOT the correct way to transfer
|| Outlook Data. They are, however, a very good way to corrupt your
|| data, which you seem to have done.
|| If the read only attribute has been removed from this PST file and
|| you still can't open it, then try repairing it with the Inbox Repair
|| Tool. If you still can't open it after that, then I hope you have
|| backed up your data. --
|| Russ Valentine
|| [MVP-Outlook]
|| ||| I have always copied the file from CD to the hard drive. That is
||| not it. If you try importing the file from a disk
||| you get a different error message.

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Explanations abound. Do a cursory search of this group and you will see the
many reasons why importing and exporting are not the correct way to transfer
data from one installation of Outlook to another. For starters, exporting
from your PST file loses:
1. Custom Forms
2. Custom Views
3. Connections between contacts and activities
4. Received dates on mail
5. Birthdays and anniversaries in calendar
6. Journal connections
7. Distribution Lists

Moreover, many users make mistakes when exporting and importing and lose
data that way or put it in the wrong location. Finally, when you export to a
PST file, Outlook retains a connection to that file. If you copy that file
before closing Outlook completely, you will corrupt it. You cannot make that
same mistake with your default PST file or a PST file you create with the
File > New command because you will not be able to copy it until Outlook
closes completely and severs its connection to those files.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

I'm sorry for the confussion but I am doing my best
to pay all the attention I can...

On the microsoft pages:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA011030811033.aspx

they officialy say that customers should use the import/export wizard to
back-up email. A lot of other sources on the web will tell you
the same thing. And that's what I did. Also, I did the same thing when I
was
using Outlook 2000 and 2002 and it worked perfectly.

You claim that one should not do that. What does the export wizard then
do in Outlook 2003? Just corrupt your data and make it useless ?

I think there must be a better answer to this. I have seen multiple people
reporting the same problem:

http://www.experts-exchange.com/Applications/MS_Office/Outlook/Q_21371655.html
http://www.windowsitpro.com/articles/index.cfm?articleid=24017&cpage=15

and no good explanations...

Even if one tries to "open" the pst file instead of importing it, one gets
the same message: the file is not a personal folders file.
One person thought it might be due to the fact that the option "compressed
encryption" was turned on, but I tried it without the encryption and it
didn't work either.

D.

You aren't paying attention to us.
Again: Exporting and Importing are NOT the correct way to transfer
Outlook
Data. They are, however, a very good way to corrupt your data, which you
seem to have done.
If the read only attribute has been removed from this PST file and you
still
can't open it, then try repairing it with the Inbox Repair Tool. If you
still can't open it after that, then I hope you have backed up your data.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

I have always copied the file from CD to the hard drive. That is
not it. If you try importing the file from a disk
you get a different error message.

 

[Guest]

Thank you guys for taking the time and answering the questions.
I appreciate it.

One final question, if you claim that import/export is not the right way
to transfer/backup email, can you please tell me what is the
right way to do it? Or how do you guys do that ?

Thanks,
D.

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

That's what I anwsered in my first post.
Just copy the PST file (using Windows Explorer) and open it in another
installation of Outlook (File > Open...).
Or if you want to reuse the entire file, just configure Outlook to use it as
its default:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA010771141033.aspx