How to copy address book in Outlook 2003

[Joe]

I posted this below, under Michael-S' 1/24/2008 query, but haven't received
any reply. It's probably best that I open my own thread.

I copied the .pst file from my old computer onto my new one, but the
CONTACTS folder is not the one I had on the old computer, and the "address
book" (the one whose icon looks like an open book) is empty. I'm trying to
recover the feature where I can type a partial address and Outlook offers
selections that contain that partial.

Here is what I have done since my last post un der Michael-S' 1/24/2009
query.

- Uninstalled Office 2003 via Control Panel
- Deleted folder: C:\Users\{me}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook
- Rebooted
- Reinstalled Office 2003, using the default folder: Program
Files(x86)\Microsoft Office
- Allowed WebUpdate to search for updates; it did not locate updates that
had been found previously.
- I clicked on "Check for Updates," and now it reported and installed 3
important updates: SP3 for Outlook 2003, Junk Mail Filter (with a KBxxxx
number following), and one other.
- Looked at Update History, which shows many other updates for Office 2003
and Office 2007 (!!! ?)
- Started Outlook. A message appeared:
C:\Users\{Me}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\Outlook.pst not found. Only
option provided was "OK"
- Outlook created a new .outlook.pst file, and then downloaded my email (I
don't know how it knew where to look, since I had not provided any account
information during this install!!!)
- Upon closing, received message that Outlook had stopped working, but it
closed anyway.
- Plugged in an external hard drive (the HD from my old PC) and copied
G:\Users\{Me}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\Outlook.pst over, replacing
C:\Users\{Me}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\Outlook.pst
- Copied folder: G:\Users\{Me}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\Accounts\ to
C:\Users\{Me}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\Accounts\
- Update message from System Tray notified me that updates necessitated
Restart, so I Restarted.
- My screen went blank (external display) and stayed black. After 10
minutes, I manually shut it off and restarted.
- Started Outlook and got a message that "data file 'Personal Folder' was
not closed properly." After it spent a few minutes checking it out, my old
mail (from former PC) appeared in the inbox, but at the point of "preparing
to send/receive," Outlook stopped responding. I waited for about 5 minutes
and Outlook began to respond again. It downloaded a few new messages.
- Clicked Address Book icon, but only got an input screen.
- Opened Contacts folder, and it was filled with Contacts. I noticed that
this is an OLD contacts folder, which I had exported from a work PC I had 2
years ago (in comma-Delimited format) and which I had installed on my "old"
PC (the one I am currently replacing).

Before this last attempt, I had tried so many things (through hours of
frustration, that I am not completely sure what all I did. (I know, I should
have kept notes-I know better). I think that along the way, in my attempts
to get the address book working properly, I probably imported the
comma-delimited contacts file from 2 years ago.

I think that what I really need to do is completely scrub everything from my
PC that applies to Outlook/Office. Is it possible that the old contacts
file is residing in the registry? (???) Are there other places (I'm sure
there are) where elements of Outlook are hiding? Is there a list of what I
have to delete to completely remove all vestiges of the prior installs? Is
the old contacts file preventing Outlook from finding the contacts that are
in my newer Outlook.pst file?

Thanks.

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

There are several things you need to understand:
1. There is no separate Contacts Folder in Outlook. Contacts are stored with
all your other Outlook data in the PST File.
2. There is no address book in Outlook. It is simply a view of the
electronic addresses in your Contacts Folder.
3. Autocompletion has nothing whatsoever to do with your Contacts. It uses a
cache of names from messages you sent and you have not populated that cache
yet.
Now that you understand how Outlook works, what are you questions?
If you did indeed copy your old PST file, just open it in Outlook. All your
Contacts will be there unless you copied the wrong file.

 

[Joe]

Man, after more than 10 years of using Outlook and at least 5 years of using
Outlook 2003, I am really learning a lot over the past few days! I really
had no idea of the distinctions between Contacts and Address Book. But I
think I understand the concepts now, and I think I can explain my
problems...

2 years ago, I exported my contacts info from a computer I used at work,
took it home and imported the data. Not knowing that the address book
didn't "really" exist, I used it (the file that opened when you click the
open-book icon on the standard menu bar) to delete the people I didn't need
to keep, to add new people, and to update email addresses, physical
addresses, phone numbers, etc. Are all those edits are now lost forever,
insofar as moving to anew PC is concerned?

Even if that "address book" information is lost, I also have a problem with
how Outlook is functioning. Before I understood the .pst file, I tried to
import Contacts from the old .csv file. Of course that file is obsolete.
But it is the one that appears in my new install of Outlook. When I click
the open-book icon, I get a blank window for entering addresses--it does not
discover my contacts.

I found the .NK2 file and transferred it over, so I now have the
autocomplete functionality working. But if there is any way at all to
capture the address information I had on my old PC (I have the disk drive
form the old PC connected and accessible through a USB connect), I really
want to do that. Also, if I can recover that information, if there is a way
I can convert it to become my contacts, that would be perfect.

There are several things you need to understand:
1. There is no separate Contacts Folder in Outlook. Contacts are stored
with all your other Outlook data in the PST File.
2. There is no address book in Outlook. It is simply a view of the
electronic addresses in your Contacts Folder.
3. Autocompletion has nothing whatsoever to do with your Contacts. It uses
a cache of names from messages you sent and you have not populated that
cache yet.
Now that you understand how Outlook works, what are you questions?
If you did indeed copy your old PST file, just open it in Outlook. All
your Contacts will be there unless you copied the wrong file.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

I posted this below, under Michael-S' 1/24/2008 query, but haven't
received any reply. It's probably best that I open my own thread.

I copied the .pst file from my old computer onto my new one, but the
CONTACTS folder is not the one I had on the old computer, and the
"address book" (the one whose icon looks like an open book) is empty.
I'm trying to recover the feature where I can type a partial address and
Outlook offers selections that contain that partial.

Here is what I have done since my last post un der Michael-S' 1/24/2009
query.

- Uninstalled Office 2003 via Control Panel
- Deleted folder: C:\Users\{me}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook
- Rebooted
- Reinstalled Office 2003, using the default folder: Program
Files(x86)\Microsoft Office
- Allowed WebUpdate to search for updates; it did not locate updates that
had been found previously.
- I clicked on "Check for Updates," and now it reported and installed 3
important updates: SP3 for Outlook 2003, Junk Mail Filter (with a KBxxxx
number following), and one other.
- Looked at Update History, which shows many other updates for Office
2003
and Office 2007 (!!! ?)
- Started Outlook. A message appeared:
C:\Users\{Me}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\Outlook.pst not found.
Only
option provided was "OK"
- Outlook created a new .outlook.pst file, and then downloaded my email
(I
don't know how it knew where to look, since I had not provided any
account
information during this install!!!)
- Upon closing, received message that Outlook had stopped working, but it
closed anyway.
- Plugged in an external hard drive (the HD from my old PC) and copied
G:\Users\{Me}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\Outlook.pst over, replacing
C:\Users\{Me}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\Outlook.pst
- Copied folder: G:\Users\{Me}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\Accounts\
to
C:\Users\{Me}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\Accounts\
- Update message from System Tray notified me that updates necessitated
Restart, so I Restarted.
- My screen went blank (external display) and stayed black. After 10
minutes, I manually shut it off and restarted.
- Started Outlook and got a message that "data file 'Personal Folder' was
not closed properly." After it spent a few minutes checking it out, my
old
mail (from former PC) appeared in the inbox, but at the point of
"preparing
to send/receive," Outlook stopped responding. I waited for about 5
minutes
and Outlook began to respond again. It downloaded a few new messages.
- Clicked Address Book icon, but only got an input screen.
- Opened Contacts folder, and it was filled with Contacts. I noticed
that
this is an OLD contacts folder, which I had exported from a work PC I had
2
years ago (in comma-Delimited format) and which I had installed on my
"old"
PC (the one I am currently replacing).

Before this last attempt, I had tried so many things (through hours of
frustration, that I am not completely sure what all I did. (I know, I
should
have kept notes-I know better). I think that along the way, in my
attempts
to get the address book working properly, I probably imported the
comma-delimited contacts file from 2 years ago.

I think that what I really need to do is completely scrub everything from
my
PC that applies to Outlook/Office. Is it possible that the old contacts
file is residing in the registry? (???) Are there other places (I'm sure
there are) where elements of Outlook are hiding? Is there a list of what
I
have to delete to completely remove all vestiges of the prior installs?
Is
the old contacts file preventing Outlook from finding the contacts that
are
in my newer Outlook.pst file?

Thanks.

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

You have created a maze no one could navigate. Anytime you export and import
Outlook data you create unpredictable changes in your Outlook data. Never
use that method to transfer Outlook data. Anytime you try to manipulate your
Contacts data through the address book view, you create unpredictable
changes in the data.
Your post still doesn't make sense. If you copied your previous PST file,
all of your Contact data would be there when you opened that file in
Outlook. Explain why it wasn't and why you felt you needed to import an
obsolete CSV file.
It also appears as if you neglected to configure the Outlook Address Book in
this new profile. Do so now:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;287563&Product=ol2002
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Man, after more than 10 years of using Outlook and at least 5 years of
using Outlook 2003, I am really learning a lot over the past few days! I
really had no idea of the distinctions between Contacts and Address Book.
But I think I understand the concepts now, and I think I can explain my
problems...

2 years ago, I exported my contacts info from a computer I used at work,
took it home and imported the data. Not knowing that the address book
didn't "really" exist, I used it (the file that opened when you click the
open-book icon on the standard menu bar) to delete the people I didn't
need to keep, to add new people, and to update email addresses, physical
addresses, phone numbers, etc. Are all those edits are now lost forever,
insofar as moving to anew PC is concerned?

Even if that "address book" information is lost, I also have a problem
with how Outlook is functioning. Before I understood the .pst file, I
tried to import Contacts from the old .csv file. Of course that file is
obsolete. But it is the one that appears in my new install of Outlook.
When I click the open-book icon, I get a blank window for entering
addresses--it does not discover my contacts.

I found the .NK2 file and transferred it over, so I now have the
autocomplete functionality working. But if there is any way at all to
capture the address information I had on my old PC (I have the disk drive
form the old PC connected and accessible through a USB connect), I really
want to do that. Also, if I can recover that information, if there is a
way I can convert it to become my contacts, that would be perfect.

There are several things you need to understand:
1. There is no separate Contacts Folder in Outlook. Contacts are stored
with all your other Outlook data in the PST File.
2. There is no address book in Outlook. It is simply a view of the
electronic addresses in your Contacts Folder.
3. Autocompletion has nothing whatsoever to do with your Contacts. It
uses a cache of names from messages you sent and you have not populated
that cache yet.
Now that you understand how Outlook works, what are you questions?
If you did indeed copy your old PST file, just open it in Outlook. All
your Contacts will be there unless you copied the wrong file.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

I posted this below, under Michael-S' 1/24/2008 query, but haven't
received any reply. It's probably best that I open my own thread.

I copied the .pst file from my old computer onto my new one, but the
CONTACTS folder is not the one I had on the old computer, and the
"address book" (the one whose icon looks like an open book) is empty.
I'm trying to recover the feature where I can type a partial address and
Outlook offers selections that contain that partial.

Here is what I have done since my last post un der Michael-S' 1/24/2009
query.

- Uninstalled Office 2003 via Control Panel
- Deleted folder: C:\Users\{me}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook
- Rebooted
- Reinstalled Office 2003, using the default folder: Program
Files(x86)\Microsoft Office
- Allowed WebUpdate to search for updates; it did not locate updates
that
had been found previously.
- I clicked on "Check for Updates," and now it reported and installed 3
important updates: SP3 for Outlook 2003, Junk Mail Filter (with a KBxxxx
number following), and one other.
- Looked at Update History, which shows many other updates for Office
2003
and Office 2007 (!!! ?)
- Started Outlook. A message appeared:
C:\Users\{Me}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\Outlook.pst not found.
Only
option provided was "OK"
- Outlook created a new .outlook.pst file, and then downloaded my email
(I
don't know how it knew where to look, since I had not provided any
account
information during this install!!!)
- Upon closing, received message that Outlook had stopped working, but
it
closed anyway.
- Plugged in an external hard drive (the HD from my old PC) and copied
G:\Users\{Me}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\Outlook.pst over,
replacing
C:\Users\{Me}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\Outlook.pst
- Copied folder: G:\Users\{Me}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\Accounts\
to
C:\Users\{Me}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\Accounts\
- Update message from System Tray notified me that updates necessitated
Restart, so I Restarted.
- My screen went blank (external display) and stayed black. After 10
minutes, I manually shut it off and restarted.
- Started Outlook and got a message that "data file 'Personal Folder'
was
not closed properly." After it spent a few minutes checking it out, my
old
mail (from former PC) appeared in the inbox, but at the point of
"preparing
to send/receive," Outlook stopped responding. I waited for about 5
minutes
and Outlook began to respond again. It downloaded a few new messages.
- Clicked Address Book icon, but only got an input screen.
- Opened Contacts folder, and it was filled with Contacts. I noticed
that
this is an OLD contacts folder, which I had exported from a work PC I
had 2
years ago (in comma-Delimited format) and which I had installed on my
"old"
PC (the one I am currently replacing).

Before this last attempt, I had tried so many things (through hours of
frustration, that I am not completely sure what all I did. (I know, I
should
have kept notes-I know better). I think that along the way, in my
attempts
to get the address book working properly, I probably imported the
comma-delimited contacts file from 2 years ago.

I think that what I really need to do is completely scrub everything
from my
PC that applies to Outlook/Office. Is it possible that the old contacts
file is residing in the registry? (???) Are there other places (I'm
sure
there are) where elements of Outlook are hiding? Is there a list of
what I
have to delete to completely remove all vestiges of the prior installs?
Is
the old contacts file preventing Outlook from finding the contacts that
are
in my newer Outlook.pst file?

Thanks.

 

[Joe]

I was able to resolve the problem! I uninstalled (once again!) and
reinstalled Office 2003.
This time, when it asked about the .pst file, I chose the one on the
external drive (salvaged from my old PC), and the correct contacts came up.
I still did not have anything when I clicked the open-book icon (i.e.,
address book). I noticed a drop-down menu I hadn't noticed before--"Show
Names From"--which was set to "Outlook Address Book." When I explored that,
there was an entry for "Contacts." Clicking that did the trick.

Now, I've got my fingers crossed, hoping that the other mucking about that I
did has not set me up for another failure down the road.

But for now, everything seems to be working as expected.

Thanks, Russ!

PS: FWIW, I noticed that if I open the "address book" and double-click an
entry, it opens the Contacts entry for that item. So editing the way I was
doing it was actually editing in Contacts after all.

You have created a maze no one could navigate. Anytime you export and
import Outlook data you create unpredictable changes in your Outlook data.
Never use that method to transfer Outlook data. Anytime you try to
manipulate your Contacts data through the address book view, you create
unpredictable changes in the data.
Your post still doesn't make sense. If you copied your previous PST file,
all of your Contact data would be there when you opened that file in
Outlook. Explain why it wasn't and why you felt you needed to import an
obsolete CSV file.
It also appears as if you neglected to configure the Outlook Address Book
in this new profile. Do so now:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;287563&Product=ol2002
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Man, after more than 10 years of using Outlook and at least 5 years of
using Outlook 2003, I am really learning a lot over the past few days! I
really had no idea of the distinctions between Contacts and Address Book.
But I think I understand the concepts now, and I think I can explain my
problems...

2 years ago, I exported my contacts info from a computer I used at work,
took it home and imported the data. Not knowing that the address book
didn't "really" exist, I used it (the file that opened when you click the
open-book icon on the standard menu bar) to delete the people I didn't
need to keep, to add new people, and to update email addresses, physical
addresses, phone numbers, etc. Are all those edits are now lost forever,
insofar as moving to anew PC is concerned?

Even if that "address book" information is lost, I also have a problem
with how Outlook is functioning. Before I understood the .pst file, I
tried to import Contacts from the old .csv file. Of course that file is
obsolete. But it is the one that appears in my new install of Outlook.
When I click the open-book icon, I get a blank window for entering
addresses--it does not discover my contacts.

I found the .NK2 file and transferred it over, so I now have the
autocomplete functionality working. But if there is any way at all to
capture the address information I had on my old PC (I have the disk drive
form the old PC connected and accessible through a USB connect), I really
want to do that. Also, if I can recover that information, if there is a
way I can convert it to become my contacts, that would be perfect.

There are several things you need to understand:
1. There is no separate Contacts Folder in Outlook. Contacts are stored
with all your other Outlook data in the PST File.
2. There is no address book in Outlook. It is simply a view of the
electronic addresses in your Contacts Folder.
3. Autocompletion has nothing whatsoever to do with your Contacts. It
uses a cache of names from messages you sent and you have not populated
that cache yet.
Now that you understand how Outlook works, what are you questions?
If you did indeed copy your old PST file, just open it in Outlook. All
your Contacts will be there unless you copied the wrong file.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
I posted this below, under Michael-S' 1/24/2008 query, but haven't
received any reply. It's probably best that I open my own thread.

I copied the .pst file from my old computer onto my new one, but the
CONTACTS folder is not the one I had on the old computer, and the
"address book" (the one whose icon looks like an open book) is empty.
I'm trying to recover the feature where I can type a partial address
and Outlook offers selections that contain that partial.

Here is what I have done since my last post un der Michael-S' 1/24/2009
query.

- Uninstalled Office 2003 via Control Panel
- Deleted folder: C:\Users\{me}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook
- Rebooted
- Reinstalled Office 2003, using the default folder: Program
Files(x86)\Microsoft Office
- Allowed WebUpdate to search for updates; it did not locate updates
that
had been found previously.
- I clicked on "Check for Updates," and now it reported and installed 3
important updates: SP3 for Outlook 2003, Junk Mail Filter (with a
KBxxxx
number following), and one other.
- Looked at Update History, which shows many other updates for Office
2003
and Office 2007 (!!! ?)
- Started Outlook. A message appeared:
C:\Users\{Me}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\Outlook.pst not found.
Only
option provided was "OK"
- Outlook created a new .outlook.pst file, and then downloaded my email
(I
don't know how it knew where to look, since I had not provided any
account
information during this install!!!)
- Upon closing, received message that Outlook had stopped working, but
it
closed anyway.
- Plugged in an external hard drive (the HD from my old PC) and copied
G:\Users\{Me}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\Outlook.pst over,
replacing
C:\Users\{Me}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\Outlook.pst
- Copied folder:
G:\Users\{Me}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\Accounts\ to
C:\Users\{Me}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\Accounts\
- Update message from System Tray notified me that updates necessitated
Restart, so I Restarted.
- My screen went blank (external display) and stayed black. After 10
minutes, I manually shut it off and restarted.
- Started Outlook and got a message that "data file 'Personal Folder'
was
not closed properly." After it spent a few minutes checking it out, my
old
mail (from former PC) appeared in the inbox, but at the point of
"preparing
to send/receive," Outlook stopped responding. I waited for about 5
minutes
and Outlook began to respond again. It downloaded a few new messages.
- Clicked Address Book icon, but only got an input screen.
- Opened Contacts folder, and it was filled with Contacts. I noticed
that
this is an OLD contacts folder, which I had exported from a work PC I
had 2
years ago (in comma-Delimited format) and which I had installed on my
"old"
PC (the one I am currently replacing).

Before this last attempt, I had tried so many things (through hours of
frustration, that I am not completely sure what all I did. (I know, I
should
have kept notes-I know better). I think that along the way, in my
attempts
to get the address book working properly, I probably imported the
comma-delimited contacts file from 2 years ago.

I think that what I really need to do is completely scrub everything
from my
PC that applies to Outlook/Office. Is it possible that the old
contacts
file is residing in the registry? (???) Are there other places (I'm
sure
there are) where elements of Outlook are hiding? Is there a list of
what I
have to delete to completely remove all vestiges of the prior installs?
Is
the old contacts file preventing Outlook from finding the contacts that
are
in my newer Outlook.pst file?

Thanks.

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Still, you never manipulate Contact data through the address book interface.
You never know what it will do.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

I was able to resolve the problem! I uninstalled (once again!) and
reinstalled Office 2003.
This time, when it asked about the .pst file, I chose the one on the
external drive (salvaged from my old PC), and the correct contacts came
up. I still did not have anything when I clicked the open-book icon (i.e.,
address book). I noticed a drop-down menu I hadn't noticed before--"Show
Names From"--which was set to "Outlook Address Book." When I explored
that, there was an entry for "Contacts." Clicking that did the trick.

Now, I've got my fingers crossed, hoping that the other mucking about that
I did has not set me up for another failure down the road.

But for now, everything seems to be working as expected.

Thanks, Russ!

PS: FWIW, I noticed that if I open the "address book" and double-click an
entry, it opens the Contacts entry for that item. So editing the way I
was doing it was actually editing in Contacts after all.

You have created a maze no one could navigate. Anytime you export and
import Outlook data you create unpredictable changes in your Outlook
data. Never use that method to transfer Outlook data. Anytime you try to
manipulate your Contacts data through the address book view, you create
unpredictable changes in the data.
Your post still doesn't make sense. If you copied your previous PST file,
all of your Contact data would be there when you opened that file in
Outlook. Explain why it wasn't and why you felt you needed to import an
obsolete CSV file.
It also appears as if you neglected to configure the Outlook Address Book
in this new profile. Do so now:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;287563&Product=ol2002
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Man, after more than 10 years of using Outlook and at least 5 years of
using Outlook 2003, I am really learning a lot over the past few days!
I really had no idea of the distinctions between Contacts and Address
Book. But I think I understand the concepts now, and I think I can
explain my problems...

2 years ago, I exported my contacts info from a computer I used at work,
took it home and imported the data. Not knowing that the address book
didn't "really" exist, I used it (the file that opened when you click
the open-book icon on the standard menu bar) to delete the people I
didn't need to keep, to add new people, and to update email addresses,
physical addresses, phone numbers, etc. Are all those edits are now
lost forever, insofar as moving to anew PC is concerned?

Even if that "address book" information is lost, I also have a problem
with how Outlook is functioning. Before I understood the .pst file, I
tried to import Contacts from the old .csv file. Of course that file is
obsolete. But it is the one that appears in my new install of Outlook.
When I click the open-book icon, I get a blank window for entering
addresses--it does not discover my contacts.

I found the .NK2 file and transferred it over, so I now have the
autocomplete functionality working. But if there is any way at all to
capture the address information I had on my old PC (I have the disk
drive form the old PC connected and accessible through a USB connect), I
really want to do that. Also, if I can recover that information, if
there is a way I can convert it to become my contacts, that would be
perfect.

There are several things you need to understand:
1. There is no separate Contacts Folder in Outlook. Contacts are stored
with all your other Outlook data in the PST File.
2. There is no address book in Outlook. It is simply a view of the
electronic addresses in your Contacts Folder.
3. Autocompletion has nothing whatsoever to do with your Contacts. It
uses a cache of names from messages you sent and you have not populated
that cache yet.
Now that you understand how Outlook works, what are you questions?
If you did indeed copy your old PST file, just open it in Outlook. All
your Contacts will be there unless you copied the wrong file.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
I posted this below, under Michael-S' 1/24/2008 query, but haven't
received any reply. It's probably best that I open my own thread.

I copied the .pst file from my old computer onto my new one, but the
CONTACTS folder is not the one I had on the old computer, and the
"address book" (the one whose icon looks like an open book) is empty.
I'm trying to recover the feature where I can type a partial address
and Outlook offers selections that contain that partial.

Here is what I have done since my last post un der Michael-S'
1/24/2009 query.

- Uninstalled Office 2003 via Control Panel
- Deleted folder: C:\Users\{me}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook
- Rebooted
- Reinstalled Office 2003, using the default folder: Program
Files(x86)\Microsoft Office
- Allowed WebUpdate to search for updates; it did not locate updates
that
had been found previously.
- I clicked on "Check for Updates," and now it reported and installed
3
important updates: SP3 for Outlook 2003, Junk Mail Filter (with a
KBxxxx
number following), and one other.
- Looked at Update History, which shows many other updates for Office
2003
and Office 2007 (!!! ?)
- Started Outlook. A message appeared:
C:\Users\{Me}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\Outlook.pst not found.
Only
option provided was "OK"
- Outlook created a new .outlook.pst file, and then downloaded my
email (I
don't know how it knew where to look, since I had not provided any
account
information during this install!!!)
- Upon closing, received message that Outlook had stopped working, but
it
closed anyway.
- Plugged in an external hard drive (the HD from my old PC) and copied
G:\Users\{Me}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\Outlook.pst over,
replacing
C:\Users\{Me}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\Outlook.pst
- Copied folder:
G:\Users\{Me}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\Accounts\ to
C:\Users\{Me}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\Accounts\
- Update message from System Tray notified me that updates
necessitated
Restart, so I Restarted.
- My screen went blank (external display) and stayed black. After 10
minutes, I manually shut it off and restarted.
- Started Outlook and got a message that "data file 'Personal Folder'
was
not closed properly." After it spent a few minutes checking it out,
my old
mail (from former PC) appeared in the inbox, but at the point of
"preparing
to send/receive," Outlook stopped responding. I waited for about 5
minutes
and Outlook began to respond again. It downloaded a few new messages.
- Clicked Address Book icon, but only got an input screen.
- Opened Contacts folder, and it was filled with Contacts. I noticed
that
this is an OLD contacts folder, which I had exported from a work PC I
had 2
years ago (in comma-Delimited format) and which I had installed on my
"old"
PC (the one I am currently replacing).

Before this last attempt, I had tried so many things (through hours of
frustration, that I am not completely sure what all I did. (I know, I
should
have kept notes-I know better). I think that along the way, in my
attempts
to get the address book working properly, I probably imported the
comma-delimited contacts file from 2 years ago.

I think that what I really need to do is completely scrub everything
from my
PC that applies to Outlook/Office. Is it possible that the old
contacts
file is residing in the registry? (???) Are there other places (I'm
sure
there are) where elements of Outlook are hiding? Is there a list of
what I
have to delete to completely remove all vestiges of the prior
installs? Is
the old contacts file preventing Outlook from finding the contacts
that are
in my newer Outlook.pst file?

Thanks.