Importing from Outlook 2000

[GFH]

Hi all,

Got a new machine and loaded Outlook 2003 on to it machine. Prior to
loading I exported all my contact and emails messages from 2000 into a
pst file from my old machine

I subsequently, after installing 2003, tried to IMPORT the messages
and contacts etc from the 2000PST same into 2003 and am unable to do
so . It goes thru the process but it doesn't work.

Somewhere it was suggested to me to use File-Open-Outlook Data File
instead from inside 2003. Will that work? what file am I suposed to
open? the 2000 pST file.

Any suggestions would be welcomed.

G...

 

[Vince Averello [MVP-Outlook]]

Yes, open the OL2000 PST file.

 

[Brian Tillman]

Got a new machine and loaded Outlook 2003 on to it machine. Prior to
loading I exported all my contact and emails messages from 2000 into a
pst file from my old machine

Exporting to a PST is NEVER a good idea. Exporting loses data. Often, a
PST that was created by export and then copied to another medium becomes
unrecoverably corrupted and will appear to be empty when you try to import,
as your experience seems to indicate has happened to you.

 

[GFH]

That pretty much sums it up...

I imagine then you are in agreement with the method suggested.

 

[Brian Tillman]

That pretty much sums it up...

I imagine then you are in agreement with the method suggested.

File>Open>Outlook Data File is the best way to access an existing PST that
is not already part of yor mail profile. However, the problem you
encountered has its roots in how the copy of the original PST was made, not
in how you're trying to use it now. The most common mistake people make (in
my opinion) is exporting to a PST (which already loses data, but usually not
fatally) and then coying that PST to a transfer medium like CD without first
closing Outlook. Even though you're told the export is complete, it appears
that Outlook hasn't completely written the PST overhead data and so the
pointers that allow Outlook to locate the data in the file are incorrect.
Now, I don't know this for sure, but there seems to be ample anecdotal
evidence that it's true. Moreover, there is also evidence (although still
anecdotal) that some CD burning software does not handle PSTs well and can
corrupt them when moving them to CD.

The best way to transfer a PST from one PC to another is to simply close
Outlook (and you may have to make sure it's closed by looking on the
Processes tab of Task Manager), copy the original PC to the transfer medium,
copy it from the medium to the hard drive of the destination system (taking
care not to overwrite any PST of the same name), remove the read-only
attribute, start Outlook, and open the PST with File>Open. Few people who
use this simplest method experience problems. Also, if the recovery isn't
due to a disk crash, it may pay dividends to copy the PST to the hard drive
of the original source computer (in another folder, of course), and attempt
to open it in the original Outlook, just as a sanity check to be sure the
PST on the transfer medium is good prior to trying to use it on the
destination machine.

 

[GFH]

Many thanks Brian,

Seems to have worked..


Gord

 

[Brian Tillman]

Seems to have worked..

Glad to hear it.