H
Homer J. Simpson
Hi all,
I have a .PST file I've been moving from system to system over the years
that I use primarily to keep notes, contacts, appointments, task lists, etc.
I do NOT use this PST file to store emails, so I end up with a useless
"Inbox" entry that I can't get rid of in the main tree, but that's a
non-issue.
Typically, on all my machines, I move the entire "My Documents" folder from
its default location so it's got its own partition (J: drive), which
contains a "PSTs" folder. So, "My Documents\PSTs" is actually "J:\PSTs".
Normally when I install Outlook on a new system, I configure it not to use
email and point it to my pre-existing PST file (J:\PSTs\mystuff.pst). I
don't let it create any .PST file under C:\Documents and Settings\[my
profile]\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook. So, just by
backing up my whole My Documents folder (J: drive), I know I have the most
recent copy of my PST file as well.
Now I'll be damned if I can figure out how to add an existing Hotmail email
account and get Outlook to put (and leave) a separate Hotmail PST file under
J:\PSTs. When adding the Hotmail account in Outlook (or through the Mail
icon in Control Panel), I'm never prompted for a name or location--instead,
Outlook creates a default file ("My ProfileHotmail-0000000x.pst", where x is
some randomly chosen number) in the default C:\Documents and Settings\[my
profile]\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook folder. If I let
it sync with my Hotmail account, I can see this "My
ProfileHotmail-0000000x.pst" file growing in size until it's done.
I've never had any problem before (and I've been doing this with every
Outlook version since 97) shutting down Outlook, moving a PST file from one
location into another, restarting Outlook, letting it complain about the
missing file (it then prompts you for the location) and then pointing it to
the new folder.
Not so, it seems, for .PST files associated with Hotmail accounts. If I
move the file to J:\PSTs and restart Outlook, it complains about the missing
file as usual, I point it to J:\PSTs, there's no further error and I can see
the content (that's already been synched) and folder hierarchy. However, at
that point, there's a second 'Hotmail' entry in the Outlook tree, which
corresponds to another "My ProfileHotmail-0000000x.pst" file that Outlook
has just recreated under C:\Documents and Settings\[etc...].
If I get Outlook to sync with my Hotmail account again, I can see this new
file (on C
grow in size, until it matches the file I already had under
J:\PSTs.
Looking at the Mail applet (in Control Panel), I now see three references:
- C:\Documents and Settings\[my profile]\Local Settings\Application
Data\Microsoft\Outlook\My ProfileHotmail-0000000x.pst
- J:\PSTs\My ProfileHotmail-0000000x.pst, which is the file I had moved
manually
- J:\PSTs\mystuff.pst, which is my good ol' file I've been dragging around
for years
If I highlight the 'bogus' entry residing on C: and click Remove, I get
message saying "This data file is associated with a mail account; to remove
it use the 'E-mail Accounts' command on the Tools menu". In other words, I
have to remove it from within Outlook.
If I do that, it'll remove the second Hotmail entry it added by itself
alright, and the "other" Hotmail entry will still point to the Hotmail PST
file under J:, only I can't sync my email--it's like it doesn't know that
this PST file was ever associated with a Hotmail account. I guess that
essentially, moving a Hotmail PST file orphans it, despite the fact that I
can point Outlook back to the file when I relaunch it.
The more I try to tinker with this, the more Outlook resists. After enough
tries, I'll get a couple more 'Hotmail' entries in the tree, and if I try to
click on them or remove them, I might end up with a message saying "The set
of folders could not be opened" (with no further option). Things can then
end up being so messy after a while that I have to delete the entire profile
(using the Mail Control Panel applet) and start over again--pointing Outlook
to J:\PSTs\mystuff for my 'main' file, and manually recreating the
association with the Hotmail account, re-synching, etc.
What am I doing that's so blatantly wrong? Is there really no way to get
Outlook (2003, BTW) to put a PST file associated with a Hotmail account in a
folder other than the default?
Thanks for reading this far. Surely somebody's done this before; all
thoughts are welcomed.
I have a .PST file I've been moving from system to system over the years
that I use primarily to keep notes, contacts, appointments, task lists, etc.
I do NOT use this PST file to store emails, so I end up with a useless
"Inbox" entry that I can't get rid of in the main tree, but that's a
non-issue.
Typically, on all my machines, I move the entire "My Documents" folder from
its default location so it's got its own partition (J: drive), which
contains a "PSTs" folder. So, "My Documents\PSTs" is actually "J:\PSTs".
Normally when I install Outlook on a new system, I configure it not to use
email and point it to my pre-existing PST file (J:\PSTs\mystuff.pst). I
don't let it create any .PST file under C:\Documents and Settings\[my
profile]\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook. So, just by
backing up my whole My Documents folder (J: drive), I know I have the most
recent copy of my PST file as well.
Now I'll be damned if I can figure out how to add an existing Hotmail email
account and get Outlook to put (and leave) a separate Hotmail PST file under
J:\PSTs. When adding the Hotmail account in Outlook (or through the Mail
icon in Control Panel), I'm never prompted for a name or location--instead,
Outlook creates a default file ("My ProfileHotmail-0000000x.pst", where x is
some randomly chosen number) in the default C:\Documents and Settings\[my
profile]\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook folder. If I let
it sync with my Hotmail account, I can see this "My
ProfileHotmail-0000000x.pst" file growing in size until it's done.
I've never had any problem before (and I've been doing this with every
Outlook version since 97) shutting down Outlook, moving a PST file from one
location into another, restarting Outlook, letting it complain about the
missing file (it then prompts you for the location) and then pointing it to
the new folder.
Not so, it seems, for .PST files associated with Hotmail accounts. If I
move the file to J:\PSTs and restart Outlook, it complains about the missing
file as usual, I point it to J:\PSTs, there's no further error and I can see
the content (that's already been synched) and folder hierarchy. However, at
that point, there's a second 'Hotmail' entry in the Outlook tree, which
corresponds to another "My ProfileHotmail-0000000x.pst" file that Outlook
has just recreated under C:\Documents and Settings\[etc...].
If I get Outlook to sync with my Hotmail account again, I can see this new
file (on C
grow in size, until it matches the file I already had underJ:\PSTs.
Looking at the Mail applet (in Control Panel), I now see three references:
- C:\Documents and Settings\[my profile]\Local Settings\Application
Data\Microsoft\Outlook\My ProfileHotmail-0000000x.pst
- J:\PSTs\My ProfileHotmail-0000000x.pst, which is the file I had moved
manually
- J:\PSTs\mystuff.pst, which is my good ol' file I've been dragging around
for years
If I highlight the 'bogus' entry residing on C: and click Remove, I get
message saying "This data file is associated with a mail account; to remove
it use the 'E-mail Accounts' command on the Tools menu". In other words, I
have to remove it from within Outlook.
If I do that, it'll remove the second Hotmail entry it added by itself
alright, and the "other" Hotmail entry will still point to the Hotmail PST
file under J:, only I can't sync my email--it's like it doesn't know that
this PST file was ever associated with a Hotmail account. I guess that
essentially, moving a Hotmail PST file orphans it, despite the fact that I
can point Outlook back to the file when I relaunch it.
The more I try to tinker with this, the more Outlook resists. After enough
tries, I'll get a couple more 'Hotmail' entries in the tree, and if I try to
click on them or remove them, I might end up with a message saying "The set
of folders could not be opened" (with no further option). Things can then
end up being so messy after a while that I have to delete the entire profile
(using the Mail Control Panel applet) and start over again--pointing Outlook
to J:\PSTs\mystuff for my 'main' file, and manually recreating the
association with the Hotmail account, re-synching, etc.
What am I doing that's so blatantly wrong? Is there really no way to get
Outlook (2003, BTW) to put a PST file associated with a Hotmail account in a
folder other than the default?
Thanks for reading this far. Surely somebody's done this before; all
thoughts are welcomed.