Lost Calendar& Contacts entries in Outlook 2000

  • Thread starter Thread starter Miguel R. Echevarria
  • Start date Start date
M

Miguel R. Echevarria

Wednesday, August 20, 2003

I tried to Open MS OUTLOOK 2000T;and the following
statement appeared on screen;
"The path specified for the file C:\Windows\Local
Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook\outlook.pst is
not valid".

I clicked the OK button and was then prompted to create a
new file or search for the existing lost one. I don't even
know what to search for. Since up to now all I did was
click OutlookT and it opened without a problem (all
entries were present) and no prompts for passwords. I
tried to continue and then was prompted for a Password.
This is the first time that I have been prompted for a
Password to open MS Outlook 2000T. Foolishly I typed one
in and still was unable to locate my Calendar, Contacts,
and Mail entries.

The problem: I can no longer open my Personal Folder in
MS Outlook 2000T. I cannot access the Calendar files, old
Mail Messages or the Contacts lists. I checked the Address
Book from the START, Accessories button and all the
addresses in it have also disappeared.

I am using Widows 98, SET, with Office Professional 2000T.
I checked the Recycle Bin the files are not in there.

Is there a way that I can retrieve and restore these lost
files? I have not intentionally backed up any files. Are
there backup system files that I can use? I would
appreciate any help and advice that anyone can share with
me.

Thank you,
Panicked

M. Echevarría
(e-mail address removed)
 
Search your hard drive and see if you can find any files with a .PST
extension, especially "outlook.pst" since that's what Outlook was
looking for when you got that error message. If you find one, post back
for more assistance (if you need it).

--
Jocelyn Fiorello
MVP - Outlook

*** Replies sent to my e-mail address will probably not be answered --
please reply only to the newsgroup to preserve the message thread. ***


Wednesday, August 20, 2003

I tried to Open MS OUTLOOK 2000T;and the following
statement appeared on screen;
"The path specified for the file C:\Windows\Local
Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook\outlook.pst is
not valid".

I clicked the OK button and was then prompted to create a
new file or search for the existing lost one. I don't even
know what to search for. Since up to now all I did was
click OutlookT and it opened without a problem (all
entries were present) and no prompts for passwords. I
tried to continue and then was prompted for a Password.
This is the first time that I have been prompted for a
Password to open MS Outlook 2000T. Foolishly I typed one
in and still was unable to locate my Calendar, Contacts,
and Mail entries.

The problem: I can no longer open my Personal Folder in
MS Outlook 2000T. I cannot access the Calendar files, old
Mail Messages or the Contacts lists. I checked the Address
Book from the START, Accessories button and all the
addresses in it have also disappeared.

I am using Widows 98, SET, with Office Professional 2000T.
I checked the Recycle Bin the files are not in there.

Is there a way that I can retrieve and restore these lost
files? I have not intentionally backed up any files. Are
there backup system files that I can use? I would
appreciate any help and advice that anyone can share with
me.

Thank you,
Panicked

M. Echevarría
(e-mail address removed)
 
You can open each of the .PST files in Outlook using the File | Open
command, and see what's in them -- that should help you determine which
one is the one you most recently used. They will open in your Folder
List -- if it's not visible, click View | Folder List to enable it. You
might want to open them one at a time so you don't get confused by too
many open at once. When you find the right one, make it your default by
right-clicking its root folder, selecting Properties, and on the General
tab, checking the box for "Deliver POP mail to this personal folders
file". You can close the .PSTs you don't need out of Outlook by
right-clicking their root folders and selecting Close from the menu.

--
Jocelyn Fiorello
MVP - Outlook

*** Replies sent to my e-mail address will probably not be answered --
please reply only to the newsgroup to preserve the message thread. ***


Thursday, August 21, 2003

Thank you for responding to my posting. I did as you
suggested and searched the hard drive with a *.pst
command. I found found four .pst files listed.

There is a large one named ARCHIVE, located in
C:\Windows\Profiles\Miguel\Local Settings\Application
Data\Microsoft\Outlook. It contains 2,800 KB and is dated
08/06/03.

The following three are considerably smaller and dated
around the time that I started having the problems with
the program 08/20/03 and 08/21/03.

I assume that the first file listed is the one that I we
are looking for, since it is larger and is dated 08\06\03.
If I am correct, what do I do now?

Thank you for your time and advice.

Miguel
 
Sunday, August 24, 2003

Thank you for your advice. I tried to open Outlook 2000T
and was still prompted for a password. I kept clicking the
Cancel button until I got in. I cannot open the Folders.

I receive the following Error message when I try;
Unable to expand the folder. The set of folders cannot be
opened. The server is not available. Contact your
administrator if this condition persists. OK

My computer is not on a network and I am its sole user. I
don't know what I have done wrong, perhaps I have
inadvertently deleted some critical file somewhere. Since
20 August 2003, my PC has been operating as if it has a
mind of its own. I would appreciate any advice that you
can give me to get the Outlook 2000T program running
properly again.

Thank you for your time.

Miguel
 
Are you clicking on the folders themselves in the Folder List, or are
you trying to open a folder from one of the shortcuts on the Outlook
Bar?

You may have to create a new .PST file and make it the default (using
the instructions I gave you in my last reply for making a .PST the
default) and then see if you can open any of your other .PST files using
File | Open. At least that way you should be able to open Outlook
without it prompting you for a password. If you try to open a .PST
using File | Open and it asks for a password, then you must have
assigned one to that .PST at one time and it's going to be hard to get
back into the file without the proper password.

--
Jocelyn Fiorello
MVP - Outlook

*** Replies sent to my e-mail address will probably not be answered --
please reply only to the newsgroup to preserve the message thread. ***
 
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