More PST weirdness

  • Thread starter Thread starter Dave Tek
  • Start date Start date
D

Dave Tek

We lost our network admin a few weeks ago and a couple of us desktop
support folks are trying to take up the slack. We are having PST
problems with domain users on P4 desktops, 512MB DDR, Win2K with
Office 2003 installed (same thing with Office 2001 SR1). Updated and
scanned for malware. Outlook is configured to an Exchange server (not
the Enterprise version, and definitely under a strain).

Several users recently created new PSTs because their primary PST was
getting too large. They created the new files and populated them with
some folders and their respective contents. All was well until they
logged off for the night. Next day, the new PSTs were visible in the
Folder View pane, but could not be accessed.

Through trial and error, we have noticed today that if by following
these steps, we can get a working PST:

1. Create a new .PST in the default location.
2. Create a new folder in that .PST.
3. Populate the folder with at least one expendable item (Warning: The
message will be lost. At this point, if you close Outlook and then
reopen it, the folder and contents are still accessible, as long as
you don't log off or reboot.)
4. Do a Restart. You will encounter an error saying the new .PST
can't be found and an Explorer-style dialog box will open. Click on
the 'OPEN' button, and then click 'OK'. You will see another error
message across the screen saying 'Unable to Display The Folder...'.
5. Do a full shutdown. On restart, the .PST you created in step 1
above will be accessible again, but the folder and message will be
gone.
6. Recreate the subfolder and populate with another non-critical
message.
7. Do a full shutdown. Restart the PC. Open Outlook and the new .PST
will be intact along with the folder and message.

I haven't had time to play with different scenarios, like what happens
if I add folders or messages to my now seemingly persistent .PST file.
I fully expect to be able to duplicate these steps on identical PCs
with the same results, but tomorrow will tell.

Has anyone else had any experience with this situation? Your help
would be very much appreciated!
-Dave
 
Are these stored on the local harddisk or on a network share? Also; when you
close Outlook does it close indeed; does the outlook.exe process stop
running?

--
Robert Sparnaaij [MVP-Outlook]
www.howto-outlook.com

Tips of the month:
-What do the Outlook Icons Mean?
-Create an Office 2003 CD slipstreamed with Service Pack 1
 
Two days now with the work-around previously described and the new
PSTs are persisting!

To answer your questions: My understanding is that when users create
a Personal Folders.PST on the local drive it stays local, and the
primary mail stores are on the server. The idea was to avoid crowding
the 2GB size barrier AND to relieve storage demands on the server.
(Our Exchange users have roaming profiles and expect their mail to
always follow them. I'm not sure how that can reconcile with the
notion of local storage on the 'home' desktop, so I may be confused on
this point).

Your suggestion to ensure that the Outlook process stops is
intriguing. I have certainly known Outlook to hang on well after the
app is closed. But is that possible if the user logs off?

Thanks for your interest and input! I look forward to your comments.

Dave
 
Dave said:
We lost our network admin a few weeks ago and a couple of us desktop
support folks are trying to take up the slack. We are having PST
problems with domain users on P4 desktops, 512MB DDR, Win2K with
Office 2003 installed (same thing with Office 2001 SR1). Updated and
scanned for malware. Outlook is configured to an Exchange server (not
the Enterprise version, and definitely under a strain).
Click to expand...

Sounds like it's time to either put in another Exchange standard server or
upgrade to Enterprise, or implement tighter mailbox quotas/corporate mail
retention policies if you can get away with it. You really do not want to
manage a network full of PST files....you can't reasonably back them up or
maintain them, they take up more space than the data does in the mailbox,
users can't use OWA, etc etc etc

See
http://www.swinc.com/resources/exch... 5.5&sectionID=1013&sectionName=Why PST = BAD
or
http://tinyurl.com/2zx9a

Also see
http://www.msexchange.org/tutorials/Public_Folders_Maximize_Exchange.html
for something you may be able to do in the meantime.

PST files are an administrative nightmare, and I don't recommend using them
for mail storage if you have Exchange.


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