Old files appear in Reminder window

[Thomas Bartlett]

On 6 October I installed Outlook 2007 over an existing installation of
an earlier version, which was using PST files created in Outlook 2003.
All the messages dated before 6 October appear in a Reminder window
which cannot be shut down. This is very annoying; what can be done to
turn off the Reminder window?

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

On 6 October I installed Outlook 2007 over an existing installation of an
earlier version, which was using PST files created in Outlook 2003. All
the messages dated before 6 October appear in a Reminder window which
cannot be shut down. This is very annoying; what can be done to turn off
the Reminder window?

Did you create a new mail profile after updating Outlook? You should. Have
you tried starting Outlook once with the /cleanreminders command switch?

As far as I can tell, there is no microsoft.public.outlook.configuration
newsgroup.

 

[Learner]

Yes, I did run the outlook.exe with the /cleanreminders switch, and I think
it has helped. But I did not create a new mail profile until I read your
message. Thanks very much for the tips.

When I first upgraded about a week ago, I still had several older PST files
displayed, with thousands of old messages. So the Reminder window at first
showed over 3,500 messages. After I removed all the old PST files from the
display in Outlook, the Reminder window then only showed about 40 messages,
all from the default PST file. So I exported and deleted those 40 messages
and soon there was no more Reminder window.

But I suppose this is merely an expeditious handling, and not a radical
solution. Now that I have created a new default profile, I would like to
import into it the folder structure and messages from the former default
profile, which is saved as a PST.

But what about that older PST file (or files) which caused the 3,500
reminders? Or the more recent PST file into which I exported the last 40 old
messages which also caused reminders? Can those PST files simply be
displayed through the Data File Management option under Outlook's File menu?
Or do they need to be imported? The main goal is that I be able to view
those old messages without them generating reminders.

A newsgroup called 'microsoft.public.outlook.configuration' appears in the
list of newsgroups which came from my ISP's server at the address
'news.optusnet.com.au'.

Many thanks for your help.

Thomas aka Learner

 

[Learner]

The problem seems to be solved now; both points you raised were effective:
creating a new profile and running the 'cleanreminders' switch.

I think the problem may have been provoked when I used drag and drop to
transfer large numbers of folders and messges from one displaye PST file to
another, rather than exporting and re-importing. That seems to be the
conclusion I've drawn from this episode.

Learner

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

I think the problem may have been provoked when I used drag and drop to
transfer large numbers of folders and messges from one displaye PST file
to
another, rather than exporting and re-importing. That seems to be the
conclusion I've drawn from this episode.

Importing and exporting always lose data. Copying is the correct way to
transfer data from one PST to another.

 

[Learner]

And what is the best way to carry out this 'copying'? For example, every day
I receive several dozen messages from regular sources. In the old profile, I
had created several dozen rules for automatic forwarding of those incoming
messages into a complex tree of folders. But my newly created profile lacks
that complex structure of folders, and also lacks the rules for forwarding
messages.

So, should I 'copy' the file structure from the old PST file into the new
one? If so, how can I 'copy' the folders other than by drag and drop, which
has caused me so much grief lately, by generating all those unwanted
reminders. Can I copy the old set of rules into the new PST file, to be used
with the copied structure of folders?

Learner

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

And what is the best way to carry out this 'copying'? For example, every
day
I receive several dozen messages from regular sources. In the old
profile, I
had created several dozen rules for automatic forwarding of those incoming
messages into a complex tree of folders. But my newly created profile
lacks
that complex structure of folders, and also lacks the rules for forwarding
messages.

What stops you from recreating that? A new profile does not affect the
structure within a PST. It sounds like you created a new PST as well as a
profile. PSTs and profiles are not the same thing. Rules should be copied
by exporting them with the rules wizard and importing them again, if they
need copying at all.

So, should I 'copy' the file structure from the old PST file into the new
one? If so, how can I 'copy' the folders other than by drag and drop,
which
has caused me so much grief lately, by generating all those unwanted
reminders. Can I copy the old set of rules into the new PST file, to be
used
with the copied structure of folders?

Non-default folders can be dragged and dropped with no problem. For default
folders, the contents should be dragged and dropped and it shouldn't cause
any errors. You might have to reset reminders, as you've done, but that
should be it.

 

[Learner]

Yes, I created a new PST as well as a new profile, precisely because the
older PST which holds the complex tree of folders seems to be corrupted.
When this older PST file is made the default file, every time I open up
Outlook, the hour glass shows for several minutes and all other work is
halted while the program generates a list of over 3,000 messages which are
finally displayed in the reminder window. In theory, the 'snooze' time
adjustable to periods from 5 minutes to 2 hours, but the only option
functioning is 5 minutes; if I choose 10 minutes or more then click the
'snooze' button, the option reverts back to 5 minutes, and the window remains
open. I can finally close the reminders window by clicking the white-on-red
X at the top right corner, but the whole process is likely to begin again
while I'm working in Outlook, triggered by I don't know what action on my
part. I have run the /cleanreminders switch at least ten times now,
apparently with no effect on any of this. I just don't understand the logic
of why it's selecting those 3,000 files to be displayed in the reminders
window. Is this what the program is meant to do? I think it's out of
control, and I suspect it's somehow corrupted.

Could this be due to a faulty upgrade? The older PST files were created on
Outlook 2003 on my older computer. But my old copy of Office 2003 refused to
install on my new computer, so I first installed a copy of Office 2002 on the
new computer, and used it for several days before I could buy Office 2007.
So the PST files created on Outlook 2003 were being used in Outlook 2002
before the upgrade to Office 2007. Could that omission of Outlook 2003 from
the upgrade process have caused some defect in the default PST file which
makes it behave this way in Outlook 2007?

My work efficiency in Outlook has dropped like the stock market during the
last week, because of this reminders problem. Isn't this a recognized
problem? This afternoon, after creating the new default PST with the new
profile, the problem stopped, and I thought it was solved. Now, restoring
the old PST to the default position, the problem has returned, as bad as
ever.

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

I just don't understand the logic
of why it's selecting those 3,000 files to be displayed in the reminders
window.

Sorry, but I don't follow. The Reminder window displays reminders, not
file.

Could this be due to a faulty upgrade? The older PST files were created
on
Outlook 2003 on my older computer. But my old copy of Office 2003 refused
to
install on my new computer,

Define "refused". Outlook 2003 will install on any PC running Windows 2000,
XP, or Vista, I believe.

So the PST files created on Outlook 2003 were being used in Outlook 2002
before the upgrade to Office 2007.

Possible only if you created an Outlook 97-2002 format PST. The format used
natively by OL 200 and 2007 will not work on OL 2002.

Could that omission of Outlook 2003 from
the upgrade process have caused some defect in the default PST file which
makes it behave this way in Outlook 2007?

Not likely, in my opinion.

My work efficiency in Outlook has dropped like the stock market during the
last week, because of this reminders problem.

You say you clicked the X in the upper right of the reminders window, but
did you click Dismiss All?

Also, you didn't say what is preventing you from recreating your folder
structure and redefining the rules. Reminders fire only from items in the
default folders, so if you have a complex folder structure, none of the
folders you created yourself can contain reminders that show up.

 

[Learner]

Update: I just removed the old PST from default position, but a reminders
window with the same 3,000 messages has just reappeared, even though the
messages are not in a default PST in Outlook. Even if the search for
messages to include in the reminders window is generated from the default
PST, it evidently also includes messages found in non-default PSTs as well.

A couple of days ago, when in this same situation, I removed the old PST
from display in Outlook, then imported its contents into another non-default
PST displayed in Outlook. Under those circumstances, no reminders were
generated for the old messages. However, when I moved that PST, which
contained the re-imported old messages, into default position, the reminders
began, and now they apparently continue even after I remove this PST from
default. Once the reminder program has been activated, it can't be easily
stopped, it seems.

 

[Learner]

My first detailed interlinear response to your thoughtfully welcome analysis
was for some technical reason lost when I clicked on the 'Post' button in
Internet Explorer. So it has not been posted. I then successfully posted a
second response, differently written, which has been posted. I will now
attempt to re-create the first response, which addresses in detail the points
in your previous message; please see my interlinear comments below:

Sorry, but I don't follow. The Reminder window displays reminders, not
file.

Yes, I should have written "messages', not 'files'.

Define "refused". Outlook 2003 will install on any PC running Windows 2000,
XP, or Vista, I believe.

It rejected the 42 digit product key when I inserted that twice in the
require places at the start of the installation procedure. I assumed it was
I had already installed this disk on at least two other computers previously.

Possible only if you created an Outlook 97-2002 format PST. The format used
natively by OL 200 and 2007 will not work on OL 2002.


Not likely, in my opinion.

Good; I'll rely on your expert opinion, and downgrade that possibility when
trying to resolve the problem.

You say you clicked the X in the upper right of the reminders window, but
did you click Dismiss All?

Sure did, but after clicking on 'dismiss all' the reminder window doesn't
disappear at all; doing that simply sends the reminders program into furious
activity as the displayed 'overtime' numbers are rewritten, so that the
hour-glass hangs for several minutes. The snooze time can't be reset to any
option except the default 5 minutes.

Also, you didn't say what is preventing you from recreating your folder
structure and redefining the rules. Reminders fire only from items in the
default folders, so if you have a complex folder structure, none of the
folders you created yourself can contain reminders that show up.

I suppose you mean manually recreating the folder structure and rule
definitions. Yes, I could do that, and if all else fails I suppose I will at
some point resort to that. However, it will be VERY time consuming, so I
would rather find some way to 'introduce' into the default PST (whether by
copying, or importing, or installing as default PST, or whatever means) that
folder structure and that set of several dozen rules automatically, in one or
two actions, doing that would not also 'introduce' this monstrous activity of
the reminders program.

I have tried configuring this old, large PST as the default, and the result
is that the reminders, which lay dormant when the file was non-default, have
become relentlessly active. I've repeatedly run the 'cleanreminders' switch,
apparently to no effect. So I have now returned this PST to a non-default
status, but the reminders still continue, maybe due to having been first
generated when it was the default personal folders file.

The file in question, as shown on the drive, is 1.500kb in size, according
to Windows Explorer. Outlook's Properties / Folder Size function also showed
about the same size, until I removed about 500kb of old messages, by running
the export function and creating a new PST file. So Outlook's Properties /
Folder Size function shows the mother folder size as now reduced to about
950kb; however, in Windows Explorer the same file remains at the size
1,500kb.

I've opened several dozen of the 3,000 messages now shown in the reminders
window, and I note that they all date from no later than 2006. Could the
reminders be a function of the archive program? Is there some configuration
there which I could reset, to remove these reminders?

Many thanks for your help.

Brian Tillman [MVP-Outlook]

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

It rejected the 42 digit product key when I inserted that twice in the
require places at the start of the installation procedure. I assumed it
was
I had already installed this disk on at least two other computers
previously.

Could be, but I'm not sure that would be true at that point. Outlook would
notice that it had been installed on other PCs at activation time, not at
installation time. In my opinion, the most likely reason for rejecting the
key is either that it's the product key and not the installation key that
came with the CD or that it's the installation key for a different Office
suite than the one on the CD.

Sure did, but after clicking on 'dismiss all' the reminder window doesn't
disappear at all; doing that simply sends the reminders program into
furious
activity as the displayed 'overtime' numbers are rewritten, so that the
hour-glass hangs for several minutes. The snooze time can't be reset to
any
option except the default 5 minutes.

Bummer. I've never seen that before.

I suppose you mean manually recreating the folder structure and rule
definitions. Yes, I could do that, and if all else fails I suppose I will
at
some point resort to that. However, it will be VERY time consuming, so I
would rather find some way to 'introduce' into the default PST (whether by
copying, or importing, or installing as default PST, or whatever means)
that
folder structure and that set of several dozen rules automatically, in one
or
two actions, doing that would not also 'introduce' this monstrous activity
of
the reminders program.

If this were mine to do, I'd just add the old PST as a secondary PST and
drag non-default folders. reminders can't fire in non-default folders, so
that can't lead to reminder problems.

I have tried configuring this old, large PST as the default, and the
result
is that the reminders, which lay dormant when the file was non-default,
have
become relentlessly active. I've repeatedly run the 'cleanreminders'
switch,
apparently to no effect. So I have now returned this PST to a non-default
status, but the reminders still continue, maybe due to having been first
generated when it was the default personal folders file.

You should be able to use a MAPI tool like MDBVU32.EXE
(http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=3D1C7482-4C6E-4EC5-983E-127100D71376)
to open the Reminders folder and remove them.

The file in question, as shown on the drive, is 1.500kb in size, according
to Windows Explorer.

Quite small for a PST. If you had said 1.5GB, then I'd think it was large.

Outlook's Properties / Folder Size function also showed
about the same size, until I removed about 500kb of old messages, by
running
the export function and creating a new PST file. So Outlook's Properties
/
Folder Size function shows the mother folder size as now reduced to about
950kb; however, in Windows Explorer the same file remains at the size
1,500kb.

Try compacting the file. Right-click its root in Outlook and choose
Properties, click Advanced, then click Compact Now.

I've opened several dozen of the 3,000 messages now shown in the reminders
window, and I note that they all date from no later than 2006. Could the
reminders be a function of the archive program? Is there some
configuration
there which I could reset, to remove these reminders?

See my earlier suggestion.

 

[Ken Slovak - [MVP - Outlook]]

One possibility for the reminders is that either there are now more than one
Reminders folder (Reminders, Reminders1, Reminders2, etc.) or the folder is
corrupted, perhaps in its MAPI restriction. I've seen that a number of
times, mostly due to synch software that ends up replicating the Reminders
search folder.

If that's the case none of the usual switches helps (/resetfolders,
/cleanreminders, /cleansniff, etc.). The only thing that helps is to use a
MAPI viewer such as MFCMAPI or OutlookSpy (www.dimastr.com) to delete all
instances of the Reminders folder, then exit and restart with /resetfolders.
And to stop using that synch software after that of course.

 

[Thomas Bartlett]

You were right that I was using the wrong key when I tried to install Office
2003. I had switched the CDs for Office 2003 and Office 2003 Service Pack 1
between two envelopes. So, alerted to this possibility by your comment, I
uninstalled Office 2007, then reinstalled Office 2003 using the correct
'product key' (a 25 digit alpha-numeric code). Then I installed the Service
Pack 1.

The new installation inherited the two profiles I had previously used: the
default being my local ISP and the other being my employer's Exchange
server. The profiles for the ISP also had the same old three inherited
PST's opened. When I started Outlook it opened two windows, one for the
Inbox and one for Spam Mail. So I deleted the inherited profile for the ISP
and created a new one. Now Outlook only opens one window, and has only one
pristine new PST displayed.

I have also used the File / Data management option to add the three old PSTs
as non-default mail folders, and after more than ten minutes there is yet no
sign of any unwanted reminders. I'm now hopeful that reinstalling Office
2003 has somehow got me past that problem, at least for now (fingers
crossed!). Many thanks for your help in this.

Learner

 

[Thomas Bartlett]

Thanks very much for the comments. I'm not aware of using any 'synch
software'. Could you give an example of that, or clarify what it does, or
otherwise help me to understand if I've been using this without realizing
it?

I have now downloaded and installed the Outlook Spy MAPI viewer, and it has
integrated itself into Outlook, so there is now a whole new taskbar of
buttons apparently related to MAPI activities. I have zero experience using
MAPI or in software development generally, so I'm really flying blind here,
so I'm not taking any action for now.

As mentioned in my separate reply to Brian Tillman's last posting, I have
succeeded in reinstalling Office 2003 and there appear to be no unwanted
reminders in this setup. But since I did buy the Office 2007 CD, at some
point presumably I'd like to 'upgrade' to that. I'm not sure whether the
unwanted reminders will appear then or not. I assume that the Outlook Spy
would be usable with Office 2007, if needed to find and delete excess
reminder files, as you wrote.

Learner

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

Many thanks for your help in this.

You're welcome.

 

[Ken Slovak - [MVP - Outlook]]

Synch software would be for synching Outlook data with a PDA, IPod, IPhone,
Blackberry, and other such devices.

Click the IMsgStore button when in any folder of default PST file, which
will open the PST store in OutlookSpy. Then click the Open Root Container
button at the top left. Go to the GetHierarchyTable tab, which will show the
hidden folders above your Outlook Today folder. IPM_SUBTREE is the root of
what you see in Outlook. In that list of folders in the tab you should see
one or more Reminders folders. Delete any that are there by selecting them
and clicking the Delete button. That will completely remove any of the
Reminders search folders.

Then exit Outlook and use the Start, Run dialog to start Outlook with this
command line:

outlook.exe /resetfolders /cleanreminders

Then press Enter. Make sure there are spaces before both startup switches.
That will start Outlook, re-create any missing default folders (like
Reminders) and force a rescan of the reminders.

If you only see one Reminders folder you can leave it alone and see if your
reminder problems continue. If they do, delete the folder. If things work OK
you can leave things alone and uninstall OutlookSpy if you want.

 

[Thomas Bartlett]

Synch software would be for synching Outlook data with a PDA, IPod,
IPhone, Blackberry, and other such devices.

I have no such devices and no such synch software for linking to them.

Click the IMsgStore button when in any folder of default PST file, which
will open the PST store in OutlookSpy. Then click the Open Root Container
button at the top left. Go to the GetHierarchyTable tab, which
will show the hidden folders above your Outlook Today folder. IPM_SUBTREE
is the root of what you see in Outlook. In that list of folders in the tab
you should see one or more Reminders folders. Delete any that are there by
selecting them and clicking the Delete button.
That will completely remove any of the Reminders search folders.

Then exit Outlook and use the Start, Run dialog to start Outlook with this
command line:

outlook.exe /resetfolders /cleanreminders

Then press Enter. Make sure there are spaces before both startup switches.
That will start Outlook, re-create any missing default folders (like
Reminders) and force a rescan of the reminders.

If you only see one Reminders folder you can leave it alone and see if
your reminder problems continue. If they do, delete the folder. If things
work OK you can leave things alone and uninstall OutlookSpy if you want.

My problems with the reminders occurred under Outlook 2007, installed
directly over Outlook 2002 (yes, two thousand two), because I was at first
unable to install Office 2003. But yesterday I uninstalled all of Office
2007 and found the correct key to install Office 2003. So now I'm running
Office 2003 with no reminders problems, so I do not now have Outlook Spy
installed.

Ultimately, I do want to go back to Office 2007, but my recent experience
makes me wary of using my present PST files in Outlook 2007. Those files
are not causing the same problems under Outlook 2003. So I'm now planning
to reorganize thoroughly the PST files under Outlook 2003, then 'upgrade'
again to Office 2007. At that time, if the reminders reappear in Outlook
2007, I'll install Outlook Spy and follow the procedures in your detailed
message above. Please advise if you see any problems in the approach I'm
proposing here.

Thanks very much for your expert guidance, which I see from your signature
is based on extensive professional experience.

Ken Slovak
[MVP - Outlook]
http://www.slovaktech.com
Author: Professional Programming Outlook 2007.
Reminder Manager, Extended Reminders, Attachment Options.
http://www.slovaktech.com/products.htm