outlook 2000

[Guest]

In attempting to backup outlook 2000 I have inadvertently converted the .pst
file to be opened with excel. How do I convert the file to be opened as a
..pst. Thanks.

 

[F.H. Muffman]

In attempting to backup outlook 2000 I have inadvertently converted
the .pst file to be opened with excel. How do I convert the file to
be opened as a .pst. Thanks.

What exactly did you do?

And could you be a little more precise about what you want to change (ie,
what is actually happening on the system that you'd like to change?)

 

[Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]]

Control Panel->Folder Options->File Types->Highlight the .pst file extension and click on Change. Select Outlook.

--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact. All
unsolicited mail sent to my personal account will be deleted without
reading.

After furious head scratching, janette asked:

| In attempting to backup outlook 2000 I have inadvertently converted
| the .pst file to be opened with excel. How do I convert the file to
| be opened as a .pst. Thanks.

 

[Guest]

--
Janette

What exactly did you do?

And could you be a little more precise about what you want to change (ie,
what is actually happening on the system that you'd like to change?)

I did a backup copy of outlook 2000 and found it okay in C:\Documents and
Settings\Owner\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook as a .pst
file type. I tried to open the .pst file with various programs including
excel to check that I backed up Outlook properly. But I now have a .pst file
type with an excel icon and I still can't open the file to check it. I'm not
sure where to from here.

 

[Brian Tillman]

I did a backup copy of outlook 2000 and found it okay in C:\Documents
and Settings\Owner\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
as a .pst file type. I tried to open the .pst file with various
programs including excel to check that I backed up Outlook properly.
But I now have a .pst file type with an excel icon and I still can't
open the file to check it. I'm not sure where to from here.

You can't "inadvertently" change file extension associations. It's a
deliberate act. Moreover, Outlook is the only program that will allow you
to check if the backup is a good one. Excel can't tell you that. When you
right-clicked and chose Open With, you specified Excel and left the "Always
use the selected program to open this type of file" box checked. So,
reverse the process. RIght-click, choose Open WIth>Choose Program and
select Outlook as the program, making sure you check that "Always open":
box.

That said, the icon doesn't matter, only the file's extension (and even
then, you should still be able to use it). Moreover, you never open a PST
from the file system (i.e., WIndows Explorer) as you've done, even if the
file type association is Outlook. Start Outlook and open it there with
File>Open>Personal Folders File. It should open unless you did something to
it during your "backup" process. If it opens successfully and you can see
the data, it's a good backup and you can then close it with a
right-click>Close.