Outlook 2003 Ost question

[Adam Raff]

Good Day,

I hope I have an easy question.

We are running an Exchange Server Enterprise edition and our client is
Outlook 2003. I understand that in the older version of Outlook there was a
limit for the PST and OST files which was about 2 gig. Has this limit
changed in the new version? If so what is the new limit.

Thanks
Adam Raff

 

[Diane Poremsky [MVP]]

if they are using the new Unicode format there is no size limit. (It's the
default for new profiles in most cases.)

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]
Author, Teach Yourself Outlook 2003 in 24 Hours
Coauthor, OneNote 2003 for Windows (Visual QuickStart Guide)
Author, Google and Other Search Engines (Visual QuickStart Guide)



Join OneNote Tips mailing list: http://www.onenote-tips.net/

 

[neo [mvp outlook]]

Outlook 2003 supports 2 different PST files.

1) (Default format) Personal Folders - This file has a software set limit of
20GB but can grow bigger by setting a registry key. Take care with this one
and FAT32 drives because FAT32 has a file size limit of 4GB - 1 Byte.

2) Outlook 97 - 2002 Personal Folders - This is the one that has that
*about* 2GB limit with 65,000 items per folder.


You can't control OST format. The format depends on what version of
Exchange one runs against, but if running against Exchange 2003 you will get
an OST that is mirrors #1 above. (Odds are, the Exchange site will set
mailbox limits since some of the Exchange recovery tools are still limited
to creating the Outlook 97/2002 PST file format.)

 

[Adam Raff]

Sorry, so that there is no mistake. We are running Exchange 2003

Thanks
Adam Raff

 

[Adam Raff]

Thanks for the answers,

It seems that the person in question has about 2 gig worth of data on her
system and all of a sudden the OST file started acting up. It would not
start up. The user exited the system and after that when she restarted
Outlook 2003 it wanted to check the file. After it checked the file it
started giving problems again. I was not able to turn the cache off. So to
get her up and running again, I renamed the OST to BAC and turned of the
Cache then. I was then able to get her up and working for now.

Is there something that I can use to test the OST file? Is there another
tool perhaps?

Thanks
Adam Raff

 

[neo [mvp outlook]]

Then you get the big, bad, beefy OST that should make most pack rats happy.


And yes, Exmerge for Exchange 2003 only creates Outlook 97/2002 compatible
PST files.

 

[neo [mvp outlook]]

ScanOST is the only tool that I am aware of and it does install by default
with Outlook 2003. (its under the program files\common files folder
structure)

 

[Adam Raff]

Hi and thanks for your help,
A couple of questions come to mind.

1: What does ScanOST do?
2: What about scanpst, from what I have read it will also support an OST
file. (inbox repair tool)
3: Do any of these tests have size limits? Meaning even though they came
with Outlook 2003 will they support larger file sizes?
4: Is there a way to check if I am using the right file format for my OST or
PST file that will support larger file sizes (unicode)

Thanks for the help
Adam Raff

 

[Pat Cai [MSFT]]

Address your questions here.

Q1:
What does ScanOST do?
A1:
ScanOST is used to check and repair integrity errors of only OST file. We
can even see the cache folder hierarchy in the OST file. This tool is
focusing on analyze and repair

Q2:
What about ScanPST, from what I have read it will also support an OST file.
(inbox repair tool)
A2:
ScanPST can be used to repair both PST and OST files. It doesn't have the
detailed GUI as ScanOST. It focuses on repair errors and shows less
information. For more information about the two utilities, please refer to:

Repair an .ost or .pst file in Outlook
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA010563001033.aspx

Q3:
Do any of these tests have size limits? Meaning even though they came with
Outlook 2003 will they support larger file sizes?
A3:
The ScanPST in Outlook 2003 also supports the PST file that is over 2GB.
ScanPST should be able to automatically detect what kind of PST/OST it is
being run on.

However, for Outlook 2002 and the previous edition, it has the 2GB size
limitation for both PST and OST file. This applies to both Outlook and
ScanPST. For more information, please refer to:

296088 OL: Oversized PST and OST Crop Tool
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=296088

Q4:
Is there a way to check if I am using the right file format for my OST or
PST file that will support larger file sizes (unicode)
A4:
Yes.
-- Open the PST file in Outlook 2003. Select File/Open/Outlook data file
-- Right click on the PST file, select Properties/Advanced

In the Format field:
If the PST file is Unicode, then it is displayed as "Personal Folders File"
If not, then it is displayed as "Personal Folder File (97-2002)"

Hope the information helps.

Regards,

Pat Cai
Microsoft Online Partner Support

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