Outlook Backup Tool

[Guest]

I am backing up my Outlook folders to an external hard drive, as a .pst
file. However, when I open my E:/ drive and double click Outlook Backup, I
get an error message that Windows (XP) cannot open the file because it is not
a valid Win32 application. How does one open a .pst file from an application
other than Outlook itself?

 

[Brian Tillman]

I am backing up my Outlook folders to an external hard drive, as a
.pst file. However, when I open my E:/ drive and double click
Outlook Backup, I get an error message that Windows (XP) cannot open
the file because it is not a valid Win32 application. How does one
open a .pst file from an application other than Outlook itself?

You cannot open a PST from any application but Outlook and expect it to make
sense. You certainly can't open it from Windows Explorer.

 

[Guest]

Open OL, go to File, Open Outlook Data File and open the backup. Retrieve any
info you want. It the only way it works.

 

[Guest]

I understand the folders are backed up in Outlook itself and how to open
them. But I always thought the purpose of back up was to be able to retrieve
files/info should they become corrupted or if your computer crashes. If your
computer crashes, and you can't open Outlook, then how do you retrieve the
backed up Outlook folders /.pst files? (This is the reason I'm using the
external hard drive as the "save to" directory location.)

 

[Roady [MVP]]

You would still require an application to read the backed up pst-files just
like you require Word for your backed up Word documents.

--
Robert Sparnaaij [MVP-Outlook]
Coauthor, Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003


-----

 

[Brian Tillman]

I understand the folders are backed up in Outlook itself and how to
open them. But I always thought the purpose of back up was to be
able to retrieve files/info should they become corrupted or if your
computer crashes. If your computer crashes, and you can't open
Outlook, then how do you retrieve the backed up Outlook folders /.pst
files?

You repair the dmage, reinstall the application, and use it to open the
file.

 

[Guest]

What if I installed Outlook (Microsoft Office software CD) onto my external
hard drive in addition to my local hard drive? Is that feasible, and would
it enable me to open Outlook Backup from within my E:/ drive?

You would still require an application to read the backed up pst-files just
like you require Word for your backed up Word documents.

--
Robert Sparnaaij [MVP-Outlook]
Coauthor, Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003


-----

I understand the folders are backed up in Outlook itself and how to open
them. But I always thought the purpose of back up was to be able to
retrieve
files/info should they become corrupted or if your computer crashes. If
your
computer crashes, and you can't open Outlook, then how do you retrieve the
backed up Outlook folders /.pst files? (This is the reason I'm using the
external hard drive as the "save to" directory location.)

 

[Gordon]

What if I installed Outlook (Microsoft Office software CD) onto my
external
hard drive in addition to my local hard drive? Is that feasible, and
would
it enable me to open Outlook Backup from within my E:/ drive?

I think the answer is "no you can't" and I also think you are
mis-understanding the idea of a data backup. The idea of a data backup is
NOT neccesarily to be able to read that data with another application, but,
as in the scenario you pose, if your computer crashes, and you have to
re-install Windows and Office (on a new HDD say) THEN you can open your
previously backed-up data with the new installation of Outlook...