Problems with users emails

[Guest]

Two of my users have very large (one of them is in excess of 1.5 GB) .pst
files on the server. Before I came on to work here, the former sysadmin had
their personal files saved on our Windows 2000 server since the .pst files
contain emails that are used for payroll, etc. However, we recently got them
both new laptops (XP laptops on our 2000 network) and they are now constantly
having problems with their outlook programs not being able to access the
personal folders or taking forever to open.

Is this a common problem with oversized .pst files, and if so, will breaking
the .pst files into smaller .pst files, or should I just start having their
personal folders from outlook be saved on their laptops?

 

[Jud]

Two of my users have very large (one of them is in excess of 1.5 GB) .pst
files on the server. Before I came on to work here, the former sysadmin had
their personal files saved on our Windows 2000 server since the .pst files
contain emails that are used for payroll, etc. However, we recently got them
both new laptops (XP laptops on our 2000 network) and they are now constantly
having problems with their outlook programs not being able to access the
personal folders or taking forever to open.

Is this a common problem with oversized .pst files, and if so, will breaking
the .pst files into smaller .pst files, or should I just start having their
personal folders from outlook be saved on their laptops?

1.5 Gig over a standard network could take a long time to open, why not
suggest that they split the PST file down to maybe 2 or 3 with different
names , you can as you know open as many PST files in outlook as you like.

Did they use XP before or 2K

Jud

 

[Guest]

They were using win 2k before, but now they've switched over to XP. I'll try
splitting them up into smaller files and see how that works. Thanks for the
help!

 

[Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]]

Two of my users have very large (one of them is in excess of 1.5 GB)
.pst files on the server. Before I came on to work here, the former
sysadmin had their personal files saved on our Windows 2000 server
since the .pst files contain emails that are used for payroll, etc.
However, we recently got them both new laptops (XP laptops on our
2000 network) and they are now constantly having problems with their
outlook programs not being able to access the personal folders or
taking forever to open.

Is this a common problem with oversized .pst files, and if so, will
breaking the .pst files into smaller .pst files, or should I just
start having their personal folders from outlook be saved on their
laptops?

1. Unless the PST files were created in Outlook 2003 using the new unicode
format, they are limited to 2GB in size. And problems usually occur far
earlier - 1.2GB, 1.5GB. And if you can't restore from a good backup, you'll
lose data if you have to use the crop utility once the file reaches close to
2GB.
2. Microsoft doesn't support accessing PST files over a LAN/WAN connection:
you'll have performance problems (which you're seeing now) and you will
probably eventually have data corruption/loss.

Have you looked into Exchange server? If you are considering upgrading to
W2003, and have a small network, I suggest SBS2003. It's a very good
bargain - includes Exchange 2003 Standard. No PST files - everything's
stored on the server, and remote/laptop users can sync to a local file for
offline use.

 

[Guest]

Our office does have access to an Exchange server, but here's the setup:

- Our office network is connected to a server that is itself connected to a
much larger network. We have exchange servers on this larger network, but it
looks like the default is that each user is set up with a personal folder,
which is located on our office's local server (they're on the office server
as opposed to the individual users' computers so they will be backed up every
night). The individual PC's then access these PST's over the LAN. These
personal folders on the local server are the ones I'm having problems with.

Will breaking the PST's into smaller pieces help with performance?

 

[Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]]

Our office does have access to an Exchange server, but here's the
setup:

- Our office network is connected to a server that is itself
connected to a much larger network. We have exchange servers on this
larger network, but it looks like the default is that each user is
set up with a personal folder

That isn't the default if the client is set up to access the Exchange
mailbox directly - is your network part of the domain in which the Exchange
servers are located? Are you on a domain at all, or in a workgroup?

, which is located on our office's local
server (they're on the office server as opposed to the individual
users' computers so they will be backed up every night).

See http://support.microsoft.com/?id=297019

The
individual PC's then access these PST's over the LAN. These personal
folders on the local server are the ones I'm having problems with.

Yes, and you can't realistically keep this setup and expect not to have
problems.

Will breaking the PST's into smaller pieces help with performance?

May do - but you'll still have problems down the road, most likely -
performance being the least of them. Who manages the IT/Exchange
infrastructure? You Might want to show them this:
http://www.exchangefaq.org/faq/Exchange-5.5/Why-PST-=-BAD-/q/Why-PST-=-BAD/qid/1209

 

[Phillip Windell]

Your "real" problem is the misuse of the products. Stop using email as if
it is a file server.

Save the attachments somewhere on a server at a shared location or on their
local machines,...whatever,..just *anywhere* except within the email.

Delete the message after the file is saved. If the email itself is also
important, then after saving the attachment, remove the attachement from the
message and keep the message without the attachment.

After all that is done do a "Compact" on the PST files.


--

Phillip Windell [MCP, MVP, CCNA]
www.wandtv.com

- Our office network is connected to a server that is itself connected to a
much larger network. We have exchange servers on this larger network, but it
looks like the default is that each user is set up with a personal folder,
which is located on our office's local server (they're on the office server
as opposed to the individual users' computers so they will be backed up every
night). The individual PC's then access these PST's over the LAN. These
personal folders on the local server are the ones I'm having problems

with.