PST failure after brief network connectivity interuption

[Guest]

The following error is what Im receiving when trying to access a PST which is
located on a network share: "The File xx.pst could not be accessed because
another workstation has modified it. Close and then restart all mail-enabled
applications."

The usual fix to this is close and re-open Outlook, however, occasionally
the problem requires a logoff/logon.

Ive narrowed the problem down to a temporary (1 second or less) drop in
network connectivity to the workstation. For some reason it appears as
though Outlook cannot cope with the brief loss and some how locks the PST
file. I have reproduced the error numerous times by disabling and re-enabling
my network connection. Prior to the loss the PST is open and perfectly
operable.

I am using Outlook 2003 with a mixed Exchange 5.5/2003 environment. Any
help with this problem would be appreciated, the users are restless.

 

[Brian Tillman]

Ive narrowed the problem down to a temporary (1 second or less) drop
in network connectivity to the workstation. For some reason it
appears as though Outlook cannot cope with the brief loss and some
how locks the PST file. I have reproduced the error numerous times by
disabling and re-enabling my network connection. Prior to the loss
the PST is open and perfectly operable.

Exactly one of the reasons Microsoft states that PSTs should not be on
network shares. You can corrupt the PST that way.

 

[Guest]

Oh wow, so is there no solution to this? Ive been in quite a few large
institutions and they all use PSTs located on network drives. Considering a
lot of them were using outdated "iffy" machines this was the wise choice.
The server gets backed up, their workstations do not...

 

[Brian Tillman]

Oh wow, so is there no solution to this?

The solution is, in an Exchange environment, to have all your mail remain on
the Exchange server, where it will be backed up with Exchange tools. In a
non-Exchange environment, the solution is to have a locally-stored PST and a
tool like PFBACKUP, which can copy the PST to network share, where it can be
backed up. This latter approach will necessitate people closing Outlook
from time-to-time (I close mine every night when I go home, even though my
PC stays running and locked) in order for PFBACKUP to perform the copy.