Using Two Computers

[Roger]

I use Outlook in pop3 mode. We have multiple computers downloading mail so
we leave messages on the server until deleted.

With Outlook 2000, when I wanted to move the messages to another computer,
that has not been used for a while, I copied outlook.pst and put it on the
other computer. This always takes the messages and contacts, especially the
sent messages. What is less reliable is that sometimes the computer that I
put the pst file on will download all the messages still on the server and
sometimes it only downloads the new messages. Since there might be a few
hundred messages still on the server this duplication of messages can be a
pain.

Is there a way to move outlook between computers and not have existing
messages downloaded again?

 

[Roady [MVP]]

You could copy over the pst-file and then reconnect it to Outlook 2000 via;
File-> Open-> Personal Data File...
You can then copy over the items you want.

Another way to go would be to use IMAP instead of POP3. Not all mail
providers support IMAP though and IMAP in Outlook 2000 might not be too fun
either. If you are not able/willing to invest in any software, Windows Live
Mail might be an alternative to you. It has better IMAP and security support
than the dated Outlook 2000. It also supports calendar and contacts.
http://download.live.com/wlmail

If you want to move over everything from 1 computer to the other without the
need of reconfiguring anything or that it won't start redownloading all
emails via POP3, then there is no reliable way to do this without using a
3rd party backup that support transferring the mail profile completely
intact. I know Outlook Backup from ABF Software supports this;
http://addins.howto-outlook.com/abf_outlookbackup
If you decide to order use ABF-1HTJ8 to get a discount.

For additional backup solutions which might support this see;
http://www.howto-outlook.com/tag/backup

 

[Roger]

Thanks very much for your detailed response. I think I am going to try the
ABF product. I don't mind paying for software that saves me time.

These days I think most people rely on the Cloud but I still like knowing
that my STUFF is on my machine and my backups.

I am still curious about how Outlook and the POP3 server decide what is new
mail and what has already been downloaded. Is there some sort of ID that is
associated with each message which is compared with the existing messages?

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

I am still curious about how Outlook and the POP3 server decide what is new
mail and what has already been downloaded. Is there some sort of ID that is
associated with each message which is compared with the existing messages?

Yes, there is an ID associated with each message. The client and server work
together to develop the IDs and the client retains the value for each message,
comparing the retained values with the values the server sends tfor the
messages it has each time the client requests new messages. If the IDs
compare, then the message is not new.

Outlook keeps this value on a per-profile basis so if the mail profile
changes, all messages on the server are seen again as new. Outlook 2010 is
supposed to help with that, I've read, but I haven't tested it yet.