Reinstalling Outlook Question

My hard drive failed and my backup software does less than it promised in recreating my system on a new hard drive. Terrific.

So I have to reinstall Windows and all my programs on a new drive.

In reinstalling Outlook 2003, however, I'm wondering: Can I just copy my existing .pst file to the appropriate directory on the new drive and then open it to recreate all my emails, contacts and other settings?

Or do you have to do some sort of import/export thingee?

Obviously, just copying the .pst would be soooooo much easier.

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

 

Thanks, Steve. Could you explain how it's done? And why it's better than just copying the .pst -- for example, does one approach recreate your rules and the other not?

I must say, I've been using PCs since my first Osborne in 1979, and yet I still get nervous trying to create a Net or email connection. I took the precaution this time of copying down my existing paramters for outgoing and incoming server, etc. But it still feels like navigating a dangerous swamp to me.

Weird.

 

Thank you. I now have my original .pst file as well as an exported backup.pst, so maybe what I'll do is try them both -- importing the back.pst into my new Outlook .pst or just opening the original.pst copy and see if there are any differences.

Thanks again.

 

I'm new to this forum but I have some helpful information here. I just transferred all my stuff from one of my systems to a new one. I had trouble adding my .pst file and went ballistic because I couldn't figure out what was wrong, that was until I remember something about copying files to a CD then transferring: they turn into 'Read Only' files. Sooo I went into the Properties of the .pst, unchecked "Read Only ". Went into the new .pst, renamed it so I could copy the old .pst into the Personal Folder and VOILA!!! All my stuff! Except the rules, but I can make new ones!

JannE

 

Wow, thanks for that tip.

For some reason I can no longer remember, my current .pst is named "my name.pst" rather than the typical "Outlook.pst" that the program creates.

So if I understand you, you're saying I should go into "my name.pst ", uncheck "read only," then copy it to my USB drive. Then with my new drive installed, change the name of the old "my name.pst" to "Outlook.pst" and then copy it directly over the brand new "Outlook.pst" that the program will create?

Another tip a friend gave me was that when I install the new Outlook on the new drive, I should NOT create an email account yet -- just cancel that portion of setup and go on to finish the rest of the installation. Then copy the old over the new .pst and then open it and voila!

Have you heard of that?

 

Thanks for the clarification.

I think I mentioned before that I've used PCs since my first Osborne in 1979. I remember using a program called QEMM to configure memory addresses. And still, look how much I DON'T know about all this stuff.

So what do ordinary Mr. and Mrs. Smith do?

 

No. You uncheck 'read only' AFTER you copy it onto your new hdd. Copying it onto your USB is what changes it to 'read only'. You install Outlook on your new hdd, set it up, email account and all, but do not connect to your ISP. (I change the amount of time for it to check mail at an hour). AFTER you set it up there will be a NEW something.pst file in your doc/settings/local settings/etc. Go in and change that to something.bak, copy your old .pst to there, uncheck 'read only' then VOILA!!

I am an experimenting fool! There are two other .pst files I THOUGHT I lost from the last few years of transferring stuff to new hdds. Now that I have figured out what the problem is, there are a couple important emails in those lost .pst files I need, so I am going to copy each of them and look-see. I am also a backup fool, so I have a LOT of CDs and, yes, floppies, with 'stuff'. What I really need is a huge hdd, I think my biggest one is 32g, which by todays standards is quite small.

Chatty Cathy today.

Jann (I left the whole quote on purpose)

 

Do I have to put something in this box?

Ordinary? Mrs Smith tends to her house, spends waaaaaaay to much time on the computer. Mr Smith is a drywall finisher. Life is good. The economy isn't. Got a whole soap box about that!

I remember the first computer I ever saw. It was back in like 1965, my dead ex worked for Hunt's foods making mayonaisse, their whole production was run by computer. A HUGE system housed in its own room that was kept at a constant COLD temperature. Next came keypunch.

I didn't learn about basic computering until I went back to college in the early 90's. When it comes to things I SHOULD know because the solution is so simple (I DO run on the KISS principal), I often feel I should go back to basics for awhile to relearn!

Jann