Problems with Outlook 2016!

techmanc

Golden Member
Aug 20, 2006
1,212
7
81
I am now having problems using Outlook 2016 due to when I was making a backup of the pst file it somehow wants to use the the backup file as its data file which was no longer there.

I saw that the original pst file is missing.

I also saw that now Outlook 2016 is using a separate file for each email address it uses and no clue how that ties in to my now missing main outlook.pst file all I can tell atm that there much smaller files than my outlook backup.

How can I fix this mess so I am using the properly named pst and still have my backup?

Posting for questions and feedback TIA!
 

Ketchup

Elite Member
Sep 1, 2002
14,545
236
106
Make sure the file you want it to use is in the directory Outlook is pointing to.
 

techmanc

Golden Member
Aug 20, 2006
1,212
7
81
this outlook pst is same one brought over from older versions this time was from outlook 2013 pst which I imported in to Outlook 2016 and that part was working fine.

Then I made a backup which was named backup.pst by using the export outlook data file and that defaults to using the backup.pst file which should have meant I had 2 pst files to use but all I have is the backup file now.

I am trying to remember the whole process as best I can

When all is said and done am I supposed to have a named data file for each email acct as well as a outlook.pst file?

I am totally new on how Outlook 2016 sets this up from scratch as this is my first time use this new a version of outlook.
 

Puffnstuff

Lifer
Mar 9, 2005
16,030
4,798
136
I have separate files for each of my email address as well. Older versions made one huge pst file but since 2013 I've noticed separate files for each address. I also use the import function when bringing in data from old backup pst's.
 

mikeymikec

Lifer
May 19, 2011
17,714
9,586
136
Personally I would have just closed Outlook, found the pst file and made a copy of it, as I highly doubt that Outlook is going to export quicker than Windows can copy a single large file. AFAIK your export operation shouldn't have caused that problem, though admittedly I don't remember ever trying it that way.

However, I've encountered a world of pain more than once when just trying to re-use the old Outlook PST file (as the main Outlook PST file), say after a clean Windows install. Since then I've always had Outlook set up a new one, then import the data from the old one. It avoids wonderful issues like Outlook deciding that some spurious CLSID doesn't match between the current user's Outlook configuration and the old PST file, which can cause things like contacts list lookups to not work properly. This sort of thing may be issues that have been fixed in more modern versions of Outlook, but as my negative experiences of Outlook revolve around "such-and-such didn't work, please wait while Outlook performs some laborious, time-wasting procedure before you can even look at the main Outlook UI again", I'm all for delay avoidance tactics :)
 

Puffnstuff

Lifer
Mar 9, 2005
16,030
4,798
136
Honestly this is why I switched from pop to imap and mapi so I could eliminate this pst issue once and for all. While a pst file still exists for each account the data remains on the server so if I lose the local all I have to do is start over and resync with the server folders to restore.
 

mikeymikec

Lifer
May 19, 2011
17,714
9,586
136
With IMAP and Outlook you simply substitute a pst for an ost file, then you have a separate pst file for contacts and other non-mail data; I'm not sure what that fixes exactly. I guess if you have no bandwidth limits or throughput concerns then having to download all your mail again may not be that much of a problem, also assuming that the server is capable of serving a fat pipe. Still, likely to be a pain if you have >1GB of mail and you want to get back to work ASAP.

I just use Thunderbird and POP personally. I have many customers also using Thunderbird and I can't remember a single incident that caused the kind of downtime that Outlook data problems often cause. On the other hand I think the data integrity issues I've experienced with Outlook are almost 1:1 with the number of customers I know are using Outlook, and most of the time the issues seem to happen for no apparent reason.
 

RedTail

Member
Jun 14, 2008
52
0
66
I do not have any suggestions on organizing your email structure but I can advise one thing from experience. Dont import the same .pst into the same account. Multiple email craziness at its finest!
 

mikeymikec

Lifer
May 19, 2011
17,714
9,586
136
I do not have any suggestions on organizing your email structure but I can advise one thing from experience. Dont import the same .pst into the same account. Multiple email craziness at its finest!

I assume you mean, for example, that one sets up Outlook, configures an e-mail account, downloads a bunch of email, then imports from their old PST, thus resulting in at least some e-mail duplication? Outlook allegedly has a feature to avoid duplication during import but I can't say I'd be willing to trust it for a user that has potentially thousands of e-mails stored. In that scenario I would tell Outlook to mount the old PST file as an additional data source, then transfer the e-mails from it in the Outlook UI.
 

techmanc

Golden Member
Aug 20, 2006
1,212
7
81
For years I been using PopPeeper and now using the pro version with the plus pack and and mostly used Outlook 2003 and 2010 and running Windows 7 Ultimate since it came out.

A year ago I got Windows 10 Pro upgrade and foolishly opted to use the developer version and I had all my other software like my games installed .

Then I wanted to rollback my system and get rid of all the Windows software nagging that was getting too annoying Also I added Office 2016 to the mix to to be using the latest version of Office.

Now I find out no way to do anything to change or remove the Windows version I was using I decided to build new Windows 10 Pro from scratch and this is how the export/import thing of Outlook 2016 started and became a problem.

One thing I dont like about Outlook 2016 is the office added program I used for years for backups not supporting Outlook 2016.

Here is my preview thread I started.......

https://forums.anandtech.com/threads/want-to-remove-windows-10-preview.2485174/
 

techmanc

Golden Member
Aug 20, 2006
1,212
7
81
Going to try to fix my Outlook 2016 that I installed awhile back and these 2 SS show my problem I am having.
The contacts dont have anything in where my email name is I have to go to contacts old which I made myself before and now I contacts Outlook which I think those contacts should be where my email address is.
That the best I can explain what going on.

This whole problem became when I installed Outlook for the first time I had ever used it moving up from Outlook 2013 which is very different setup.

Now the pic of my email setup this is how it ended up after I setup my 2 email acct I use and imported my pst file.

Now I have tons of dupe email and the folder that say outlook is not getting any new emails since the end of the year and my main email acct get all my new email


http://s967.photobucket.com/user/mi...-03-03_113519_zpsenooekrn.png.html?sort=3&o=0


http://s967.photobucket.com/user/mi...-03-03_113840_zpsutcfo93v.png.html?sort=3&o=1

Is this the default setup where each email address has it own setting and and use these outlook folders as well ?

How can I keep just one copy of my email for my records and get my setup working as was originally setup?
 

techmanc

Golden Member
Aug 20, 2006
1,212
7
81
so atm I know its not setup properly and now how to access the info and look like all my old email is still there even tho some is duped I just leave it as it is.