How to Find & Copy the Right Outlook PST Files
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Some of the most common questions related to Outlook data files related to restoring, backing up or migrating Outlook data from one machine to another are:
1) Where are my Outlook PST files located?
2) Which files should I backup or migrate to a new machine?
When access to original Outlook configuration IS NOT available
The only option in this case is to search the default locations where Outlook creates/stores stored it’s data on the original system as detailed in
Locating the Outlook data files
https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Locating-the-Outlook-data-files-0996ece3-57c6-49bc-977b-0d1892e2aacc?ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US
The limitations of the above information as it relates to PST files are
- 1) it only identifies the “default” folder location where Outlook would create new PST files but there is no requirement that the PST file you are/were using in Outlook is located in the “default folder”
- 2) if multiple PST files exist in the default location, it doesn’t identify which of those PST files was being used in your active Outlook profile. The most promising indicator would be the file date stamps on any PST files in the default location since all PST files used in a current profile will have the same last modified date stamp. That at least is a farily safe indicator of which files were in use.
- 3) When multiple PST files are present especially when multiple email accounts have been configured, it doesn’t tell you which PST file is associated with a given email account and/or which PST file may be designated as the “default” data store for contacts and calendar items in the profile.
When access to original Outlook configuration IS available
A video overview of the of the information contained below
The best approach to use if access is still available on the original system in question regardless of the intended purpose (Backup, Copy, Migrate) is to let Outlook tell you exactly what its using and what’s required. This information can be retrieved in one of two ways, either from within Outlook by accessing Account Settings (which will provide information for the current profile in use) OR via the Control Panel Mail app which can provide the information for every profile that has been configured and may be used.
For sake of simplicity, the following is based on using the Control Panel Mail app which makes the same email account and data file Account Settings information available as would be the case if you accessed Account Settings from within your version of Outlook.
Finding the relevant PST files in use
#1) Open the Control Panel Mail app
#2) Click on the Data Files button (or <Show Profiles> if you first need to select a different then the one designated as the default)
This lists all PST files in use for a given profile (if you don’t select a profile before clicking on the Data Files button – the files for the default profile will be presented). This list not only identifies the full folder path where the PST file exists but also the exact PST file name in use. Two items of importance
a) the data file designated as the “default” for the profile will contain the default folders for contacts/calendar etc. If this happens to be related to an online Exchange account OR an Outlook.com account configured as an EAS account, the contact/calendar information is being maintained on the server. If the default data file is a PST file, be sure to take note of it in the event you are migrating to a new system otherwise you may end up losing your contact/calendar information
b) An IMAP account configured in Outlook ‘2010 or earlier will always involve two data files. One PST file will contain the <Inbox> and other email folders configured at the server level. There is no particular need to back up this file since it will be recreated when the IMAP account is reconfigured on the new system. You cannot associate an old IMAP PST file when re-configuring an IMAP Account, it follows the same rules and processes as occur with OST based files in Outlook ‘2013. The second data file for an IMAP account is the one designated to be the default for the profile. If only email account is configured and it’s an IMAP account, there will always be two PST files listed under the Data Files tab.
Outlook ‘2013 uses one OST file for an IMAP account and if no default data file has been defined, this OST file will contain folders with the the additional description of “This Computer Only”. In this circumstance, it’s important that the contents of the folders marked as “This Computer Only” be backed up separately to a PST file otherwise the contents of these folders will be permanently list if the email account is ever deleted from the profile. OST files can only be accessed in the Outlook profile and email account that originally created it and cannot be opened independantly. Deleting an IMAP account and then immediately re-adding it will result in a new OST file getting created.
#3) Click on the Email tab
This will list all email accounts configured in the profile and the one(s) that will be specific interest are those configured as POP3 accounts. You should take note which PST file is associated with each POP3 email account. The complete path and file name can be seen by highlighting each POP3 account and then recording the file information at the bottom of the tab beside the <Change Folder> button.
This information will be important if you want the identical configuration on a new machine as was in use on an old system.
Category: Migrating Outlook, Outlook - How To, Tutorial Videos
