Moving PST between Outlook XP and Outlook 2010

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I have used Outlook XP (2002 SP3) under WinXP on desktop PC for 8 years.

Recently, I acquired a Win7 Netbook installed with Office 2010 Pro. I copied the Outlook 2002 PST on PC to the Netbook as the data file for Outlook 2010. Outlook 2010 open this 2002 PST file with no problem.

I then copied THIS Outlook 2010 PST file back to WinXP PC and used Outlook 2002 to open it. Outlook 2002 open it with no problem either.

It seems that I can use the same PST in Outlook 2002 or Outlook 2010 as long the size of PST is not over 2GB. Since my Netbook is used only when I am on the road, if this is true, I don’t need to spend money in upgrading the Office 2002 Pro to Office 2010 Pro on my WinXP PC.

O.K. here is my question. Am I making wrong conclusion on my experience in moving the PST file between Outlook 2002 and Outlook 2010? Is there any other possible hidden problem may occur?

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Dennis,

As long as you keep the .PST file in the Outlook 2003-97 format you’ll have no problems. If you do something to upgrade the .PST file layout to Outlook 2007 or 2010 then you’ll have problems when you copy it back to 2002. I’ve been moving .PST files around this way between Desktop/Laptop and sharing the same .PST file on a dual boot Vista{upgraded to Win-7}/Outlook 2007 – Win XP Pro/Outlook 2003 for over a 3 years w/o problems.

May the Forces of good computing be with you!

RG

PowerShell & VBA Rule!
Computer Specs

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Dennis,

As long as you keep the .PST file in the Outlook 2003-97 format you’ll have no problems. If you do something to upgrade the .PST file layout to Outlook 2007 or 2010 then you’ll have problems when you copy it back to 2002. I’ve been moving .PST files around this way between Desktop/Laptop and sharing the same .PST file on a dual boot Vista{upgraded to Win-7}/Outlook 2007 – Win XP Pro/Outlook 2003 for over a 3 years w/o problems.

Hi RetiredGeek,

Thank you for your reply.

What kind of upgraded PST file layout that I will have problems when I copy it back to 2002?

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Am I making wrong conclusion on my experience in moving the PST file between Outlook 2002 and Outlook 2010? Is there any other possible hidden problem may occur?

You are correct that newer versions of Outlook can use the older-format PST file (pre-Outlook 2003, I think), so the scenario of copying back and forth should work, subject to the 2GB limit you mentioned.

I’m not sure whether you can avoid duplicate messages, i.e., retrieving the messages a second time on the second installation of Outlook. In early versions of Outlook, the file used to track that was stored outside the PST. I can’t recall the situation for Outlook 2002, but you’ll find out soon enough if that is going to be a problem.

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I’m not sure whether you can avoid duplicate messages, i.e., retrieving the messages a second time on the second installation of Outlook.

Jefferson,

I just set Outlook to delete the message from the server after it downloads it and then you don’t have to worry about the duplicates problem. You just have to remember to copy the .PST file before you get your mail on the updated machine and not use the other machine {for email} until you have copied it back.

May the Forces of good computing be with you!

RG

PowerShell & VBA Rule!
Computer Specs

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Dennis,

If you start with an older PST file you shouldn’t have any problems. However, if you start with a 2010 Outlook file it could be in a different format {I don’t have 2010 to test this out}. Below is a screen shot showing that my PST file is in 2002-97 format even though I’m using it in Outlook 2003 & 2007. See this Microsoft Article on .PST files.

May the Forces of good computing be with you!

RG

PowerShell & VBA Rule!
Computer Specs

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Dennis,

If you start with an older PST file you shouldn’t have any problems. However, if you start with a 2010 Outlook file it could be in a different format {I don’t have 2010 to test this out}. Below is a screen shot showing that my PST file is in 2002-97 format even though I’m using it in Outlook 2003 & 2007. See this Microsoft Article on .PST files.

RetiredGeek,

After reading all your inputs, I feel safe in moving the ANSI PST between Outlook 2002 and Outlook 2010.

Thank you guys!

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