opening files (Outlook 2000 SP3/9.0.0.6627)

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greetings from the great white north!

quick question, if i may. i recently had to reformat my hard drive- five times within a sixteen hour period (don’t ask!). before i even knew that i was going to have to do so, i backed up all my files, using nero, via drag and drop onto CD-RWs. i have not really used outlook too much, but outlook express, which i had been using in the past, wasn’t proving to meet my needs, so i switched to outlook. oh, our ISP is verizon DSL, in case that is of importance. so, i found the ourlook .pst file, and copied that, as i have read many times that that is where outlook hides all my e-mail. now… i have copied the file (which is now called Archive) back to my hard drive, right now to the My Documents folder. i tried to open the file directly from the CD-RW, and also from the My Documents folder, and i get this message:

Caution

You are attempting to open a file of type ‘Office Data File’ (.pst)
These files are used by the operating system and by various programs. Editing or modifying them could damage your system.
If you still want to open the file, click Open With, otherwise click Cancel.

well, i clicked Cancel, and ran for help here. the Archive file has 32.0KB in it. i also copied the file named Outlook, whihc has 56.1MB in it. i tried to open it, and got the same Caution message. i want to open my e-mail files again; that’s why i saved them. how can i open them? how do i get to them? help! please?!? thanks for any help that you can send my way. i look forward to it, eagerly. until then, take care and God bless.

smiles-
ladyleadfoot!!!

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It is possible the .pst copy from the CD is Read-Only.
Right_click the .pst on your HD, select Properties, de-select the ‘Read-Only’ attribute at the bottom.

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thanks for your advice, Leif. i copied the file to the My Documents folder, then did as you said. now, there’s more trouble. i have two files: Outlook.pst and Archive.pst. when i tried to open either of them, i got a blank e-mail (just like a new one), with the file at the bottom, like either a forward or an attachment. i tried to open the file, and got this warning message:

Attachment Security Warning

Warning!

This file may contain a virus that can be harmful to your computer. You must save this file to disk before it can be opened. It is important to be VERY certain that this file is safe before you open it.

File name: outlook.pst
Type: Office Data File

it offered me the choice of Save to Disk… or Cancel, so, i clicked on Save to Disk… and told the ‘puter to put it in the folder “carol’s stuff”. i then got this message:

Microsoft Outlook

Outlook cannot save the URL to a file. CAn’t find this file. Make sure the path and file are correct.

it offered me the choice of OK or Cancel, so i chose OK. after that, i tried to close the open/new e-mail, and got this message:

Do you want to save changes? Yes, No, or Cancel

i chose No, backed out, sat and thought a minute, and came here, to ask for more help. i don’t know what to do now. i am completely lost. could/would you please point me in the right direction? thanks again for your help, past, present and future. looking forward to hearing from you, sooner or later. until then, take care and God bless.

smiles-
ladyleadfoot!!!

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How were you trying to open the .pst file?

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i had originally copied the files to a CD via Nero. once i reformatted the hard drive, i copied them back to the hard drive like this: i right-clicked the folders (named Office and Archive) then used CTRL-V to paste them back to the hard drive. i opened Outlook, then double clicked on each of them to open. i then got the blank, new, e-mail, with the file folder at the bottom, just like an attachment. when i clicked on it, i got what i explained in the previous post. hope that answers your question. never thought that i’d have such a hard time trying to open a file folder. i’m almost tempted to save each and every file individually to the hard drive, and keep them that way, instead of using the .pst file. well, thanks for your time; i really appreciate it. take care and God bless.

smiles-
ladyleadfoot!!!

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i had originally copied the files to a CD via Nero. once i reformatted the hard drive, i copied them back to the hard drive like this: i right-clicked the folders (named Office and Archive) then used CTRL-V to paste them back to the hard drive. i opened Outlook, then double clicked on each of them to open. i then got the blank, new, e-mail, with the file folder at the bottom, just like an attachment. when i clicked on it, i got what i explained in the previous post. hope that answers your question. never thought that i’d have such a hard time trying to open a file folder. i’m almost tempted to save each and every file individually to the hard drive, and keep them that way, instead of using the .pst file. well, thanks for your time; i really appreciate it. take care and God bless.

smiles-
ladyleadfoot!!!

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How were you trying to open the .pst file?

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Did you copy by dragging in Windows Explorer? It seems from the messages you got that Windows created shortcuts somehow rather than actually copying the files??? If you right-click drag, you get the choice to copy or move or create a shortcut. Perhaps try the copy again.

Also, see my message above about how best to open the files. The ONLY GOOD WAY to access the files is from inside Outlook.

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i had saved Outlook and Office to their own CD, using Nero. i copied both folders back to my hard drive by right-clicking the folder, then using CTRL-V to paste the entire folder into my folder (carol’s stuff). i see the point that you make about the best way to open the files in inside Outlook. i am afraid that i don’t understand how to do so. i have never seen or used a Personal Folders File. is that something that is automatically created in Outlook? will it allow me to take an entire folder and drop it into the newly created folder? i’m beginning to believe that maybe i should have stuck with outlook express. no, not gonna do it. i’m just hardheaded enough to learn how to use the darned program. thanks again for your help; i’ll holler again if i need more. take care and God bless.

smiles-
ladyleadfoot!!!

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Hi ladyleadfoot!

Don’t have any solutions for you since I use OE, not Outlook, but just wanted to pop in here and say hello. Haven’t seen you on lately. Mustn’t have been having any problems until this?
Best,

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Hi ladyleadfoot!

Don’t have any solutions for you since I use OE, not Outlook, but just wanted to pop in here and say hello. Haven’t seen you on lately. Mustn’t have been having any problems until this?
Best,

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PST = Personal Folders File
(Someone up there in Redmond doesn’t know how to spell)

From inside Outlook 2000, try: File > Open > Personal Folders File (PST)…

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to both leif and jscher2000:

thank you, thank you, thank you!!! after having gotten the computer rebuilt yet another time, after having had to back up my files yet another time, in yet another arcane .pst file, i have FINALLY gotten all of them to where they belong! i have found all of my lost e-mails, for which i thank you so very much. now that i know how to do it, and have copied your instructions to a word file, that i will NOT lose, i’ll never again lose my e-mail. i am so thankful. i had always wondered how woody managed to keep all his e-mail for so many years, in so many .pst files; now i know. thanks once again; your help has been, as always, invaluable. take care and God bless.

smiles-
ladyleadfoot!!!

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to both leif and jscher2000:

thank you, thank you, thank you!!! after having gotten the computer rebuilt yet another time, after having had to back up my files yet another time, in yet another arcane .pst file, i have FINALLY gotten all of them to where they belong! i have found all of my lost e-mails, for which i thank you so very much. now that i know how to do it, and have copied your instructions to a word file, that i will NOT lose, i’ll never again lose my e-mail. i am so thankful. i had always wondered how woody managed to keep all his e-mail for so many years, in so many .pst files; now i know. thanks once again; your help has been, as always, invaluable. take care and God bless.

smiles-
ladyleadfoot!!!

Reply | Quote

PST = Personal Folders File
(Someone up there in Redmond doesn’t know how to spell)

From inside Outlook 2000, try: File > Open > Personal Folders File (PST)…

Reply | Quote

i had saved Outlook and Office to their own CD, using Nero. i copied both folders back to my hard drive by right-clicking the folder, then using CTRL-V to paste the entire folder into my folder (carol’s stuff). i see the point that you make about the best way to open the files in inside Outlook. i am afraid that i don’t understand how to do so. i have never seen or used a Personal Folders File. is that something that is automatically created in Outlook? will it allow me to take an entire folder and drop it into the newly created folder? i’m beginning to believe that maybe i should have stuck with outlook express. no, not gonna do it. i’m just hardheaded enough to learn how to use the darned program. thanks again for your help; i’ll holler again if i need more. take care and God bless.

smiles-
ladyleadfoot!!!

Reply | Quote

Did you copy by dragging in Windows Explorer? It seems from the messages you got that Windows created shortcuts somehow rather than actually copying the files??? If you right-click drag, you get the choice to copy or move or create a shortcut. Perhaps try the copy again.

Also, see my message above about how best to open the files. The ONLY GOOD WAY to access the files is from inside Outlook.

Reply | Quote

thanks for your advice, Leif. i copied the file to the My Documents folder, then did as you said. now, there’s more trouble. i have two files: Outlook.pst and Archive.pst. when i tried to open either of them, i got a blank e-mail (just like a new one), with the file at the bottom, like either a forward or an attachment. i tried to open the file, and got this warning message:

Attachment Security Warning

Warning!

This file may contain a virus that can be harmful to your computer. You must save this file to disk before it can be opened. It is important to be VERY certain that this file is safe before you open it.

File name: outlook.pst
Type: Office Data File

it offered me the choice of Save to Disk… or Cancel, so, i clicked on Save to Disk… and told the ‘puter to put it in the folder “carol’s stuff”. i then got this message:

Microsoft Outlook

Outlook cannot save the URL to a file. CAn’t find this file. Make sure the path and file are correct.

it offered me the choice of OK or Cancel, so i chose OK. after that, i tried to close the open/new e-mail, and got this message:

Do you want to save changes? Yes, No, or Cancel

i chose No, backed out, sat and thought a minute, and came here, to ask for more help. i don’t know what to do now. i am completely lost. could/would you please point me in the right direction? thanks again for your help, past, present and future. looking forward to hearing from you, sooner or later. until then, take care and God bless.

smiles-
ladyleadfoot!!!

Reply | Quote

It is possible the .pst copy from the CD is Read-Only.
Right_click the .pst on your HD, select Properties, de-select the ‘Read-Only’ attribute at the bottom.

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After starting Outlook, use File>Open>Personal Folders File… to add the old PST to your collection (along with your new PST that Outlook automatically created for you).

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After starting Outlook, use File>Open>Personal Folders File… to add the old PST to your collection (along with your new PST that Outlook automatically created for you).

Reply | Quote