Auto Archiving To PST

[Jason Piercey]

I've got our SBS user's (Outlook 2003) setup to Auto Archive
to a mapped network location and have one user who is getting
the following message.


Error while archiving folder "Inbox" in store "Mailbox - Greg Pforr".
A disk error on the Microsoft Exchange Server computer has occurred.
Contact your system administrator.

Error while archiving folder "Outbox" in store "Mailbox - Greg Pforr".
Problems with the destination store P:\Outlook Archive\archive.pst.
Cannot read Outlook-specific information from the store. An error
occurred that prevented the file P:\Outlook Archive\archive.pst from
being saved. Close and then restart all mail-enabled applications.

etc......

All other users do not have this problem. Could a size limitation on
the PST file be the problem?

Thanks.

 

[Brian Tillman]

I've got our SBS user's (Outlook 2003) setup to Auto Archive
to a mapped network location and have one user who is getting
the following message.

PSTs referenced on network shares are unsupported and can lead to PST
corruption.

 

[DL]

MS Doesnt support the use of a pst over a network
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;297019

 

[Jason Piercey]

Thanks for the link. I assume that acticle also applies to archiving
to a PST (it doesn't specifically state that) from an Exchange
environment for day-to-day mail handling?

I'm just trying to keep all email on the server so it can be backed
up with the rest of our data.

 

[Jason Piercey]

Thanks. Is there a size limit on PST files in general?

 

[Brian Tillman]

Thanks for the link. I assume that acticle also applies to archiving
to a PST (it doesn't specifically state that) from an Exchange
environment for day-to-day mail handling?

It refers to all PSTs. You shouldn't have a mail profile reference a
network-hosted PST.

I'm just trying to keep all email on the server so it can be backed
up with the rest of our data.

An archive PST in no way constitutes a backup. If your Exchange admins have
properly configured the server, backups will be made of your mailbox. No
need to move messages from the server at all. If you want backups of your
archive PST, use PFBACKUP or use a batch job to copy the PST to a network
share when Outlook is closed. Some people start Outlook from a batch job
that copies the PSTs first, rather that starting Outlook directly.

 

[Jason Piercey]

It refers to all PSTs. You shouldn't have a mail profile reference a
network-hosted PST.
Thanks


An archive PST in no way constitutes a backup.

It wasn't my intention to imply an archived PST file served
as a backup. I meant so the archive could be included as
additional files in our typical backup strategy.

If your Exchange admins have properly configured the server, backups will
be made of your mailbox. No need to move messages from the server at all.

We have some users who, well... quite frankly, are lazy about deleting
unneeded mail or filing it where it belongs. I've beat them about their
head and shoulders and it simply doesn't sink in. They basically think
they are far to important to be bothered with this type of thing. Yeah.
I am aware of mailbox storage limits and all of that, just haven't got the
go-ahead to enforce such a policy

If you want backups of your archive PST, use PFBACKUP or use a batch job
to copy the PST to a network share when Outlook is closed. Some people
start Outlook from a batch job that copies the PSTs first, rather that
starting Outlook directly.

Thanks, I'll check into this. Unfortunatley not all users close outlook
very often but this still might help some.

 

[Brian Tillman]

Thanks. Is there a size limit on PST files in general?

For Outlook 97-2002, PSTs are in the ANSI format and have an absolute limit
of 2 GB.
For Outlook 2003, Unicode format PSTs can be created with an initial limit
of 20 GB, which can be expanded with registry settings. IMAP account PSTs,
however, use the ANSI format and can't exceed 2 GB.
For Outlook 2007, any PST can be Unicode.

 

[Brian Tillman]

Thanks, I'll check into this. Unfortunatley not all users close
outlook very often but this still might help some.

If your people never close Outlook and are using PSTs, tell them that their
data CANNOT be backed up and you are not responsible if they lose it. There
are no backup tools I know what can reliably back up data base files while
they are open and a PST is a database. You might be able to create a copy
of the PST even if it's open (although many backup tools will simply
complain they couldn't back up the file because it was open), but you cannot
be assured that it is internally consistent and would be useable if a
restore is needed. There are some data structures Outlook doesn't write to
the file until it's closed and you will not have the most recent values of
those structures if you copy the file while it's open.

 

[Jason Piercey]

Thanks again. This particular PST is slightly more than 3gb.

 

[Jason Piercey]

If your people never close Outlook and are using PSTs, tell them that
their data CANNOT be backed up and you are not responsible if they lose
it.

That type of thing goes in one ear and out the other. I wish it were
different,
but it is what it is. I guess they very well may have teo learn the hard
way.

 

[Brian Tillman]

Thanks again. This particular PST is slightly more than 3gb.

Then, on an NTFS file system, it should be able to grow to about six times
its current size. If you're using a FAT32 file system, 4 GB is the limit,
but that's a file system limit, not a PST limit.

 

[Brian Tillman]

That type of thing goes in one ear and out the other. I wish it were
different,
but it is what it is. I guess they very well may have teo learn the
hard way.

The hard way usually sticks, if it's painful enough. Just make sure you
advertise the pain so they don't blame _you_. (Although they still might.)