Ghost .PSTs in Outlook 2003

[nkee1229]

The ghostbuster add-in http://addins.howto-outlook.com/codetwo_ghostbuster
worked wonders on two of my ghost files, HOWEVER, when I started
opening/consolidating more .PST files, three more ghosts appeared and here's
THE CATCH: The new ghost folders do not have names, so the plugin cannot find
them!!! When, I right-click on the folder, a menu option for "Close "
<0w#25>"" is available, but when I click on it, I get the error message, "You
cannot close the mailbox that containts your calendar, contacts, and inbox."
The thing is: this is NOT the main mailbox that contains the aforementioned
items (which are stored on my server). Secondly, when I try to expand those
folders to see what's inside, I get the error message, "Unable to expand the
folder. The set of folders could not be opened. Show help >>
(button)"

What now? I have screen shots that I can email, if you'd like to see them.

 

[DL]

Create a new Outlook Profile, don't copy old, and set it as default
I assume all your pst files are on the local PC

 

[nkee1229]

Second problem: Okay, NOW I'm really panicking.

I tried to make a copy of my Master PST file, after having consolidated many
old .PSTs into one folder in Outlook. In order to make the copy, the .PST
file must be closed in Outlook, but when I go to close the folder, I get the
warning, "The operation failed. An object could not be found." I'm afraid if
I use the same Ghostbuster utility (described above), it will delete/corrupt
my Master PST file as well.

What can I do to close the folder in Outlook without harming the original
file?!

 

[DL]

You simply close outlook, ensure outlook.exe is not a running process then
copy any pst to another location

 

[nkee1229]

The thing is: I am reluctant to create a whole new profile. Seems like a
pain... Any other way of wiping out the 3 mystery Ghosts? How did they get
created, anyway?

 

[Russ Valentine]

Creating a new profile is easy and is the only reliable way to get rid of
ghosts. The software you tried obviously failed. You could try a reg hack if
you want, but they rarely work in current Outlook versions and are far
riskier than creating a new profile.
Ghosts are created by migrating data incorrectly when you update an Outlook
version. Might be worth figuring out how you did this so you don't make the
same mistake again. This was end user error, not Outlook error.

 

[nkee1229]

I get the error message: "You already have a Microsoft Exchange Server set
up. Outlook only supports one Exchange Server account at a time." How do I
re-set up my original account, while preserving all of my settings?

 

[Russ Valentine]

You would not get any such error message if you were doing what we told you.
Tell us what you are doing instead. You've provided no information. Exchange
Serve is not even in play here if you are using a PST file.

 

[nkee1229]

Right. Interesting info about the migrating of data, Russ. I appreciate your
expertise.

What I had been doing up to the point where I got these ghost .PSTs is:
File > Open > Outlook Data File... > (locate the PST) > click OK > drag and
drop itmes from that .PST to my master .PST, for the sole purpose of
consolidating all of my old items (email, calendar, contacts - each with its
own subfolders by date) - from multiple .PSTs - into one file.

As for my follow-up question, I neglected to mention that my concern
involves the default "Mailbox" where all of my mail, which is on an exchange
server, gets delivered to - NOT any .PST. To clarify, I now have two folders
in the navigation pane in Outlook: the Mailbox (default folder where my email
gets sent) and a .PST folder. I am concerned about preserving the settings of
the Mailbox b/c it sounds as if (according to the "You already have a
Microsoft Exchange Server set
up. Outlook only supports one Exchange Server account at a time." error
message I get) I have to delete my entire current profile before I can set
one up.

P.S. At no point did I claim this was an Outlook error. I know it was a user
error.

 

[Russ Valentine]

Back up. If you are using Exchange Server, why is there even a PST file in
your profile? Why would you have a "master" PST and another that you've used
for transfer of data? You should have no PST files in your profile. You
should be able to close any that you do have.

 

[nkee1229]

I have old emails archived in a PST file that I need to access, in addition
to the ones that I receive daily in my Mailbox. Isn't the purpose of having
archives or .PST files to get them off your exchange server when that gets
too full? I have multiple PST files because I've archived various items from
two different laptops in the past. And yet, I know I SHOULD be able to close
the .PST files, however, that doesn't seem to be the case...

 

[Russ Valentine]

Slowly and painfully, more and more essential information trickles in.
I know of no good reason you need to use PST file while running against
Exchange Server. In fact, most Exchange Administrators frown on it. Exchange
Server has far more robust archiving capability than the local client does.
At any rate, none of this has any bearing on your initial post and I'd
suggest you discuss your issues with your Exchange Administrator and let him
or her figure out what you want to do. None of the known reasons users get
ghost PST files apply when you're running against Exchange Server.