How do I eliminate duplicate folders

J

Johnnymac

Hi. I have a problem of my own making, I believe. I recently purchased a
new computer. To migrate Outlook to it, I simply outlook.pst from my old
computer to the new, and put it in C:\Documents and
Settings\myname\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook. Now I have two things
going on. First, in my folder list, I have two 'Personal Folders', complete
with all subfolders and everything. Both are mirror images of each other,
and all changes show up in both. In my efforts to correct this, I discovered
the other problem, which is my .pst file has vanished. When I right-click on
Personal Folders, then click 'Advanced' to locate my .pst file, I get an
error message that, "The operation failed. An object could not be found."
And when I navigate to C:\Documents and Settings\myname\Application
Data\Microsoft\Outlook I no longer find a .pst file there. In fact, when I
do a search, I don't find any .pst files on my system at all.

Fortunately, Outlook functions normally otherwise, so it's not a crisis,
just something I'd like to clean up. Any help would be appreciated.
 
B

Brian Tillman

Johnnymac said:
Hi. I have a problem of my own making, I believe. I recently
purchased a new computer. To migrate Outlook to it, I simply
outlook.pst from my old computer to the new, and put it in
C:\Documents and Settings\myname\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook.
Click to expand...

The usual place for a PST is %UserProfile%\Local Settings\Application
Data\Microsoft\Outlook.
Now I have two things going on. First, in my folder list, I have two
'Personal Folders', complete with all subfolders and everything.
Both are mirror images of each other, and all changes show up in
both.
Click to expand...

This is usually caused by overwriting a PST with another of exactly the same
name.
In my efforts to correct this, I discovered the other problem,
which is my .pst file has vanished. When I right-click on Personal
Folders, then click 'Advanced' to locate my .pst file, I get an error
message that, "The operation failed. An object could not be found."
And when I navigate to C:\Documents and Settings\myname\Application
Data\Microsoft\Outlook I no longer find a .pst file there. In fact,
when I do a search, I don't find any .pst files on my system at all.
Click to expand...

Search won't find it unless you enable the advanced settings and specify you
want it to search hidden files and folders as well.
Fortunately, Outlook functions normally otherwise, so it's not a
crisis, just something I'd like to clean up.
Click to expand...

It couldn't function normally if it doesn't have a PST to use. What file
does File>Data File Management say it's using?

The quickest way to repair this problem is to create a new mail profile
through Control Panel>User Accounts>Mail>Show Profiles>New.
 
J

Johnnymac

Thanks for your reply. I hope you don't mind answering a few more questions.

"It couldn't function normally if it doesn't have a PST to use. What file
does File>Data File Management say it's using?"

You're right. It says it's using C:\Documents and Settings\John
McGrann\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook. Sorry for the
confusion.

"The quickest way to repair this problem is to create a new mail profile
through Control Panel>User Accounts>Mail>Show Profiles>New."

Will this resolve the "Operation Failed/Object Could Not Be Found" error,
the duplicate folder problem, or both?

Will I be able to migrate all my current information to the new profile?

Will I then remove the existing profile?
 
B

Brian Tillman

Johnnymac said:
You're right. It says it's using C:\Documents and Settings\John
McGrann\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook. Sorry for
the confusion.
Click to expand...

I thought so.
"The quickest way to repair this problem is to create a new mail
profile through Control Panel>User Accounts>Mail>Show Profiles>New."

Will this resolve the "Operation Failed/Object Could Not Be Found"
error, the duplicate folder problem, or both?
Click to expand...

It should certaainly fix the latter, and I suspect it will fix the former.
Will I be able to migrate all my current information to the new
profile?
Click to expand...

Yes. You just point the new profile at your existing PST.
Will I then remove the existing profile?
Click to expand...

You can if you wish, after making sure the new is set up the way you want.
I would.

Just to be absolutely clear, I'm speaking of a mail profile, not a Windows
username. I've had one person create a new username when I gave them this
same advice because I wasn't explicit.
 
J

Johnnymac

Thank you. That is immensely helpful.

"Just to be absolutely clear, I'm speaking of a mail profile, not a Windows
username. I've had one person create a new username when I gave them this
same advice because I wasn't explicit."

Got it. I understood the first time, but I appreciate you making sure.
 
N

Niki - H

Thanks for this, I've been trying to rectify exactly the same thing.
Unfortunately, I don't seem to be able to follow:

Control Panel>User Accounts>Mail>Show Profiles>New

I'm using XP Pro and under 'User Accounts' there doesn't appear to be an
option to create a new mail profile. Am I missing something? (I have admin.
permissions)

Thanks.
 
B

Brian Tillman

Niki - H said:
Thanks for this, I've been trying to rectify exactly the same thing.
Unfortunately, I don't seem to be able to follow:

Control Panel>User Accounts>Mail>Show Profiles>New

I'm using XP Pro and under 'User Accounts' there doesn't appear to be
an option to create a new mail profile. Am I missing something? (I
have admin. permissions)
Click to expand...

Are you using Category or Classic view of the Control Panel? If the latter,
then just double-click the Mail applet. If the former, switch to Classic
view and proceed as above.

By the way, I mistyped the Mail applet choices. It's Mail>Show Profiles>Add
 
F

Frank

Brian

I am running Windows 2000 and Microsoft Office 2000. I have read some of
your responses regarding duplicate folders. I have setup a new mail profile
but don't understand what it means "to point the new profile at your
exsisting PST". I know where my current .pst is located, I just don't
understand how to merge or connect pst file to the new mail profile.
 
B

Brian Tillman

Frank said:
I am running Windows 2000 and Microsoft Office 2000. I have read some
of your responses regarding duplicate folders. I have setup a new
mail profile but don't understand what it means "to point the new
profile at your exsisting PST". I know where my current .pst is
located, I just don't understand how to merge or connect pst file to
the new mail profile.
Click to expand...

Is Outlook 2000 running in Internet Mode Only or Corporate/Workgroup Mode?
Help>About will tell you.
 
B

Brian Tillman

Frank said:
Thank you for responding. I am running in Internet Mail Only.
Click to expand...

Oops. I have a problem understanding now. OL 2000 IMO does not have
profiles per-se (it does, but only one) and the Mail applet in Control Panel
won't let you add one. Thus, I can't resolve this with your earlier
statement:
I have setup a new mail profile but don't understand what it means "to
point the
new profile at your exsisting PST".
Click to expand...

Perhaps Russ Valentine, who is more familiar with OL 2000, can answer.
 
T

Tim Jackson

Brian Tillman said:
The quickest way to repair this problem is to create a new mail profile
through Control Panel>User Accounts>Mail>Show Profiles>New.
Click to expand...

I tried this method and it did indeed solve the problem but it also causes
you to have to recreate all your email accounts and you also lose your
auto-complete data. Is there a way around this?

Tim
 
B

Brian Tillman

Tim Jackson said:
I tried this method and it did indeed solve the problem but it also
causes you to have to recreate all your email accounts and you also
lose your auto-complete data. Is there a way around this?
Click to expand...

No way around recreating your accounts, but you can possibly get your
autocomplete cache back by renaming the .NK2 file from the old profile name
to the new profile name.
 
T

Tim Jackson

Brian Tillman said:
No way around recreating your accounts, but you can possibly get your
autocomplete cache back by renaming the .NK2 file from the old profile name
to the new profile name.
Click to expand...

Thanks Brian, that sorted out the problem perfectly.

Tim
 
L

Lukas Bradley

The quickest way to repair this problem is to create a new mail profile
through Control Panel>User Accounts>Mail>Show Profiles>New.
Click to expand...

I'm using Windows XP Pro, Office 2003, and have my Control Panel set to the
"classic view" and had trouble finding this.

For those of you like me, you can find the "Mail" option directly in Start |
Settings | Control Panel, not in User Accounts.
 
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