I reinstalled Outlook 2000 and can't find my email, addresses, or calender items

[Dusty]

I had a problem with my Windows XP OS and had to reinstall the OS over
top of itself. No hard drive formatting involved. After windows was
working again, I thought I'd be clever and upgrade to Office 2003 with
Outlook 2003 (NOT EXPRESS). After installing 2003 I soon discovered my
informations was missing. So I decided to remove Office 2003 and
install 2000 and try to recover my information that way then upgrade
to office 2003. No dice.

So now I am stuck as to how to get Outlook to see my old information
(emails, address book, and calander). How and what do I point Outlook
to in order to see that info? Is there a file name I should look for?
Is there a tool I can use?

Please help! Thanks in advance.

 

[Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]]

All of your Outlook information is kept in a .pst file - it has your mail, contacts, appointments etc.

Since you said you are using WIndows XP, turn on searching hidden/system files and search for your .pst file. Once you find it, note the location. Then, open Outlook and use File->Open to access your data.

You can also reinstall Office 2003 once you have gotten Outlook up and running. It will use the .pst file once you have located it.