Outlook 2003 Personal Folder has got a twin!

[L. Peter Stacey]

My Outlook 2003 Personal Folder has got a twin! Recently I noticed that I
have two copies of identical folder names and contents, this is visible when
I click on the Folder List and scroll down. Once I get to Search Folders,
then Archive Folders and the next item is Personal Folders again with a
repeat of all the previous information except the Archive folder.
Obviously it is something I have done but not sure what or how to remove the
surplus folders and details. I also noticed recently that when I am checking
my e-mail I get two sets of send and receive in the progress dialog box.
TIA
Peter Stacey

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

This has become an epidemic in Outlook 2003 and is usually caused by
migrating your Outlook data incorrectly. Outlook 2003 is completely
intolerant of importing your PST file, for example.
Your only solution is to create a new profile and configure it correctly to
use the PST file you want. If it is a previous PST file use only the
directions in the Help file:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA010771141033.aspx

 

[Mary]

An easy way out is to right click on the second file and close it. If it
won't close, try closing the other one. Only the duplicate can be closed, not
the main one.
It's good to rename your Personal File to keep them straight. I changed
'Personal Folder' to my name.

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Easy, yes.
Applicable, almost never. This is Outlook 2003.

 

[L. Peter Stacey]

Thanks for your suggestion Mary.
I have done it and the second copy of my Personal Folders is not visible any
more. However now the question is, does it still exist? and take up space?
Cheers, Peter.

 

[Brian Tillman]

I have done it and the second copy of my Personal Folders is not
visible any more. However now the question is, does it still exist?
and take up space?

If it's a true "copy" (i.e., Outlook was presenting the exact same PST
twice, not that you had two PSTs), then obviously it doesn't take up
additional space.

 

[GreatDane]

This has become an epidemic in Outlook 2003 and is usually caused by
migrating your Outlook data incorrectly. Outlook 2003 is completely
intolerant of importing your PST file, for example.

I think you're wrong. As far as I can tell, I migrated my old OL 2000 .pst
file correctly to my new computer(Win XP, OL 2003): by copying it to the
Documents and Settings\[user]\Local Settings\Application
Data\Microsoft\Outlook folder. I didn't import anything.

I still ended up with duplicate Personal Folders, both containing exactly
the same data. There's only one .pst file, so I can't just delete one. OL
seems to have automatically pointed itself to that file. Both Contacts
folders show my contacts, but when I try to access them through Address Book,
there are two "Contacts" choices listed, one showing my contacts, the other
empty. Since I didn't know anything about profiles before I started reading
these posts, I set up my email accounts from within OL, not from Control
Panel. The profile (there's only one) seems to have been created
automatically at some point.

Since I have no idea what went wrong in the first place, I'm totally
confused about what steps to take to fix this problem. The articles you
point to are of no help at this point.

Since, as you say, this problem is epidemic, you would think Microsoft would
come up with some kind of solution that would prevent this problem from
occurring in the first place, rather than forcing users to jump through all
these hoops to correct it once it's occurred. Blaming the user is just not
acceptable.

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

If you had read what I posted, you would have seen that simply copying and
overwriting the PST file is exactly what produces this problem. Instead, you
should have configured Outlook to use your old PST file. It's all explained
in the links I posted. If you do not understand them, post what you do not
understand.
Well documented problem. Well documented solution.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

This has become an epidemic in Outlook 2003 and is usually caused by
migrating your Outlook data incorrectly. Outlook 2003 is completely
intolerant of importing your PST file, for example.

I think you're wrong. As far as I can tell, I migrated my old OL 2000
.pst
file correctly to my new computer(Win XP, OL 2003): by copying it to the
Documents and Settings\[user]\Local Settings\Application
Data\Microsoft\Outlook folder. I didn't import anything.

I still ended up with duplicate Personal Folders, both containing exactly
the same data. There's only one .pst file, so I can't just delete one.
OL
seems to have automatically pointed itself to that file. Both Contacts
folders show my contacts, but when I try to access them through Address
Book,
there are two "Contacts" choices listed, one showing my contacts, the
other
empty. Since I didn't know anything about profiles before I started
reading
these posts, I set up my email accounts from within OL, not from Control
Panel. The profile (there's only one) seems to have been created
automatically at some point.

Since I have no idea what went wrong in the first place, I'm totally
confused about what steps to take to fix this problem. The articles you
point to are of no help at this point.

Since, as you say, this problem is epidemic, you would think Microsoft
would
come up with some kind of solution that would prevent this problem from
occurring in the first place, rather than forcing users to jump through
all
these hoops to correct it once it's occurred. Blaming the user is just
not
acceptable.

 

[GreatDane]

I read everything you posted. Quoting the article, "Reconnect your old
Outlook data file":

"Use Windows Explorer to copy each Personal Folders file (.pst) from its
backup location...to the <drive>:\Documents and Settings\<user>\Local
Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook folder."

This is exactly what I did.

"...set up Outlook to open the file. 1. On the File menu, point to Open, and
then click Outlook Data File. 2. Click the .pst file you want to open, and
then click OK."

I only have one .pst file, so that is what I selected.

The rest of the article assumes that "You now probably have two Personal
Folders listed in the Navigation Pane. The first was created by Outlook when
you first started Outlook and provided information about your account. The
second folder is your old data."

This is not the case. I have two absolutely identical Personal Folders,
both with my old data. "Close Personal Folders" is unavailable in both of
them.

I have tried doing everything this article suggests, to no avail. If I
missed something, please let me know what it is.

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

I can only assume that the problem here is that your two PST files must have
had the same name, so you actually overwrote your default PST file and
corrupted your profile.
See if that is the case. Microsoft appears to have left that possibility out
of its scenario. If so, they were very sloppy. They need to apologize and
correct their Help files. Won't be the first time.

 

[GreatDane]

I don't remember whether there was a .pst file in the folder before I copied
my old file to it, or what it was named. Since I can't go back in time, I
can only tell you that the old file was named Outlook.pst. I'm assuming
you're saying I should have renamed one of them. If so, which one? And then
what?

Regardless, I'm still left with the question, What do I do now?

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

There is always a PST file in that folder if you had already created an
Outlook profile. Outlook creates a PST file named "Outlook.pst" any time you
create a profile that uses Internet transports.
All you need to do is create a new profile and configure it to use your old
PST file instead of the new one it creates by default.

 

[GreatDane]

Thanks!! Creating a new profile did the trick.

I still wish I knew what I should have done at the beginning. Should I have
renamed one of the .pst files before I copied the old one to the Outlook
folder? Does it matter which one?

Oh, and... HEY, MICROSOFT!! WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT THIS PROBLEM?

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

The best solution is simply to copy your old PST file to a folder _other_
than the default Outlook folder. That way there's no need for renaming
either file. Most people prefer to have all their data in one place anyway
for easier backup, so just put it where you store the rest of your data.
(There is absolutely no need for a PST file to be in Outlook's default
directory.) Once you do that, you can use the Help File's instructions I
posted to set your old PST file as the default.

None of this is new. This has been the recommended procedure for all
versions of Outlook. The reason this problem became an "epidemic" with
Outlook 2003 is twofold:
1. Outlook 2003 now creates a new default PST file automatically when you
create a new profile and gives it the same name your old default PST file
most likely had.
2. The Help File's completely bogus instructions to copy your old PST file
to the default directory. If #1 is true and you have already created an
Outlook profile, then your profile will become corrupt if you follow those
instructions and result in a duplicate set of folders, neither of which you
can close.

Microsoft has been told about this problem since before Outlook 2003 was
released. I have no idea why it has not been addressed. It seems to me they
should at least correct the Help file.