Large email files

I have recently started started seeing problems with Outlook and Outlook Express where clients are keeping thousands of emails. This is the road to disaster.

Outlook: Outlook keeps all it's records (email, contacts, calendar, etc) in one file; usually Outlook.pst. This file has a size limit of 2 GB. When you exceed this limit, you can no longer access Outlook. No warning that you are approaching the limit although later versions will stop accepting email at about the 1.8 GB size. Still no warning, you just cannot get email anymore.

Microsoft has several tools to fix problems with Outlook files. Scanpst.exe (search your hard disk) is the common one and will sometimes recover corrupted Outlook.pst files. I don't think it will fix files over the 2 GB limit. Microsoft also has a program (2gb152.exe) that is supposed to fix 2+ GB Outlook files by randomly chopping out 25 to 50 MB of data from the file. You end up with most of your data but you have no control what data is 'chopped' out.

Another approach is described at SlipStick.com. This site also references several commercial recovery products.
http://www.slipstick.com/problems/scanpst.htm


Outlook Express: Express keeps each folder in a separate file. This pretty much avoids the 2 GB limit but large Outlook Express files can slow your computer down - fairly drastically for one client.


The cure: Stop trying to save everything you ever received or sent. If you are a pack rat and a high volume email user, then expect grief unless you start archiving/deleting emails. Consider deleting all items older than 6 months from your Sent folder.
Delete as much as possible from your other email folders and then empty the Deleted folder.

At this point you are only half done. Emails are not removed from the file when you delete them; they are only flagged to make them invisible. To remove the deleted records and shrink the Outlook/Outlook Express files, you have to Compact them.

Outlook: Right click on Personal Folders, select Properties, Advanced and Compact Now. Expect it to take some time if you have a lot of emails and this is the first time you have ever compacted.

Outlook Express: Click on File in the upper left corner, then Folders and Compact All Folders.


Archive: Also investigate the Archive function in Outlook. (Not sure if Outlook Express has this.)


Another alternative is to use a different email program like Eudora:
http://www.eudora.com/