Moving "Contacts" from one computer to another

Thread view:

Enable EMail Alerts

Start New Thread

Thread rating:

Lewis - 18 Aug 2004 22:19 GMT

Help! I recently left the company I was working for and
I had a co-worker download my outlook data files onto a
disk. I finally figured out how to convert/import
the .pst files but I can't seem to get the contacts to
work.

He sent them as a .pst file but I don't believe that is
right so I changed the extension to a .pab. But when I
try to upload them I get a message saying "the PAB was
created using a different version of MSPST.DLL"

My home computer is running outlook 2002 and the old
office computer was recently converted to office 2003.

So my questions are.. am I screwed? Am I using the right
extension on the contact file? Can I convert the file so
I can upload it into my home system? Other suggestions?

Thanks... call me frustrated!

Reply to this Message

Patricia Cardoza [Outlook MVP] - 18 Aug 2004 22:34 GMT

1. Contacts are stored in the PST file in a folder. PAB is an older file
format that's rarely if ever used in the newer versions of Outlook.
2. If the PST file your coworker created in Outlook 2003 was a unicode PST
file (Outlook 2003's new format), you're out of luck unless you can get a
copy of Outlook 2003 as older versions of Outlook will not read unicode PST
files.

Signature

Patricia Cardoza
Outlook MVP
Author - Special Edition Using Microsoft Office Outlook 2003
Lead Author - Access 2003 VBA Programmer's Reference
Author - Absolute Beginner's Guide to Microsoft OneNote 2003

http://blogs.officezealot.com/cardoza

> Help! I recently left the company I was working for and
> I had a co-worker download my outlook data files onto a
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
>
> Thanks... call me frustrated!

Reply to this Message

Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook] - 18 Aug 2004 22:48 GMT

None of your assumptions is correct. PST was the correct file type. Never
rename a PST file.

Your co-worker created this PST file in the format used by Outlook 2003
(UNICODE). That format is not compatible with earlier versions. He or she
should have created it in the older PST format (ANSI).

Signature

Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

> Help! I recently left the company I was working for and
> I had a co-worker download my outlook data files onto a
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
>
> Thanks... call me frustrated!

Reply to this Message

Lewis - 19 Aug 2004 23:13 GMT

Thanks Russ,

How do I tell him to do that? Is there a utility in
office 2003 that will convert a PST to an older version?

Thanks!
Lewis

>-----Original Message-----
>None of your assumptions is correct. PST was the correct file type. Never
[quoted text clipped - 25 lines]
>
>.

Reply to this Message

Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook] - 20 Aug 2004 00:04 GMT

All they need to do is invoke the File > New > Outlook Data File... dialog.
There they will be given the chance to select the format for this new PST
file. They should choose "Outlook 97-2002." Then they should copy the
information you want transferred into this new PST file. You'll have no
trouble opening this file with an older installation of Outlook.
Note: Microsoft neglected to include an option to select a PST file format
with the Export dialog. This is one of many reasons we advise against using
Import/Export with PST files.

Signature

Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

> Thanks Russ,
>
[quoted text clipped - 42 lines]
>>
>>.

Reply to this Message