Placement of backup file folder?

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Ray19 - 11 Mar 2008 18:19 GMT

My old computer died and I have my old hard drive mounted in an external USB
enclosure and connected to a new computer on a Vista Ultimate 2006 system.
My old computer was running Outlook 2002 which I have installed on my new
computer.
My old hard drive has my Outlook backup folder which I understand I need to
copy to my new computer since my old computer is dead and I can't use the
Easy Transfer Program.
Where do I copy the Outlook backup folder to, i.e., what is the correct path
to use for copying the back up file folder so that Outlook2002 on my new
compouter will use it?
Thanks, in advance , for any help provided.
Ray19

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Brian Tillman - 11 Mar 2008 18:27 GMT

> My old hard drive has my Outlook backup folder which I understand I
> need to copy to my new computer since my old computer is dead and I
> can't use the Easy Transfer Program.

It would be a mistake if you did. The Easy Transfer program doesn't work
well with Outlook data.

> Where do I copy the Outlook backup folder to, i.e., what is the
> correct path to use for copying the back up file folder so that
> Outlook2002 on my new compouter will use it?

There is no "correct" path, since you can tell Outlook to use any path you
wish. There is a WRONG path, however, and that's to put the PST in the
folder Outlook would create it by default and overwrite any PST of the same
name already in that folder. See if this helps:
http://www.slipstick.com/emo/2002/up020605.htm#movetonew2002

One thing to keep in mind: Outlook 2002 is incompatible with Windows Vista
and wiull not work correctly. At best, it will continually prompt you for
your mail credentials. There is no fix. At worst, it won't work properly
at all.

Signature

Brian Tillman [MVP-Outlook]

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Ray19 - 11 Mar 2008 22:21 GMT

Thanks Brian for your response. I followed the instructions in the reference
you gave copying my .pst files from my old hard drive to the new one but
could not change my .pst file from a read only? I could unhighlight the box
and apply but when I looked at it again it was back to read only? I'm new to
Vista moving from XP and of course there's many things to learn!

Would I be able to use my old 2002 Outlook .pst file with Outlook 2007 and
Vista?
I'm really trying to retrieve my address book which is quite extensive.
Retrieving the old e-mails (complete record) would be nice but is not that
important.

My provider is SBC Yahoo and I much prefer Outlook to Yahoo Mai!

Any additional advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
Ray19

> > My old hard drive has my Outlook backup folder which I understand I
> > need to copy to my new computer since my old computer is dead and I
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
> your mail credentials. There is no fix. At worst, it won't work properly
> at all.

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Brian Tillman - 12 Mar 2008 20:18 GMT

> Thanks Brian for your response. I followed the instructions in the
> reference you gave copying my .pst files from my old hard drive to
> the new one but could not change my .pst file from a read only? I
> could unhighlight the box and apply but when I looked at it again it
> was back to read only? I'm new to Vista moving from XP and of course
> there's many things to learn!

Where on the new PC did you place the PST? Are you saying that you
right-clicked the PST after placing it on your new hard drive, chose
Properties, and unchecked the read-only box, only to have it rechecked
later?

> Would I be able to use my old 2002 Outlook .pst file with Outlook
> 2007 and Vista?

Sure, but you should convert it to a Unicode PST (the native Outlook
2003/2007 format) at some point so that it never reaches its maxiumum OL
2002 size of 2 GB. Once you get the read-only issue fixed, just make the
old PST the delivery location in the mail profile.

> I'm really trying to retrieve my address book which is quite
> extensive. Retrieving the old e-mails (complete record) would be nice
> but is not that important.

Outlook doesn't have an "address book". All contacts are kept in the
Contacts folder. You might have had a "Personal Address Book" (a file
ending in ".pab"), but they haven't been used active by Outlook for a
decade.

> My provider is SBC Yahoo and I much prefer Outlook to Yahoo Mai!

You can use both or either. I do. I also use Outlook Express and one other
mail client, depending on the situation.

Signature

Brian Tillman [MVP-Outlook]

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