Outlook PST size limit

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whynot3d - 15 Dec 2004 17:05 GMT

Quick Outlook 2003 question: I have reached the 20GB limit and need to save
everything in 1 pst file. Is there a workaround to this?

MS Knowledge Base Article [wasn’t very helpful]
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;830336

Much obliged and happy holidays.

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Jason - 16 Dec 2004 18:57 GMT

> Quick Outlook 2003 question: I have reached the 20GB limit and need to
> save
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>
> Much obliged and happy holidays.

http://support.microsoft.com/?id=832925

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Michael S. - 07 Jan 2005 04:07 GMT

Thankyou for responding Jason, but I'm still not clear whether an Outlook
2003 PST file can exceed 20 GB or is that the maximum limit that cannot be
exceeded.

Michael

> > Quick Outlook 2003 question: I have reached the 20GB limit and need to
> > save
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
>
> http://support.microsoft.com/?id=832925

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Jerson - 13 Jan 2005 03:19 GMT

Cannot exceed 20GB. You may find that you will get close to 20GB and it stops.
Best thing is to archive some of the mail and then export the rest to a new
pst.
That will be the quickest.

Jason

> Thankyou for responding Jason, but I'm still not clear whether an Outlook
> 2003 PST file can exceed 20 GB or is that the maximum limit that cannot be
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
> >
> > http://support.microsoft.com/?id=832925

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Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook] - 13 Jan 2005 18:07 GMT

Yes, it can. That's just the default maximum. The warning and absolute
maximums are controlled by DWORD registry entries in the
HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Outlook\PST key named
WarnLargeFileSize and MaxLargeFileSize, as the article at
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=832925 explains

Signature

Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of
Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
http://www.outlookcode.com/jumpstart.aspx

> Thankyou for responding Jason, but I'm still not clear whether an Outlook
> 2003 PST file can exceed 20 GB or is that the maximum limit that cannot be
> exceeded.

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Michael S. - 13 Jan 2005 18:33 GMT

Greetings Sue

Thankyou for getting back to me. Your response was what I had anticipated,
though it contradicts the response I had gotten on the "Outlook Install and
Configure" group. see below

"Cannot exceed 20GB. You may find that you will get close to 20GB and it
stops.
Best thing is to archive some of the mail and then export the rest to a new
pst. That will be the quickest.

Jason"

The archive solution presented above does not solve the problem.

Questions:
1. Is there a theoretical size limit?
2. Does having a large [20+ gig] pst file create any problems [performance,
stability, etc.]
3. Can you please tell me exactly how to increase the size parameters. The
article [see url below] was confusing.

Is there a way to contact you directly?

Your help is most appreciated.
Michael

> Yes, it can. That's just the default maximum. The warning and absolute
> maximums are controlled by DWORD registry entries in the
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> > 2003 PST file can exceed 20 GB or is that the maximum limit that cannot be
> > exceeded.

Reply to this Message

Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook] - 13 Jan 2005 18:51 GMT

> 1. Is there a theoretical size limit?

34 terabytes or thereabouts

> 2. Does having a large [20+ gig] pst file create any problems
> [performance,
> stability, etc.]

Microsoft is confident enough to allow you to increase it, but I'm not sure
anyone really knows the long-term implications.

> 3. Can you please tell me exactly how to increase the size parameters.
> The
> article [see url below] was confusing.

What was confusing? If you don't know how to back up and edit the Windows
registry, then you can do a little Google search for "edit Windows registry"
and, I"m sure, find a good tutorial.

Signature

Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of
Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
http://www.outlookcode.com/jumpstart.aspx

> Greetings Sue
>
[quoted text clipped - 33 lines]
>> WarnLargeFileSize and MaxLargeFileSize, as the article at
>> http://support.microsoft.com/?id=832925 explains

>> > Thankyou for responding Jason, but I'm still not clear whether an
>> > Outlook
>> > 2003 PST file can exceed 20 GB or is that the maximum limit that cannot
>> > be
>> > exceeded.

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