Personal Folders: why am I seeing them listed more than once in Outlook?

Well, I didn't find this article in time to tell me to not apply the fix, but I found another website with the same instructions for fixing it. In the end I did this process, but used "How should I setup Outlook - Ask Leo!.htm" in the process and wound up with a much better organization of my stuff/my husband's stuff. So worth it. Thank you.

I used to use Outlook but quickly got fed up of it over small(ish) bugs similar to this one. Whilst I was never affected by exactly this bug, there are (too) many other silly irritating things about Outlook that made me drop it. Among them was the way some email clients receive an attachment called winmail.dat on all emails sent from Outlook.

I use the free & open-source Thunderbird, which handles huge profiles very well indeed, and its instant search feature is not bothered by the huge size of my email profile.

I have noticed the problem w/ duplicate .pst however what I have read of the solutions seems to be more of a problem than a true solution... Question, has anyone heard MS response to the problem i.e. any true fix for the problem/ patch in the works??

Thanks,
TClip

I maintain a large user base and this often happens when exporting/importing an Outlook pst file from one computer to another. Apparently LookOut gets confused and the file can get corrupted. This appears to be especially true when exporting from an older version of LookOut.

That said, the above procedure for creating a new profile and then deleting the old one works perfectly. It may seem like a bunch of steps, but it's very easy and painless.

I'd follow the above instructions and you'll be happy with the results.

JF

I have had this happen periodically as well. The key is to create a new profile with a new name (most people recreate the profile which carries over the corruption). I did have one case where this did not work. We had to create a new Windows profile to resolve the problem.

How to fix duplicate personal folders files/contacts

Go to C:\Documents and Settings\[USER NAME]\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
By default, you should see three files: extend.dat, archive.pst, and outlook.dat.
Leave this window open.

Then, backup the outlook.pst file

Open outlook
Click File > Import and Export
Choose “Export to a file”
Click “Personal Folder File (.pst)”
Choose “Personal Folders” then check the box “include subfolders”
Click Next, then choose where you want to save the file---the desktop is fine
Click “Finish”
This will by default create a backup called backup.pst.

Close outlook
Open Control Panel
Open Mail
Click “Show Profiles”
Click on your Outlook Profile, then click “Remove.”
“Always use this profile” should be set by default.

Open Outlook. It will prompt you for to create a new profile. Create one, but don’t bother setting up mail settings. You should finish with a “basic” outlook background; an empty personal folders, inbox, etc.

Go back to C:\Documents and Settings\[USER NAME]\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
You should see a new outlook file, called outlook1.pst (if the old .pst file was outlook.pst outlook will simply add a 1 to it).
You’ll notice that this file is extremely small compared to the other .pst files—around 268 kb. Delete both outlook.pst and outlook1.pst. Then, copy backup.pst from the desktop (or wherever), and paste it in this folder. Rename it Outlook1.pst (this is the name outlook should be looking for when you open it again).

Open Outlook and you should see only one personal folders file. You must now set up your Internet Mail settings again.

If in the even that there are duplicate contacts, here is the fix:
In Outlook, go to Tools > E-mail Accounts
Click “View or Change Existing Directories or Address Books”
Click “Next” than choose ”Outlook Address Book” then “Change”
A small window will appear, and you should see two duplicate address books
Remove the top one. Click close.
Then, restart Outlook.

This problem happens to me every so often because I copy .pst files from machine to machine.

A bit of wisdom I learned is to keep a copy of your regular profie. I call mine "good copy" Then when the regular one gets trashed, just delete it and make a new copy from "good copy". Takes 10 seconds to fix the problem then

I used to have just my Outlook Today - (Personal Folders) in my Folder list. I work from home and can't just delete work related emails so I started archiving them. This produced another folder in my Folder List called Archive Folders. Periodically I will back up my pst file just in case. One time I did this back up and the previous back up file name and location auto filled in the "save to" box. I wanted to save to the same spot but I forgot to change the date in the file name. After completing the back up I realized this. I went to the spot on my hard drive where I store the back up pst files and I changed the file name of the new back up to now have the proper date. It was after that I noticed a new Personal Folder in my Folder Files List. It doesn't seem to affect Outlook so I have not done anything about it but it does not exactly mirror the Outlook Today - (Personal Folders) which is what I use every day. Some stuff is the same but other things are not. I am buying a new computer this week and I will have to install Office XP again and export my "email stuff" from the coputer I use now to the new computer. I need all of my emails to be transfered to the new machine (current and archived). How can I combine the Personal Folders file with the Outlook Today - (Personal Folders) so that I only have one copy of each email (all of them)? I know how to export to a pst file and import from a pst file on a new install but I have never had 3 files to deal with and i don't want to loose anything. Can I export the archive folder and the Personal Folder(s) at the same time? Sorry about the rambling but I'm a bit confused and I can't just ignore it now. The computer I'm on now with be wiped clean and I won't have access to my pst file back ups after I give it back to the boss.

Thanks and I look forward to your comments.

I had 3 occurrences of Personal Folders in my Outlook 2003 program. I opted to try the above fix as Outlook needed continuing repairing (scanpst.exe) and I was unable to retain any folders in the Favorite Folders area. Once I had completed the repair, Outlook performed faster and the Favorite Folders retained their folders.

I closed my Outlook personal file in outlook by r-click and selecting close. I cant find my pst file now

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