# Convert PST from 97-2002 Folder to the new Outlook File Folders



## Jerold (Jun 23, 2004)

I've got my PST located on my external HDD. Imoved the location a while ago and I must have still been on OfficeXP 2002. All my machines are Office 2003 Pro and was wondering if it would benefit me to change the file folders to the new Outlook File Folders format.

Secondly, I've been trying to read up on converting possibilities. Would I just create a new PST (I guess in the same folder on my External HDD) and then move all my folders (Contacts/Inbox...) to the new Personal Folder in the list, then delete the old PST file.

I've read a lot about creating Profiles on the machine via Control Panel--> Mail. If I do that on each of my machines, would that cause any glitches (some error message that a folder is missing or something) whenever I plug in my external HDD and use outlook because the profiles may be slightly different for whatever reason on each machine. Right now, my Outlook runs really smooth in terms of email, contacts and calender. 

The only bump I keep getting is if I am writing an email and I click the 'To' button to show my address list, I get a message that the list is missing. It must be trying to look for the contacts folder on another machine's setting, but in reality it should be looking at the same Contact List from the PST file on my External HDD.


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## gurutech (Apr 23, 2004)

You cannot convert the PST file to the new format. What you will need to do is create a NEW pst file in Outlook 2003, and make sure it's in 2003 format. Then import the data from the old pst file to the new one.

Benefits of moving to the new pst format is mainly file size. 2002 format is limited to 2gb (I believe), while the 2003 version is something like 16gb.


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## Jerold (Jun 23, 2004)

Thanks.

How would I know that it would be in 2003 format?

Importing would just mean creating a new PST (2003 format) and draggin all my contacts/inbox/calender.... into the new Personal Folders File?


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## gurutech (Apr 23, 2004)

When you click File/New/Outlook Data File - it will ask you what format you want. (either Office Outlook Data File, or Outlook 97-2002 Data File - choose the "Office Outlook" version).

And yes, importing means copy/move from one to the other.


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## Jerold (Jun 23, 2004)

Gurutech:

I created a new PST with the 2003 formatting. I had to 'make new folder' for the Inbox, then I copied my inbox contents and sub folders from my old PST to it. What about the Calender, Tasks and some of the other items that are not folders, but icons. How do I transfer them to the new PST? Is there some setting when you create the new PST to automatically add Tasks, Calender, Outbox and such?


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## gurutech (Apr 23, 2004)

Since you are using OL2003, it does not display these other items as they do in 2K and XP. On the left, you will see items below the folder list of Mail, Calendar, Tasks, Contacts, etc...

Click on one of those and about the middle of the section you will see "Calendar on Personal Folders", "Calendar on 2003 PST", etc... (not exact names, but you get the idea). Putting a checkmark or removing a checkmark will display the checked calendars.


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## Bob Cerelli (Nov 3, 2002)

Outlook can easily display items like Calendar, Contacts, Tasks etc. like were shown with Outlook98, Outlook2000 etc. 

Just select Go / Folder list
or 
Ctrl-5

Everything is there just like with previous versions of Outlook.

Then you can simply copy what you want from your old PST file to the new one.


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## Jerold (Jun 23, 2004)

OK.

I've done it. When you make a new DATA file, it creates/shows the new profile on the left, but all the icons (tasks, inbox and all the rest) won't appear until you close out and re-open Outlook. Then you manually copy all the subfolders from the old profile to the new profile.

Now, when I got to work to direct the mail delivery to go to the new PST, you have to do the same process of making a new Data File then tell it to be the mail delivery location. It created the file in the default folder location, so the profile looks like a brand new PST profile. Close out--> go into the default PST location--> delete the newly created PST that you just made. Open Outlook and it will tell you that it is missing the PST file and you need to tell it where it's located. I Browsed to the location of the PST that I made on my other system and it will open up the way it should with all you settings and subfolders.

Now here's my new question. It regards the address/contact list that drops down when you are writing a new email message and click onto the 'To:' button. On the window that opens up, there is an area on the top right for you to 'Show names from the:' and you have already checked off the contact folder that you want to show. When I click the drop down menu, it not only shows the current Contacts list of names from the new PST profile, but it still show the old lists that I told it to show (my contact subfolders). I can't figure out how to remove those from the list. Any ideas? 

I've already gone to Tools-->Address Book-->Options and manually told it to remove them from the list, but when I go back to the emails "To:" box, it still shows the old fodlers that I "removed".


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