Slow Outlook XP

Julian Mattay · Oct 8, 2003

G'day,

I'm trying to resolve the following Outlook problem:
The setup is Toshiba Satellite notebook, 1.6GHz, 256 MB running Win2K SP3
and Outlook XP SP2 off an Exchange 2K server. The user has all folders
synchronised and archived and there are heaps of them; archive file is
1.5GB (getting close to the dreaded 2GB limit but that's tomorrows job) and
archiving is run fortnightly on older than 60 day items. He also has a
couple of personal folders that are a mere 40 MB.
Assorted problems he is experiencing:
Occasionally outgoing messages get stuck in the Outbox (I hope Outlook XP
SP2 has fixed this, but still early days).
More importantly, he frequently experiences very slow loading and shutdown
of Outlook (i.e. several minutes) or Outlook hanging on startup and then
starting in safe mode which also takes several minutes.
Things I've tried: I've upgraded from Outlook 2K to XP with no improvement,
run scanpst on his archive and personal .pst files with no errors being
picked up.
It's not likely to be a network issue - 100 Mbps LAN connection with no
apparent network problems.
At this stage he doesn't see cleaning out his mail boxes as an option
(likes to keep things including large attachments still attached to
messages) and he's the boss - sigh. Whilst adding more RAM might speed
things up a bit I don't think that would cure the problem(s).
Should I try splitting the archive file into smaller files (will have to do
this soon anyway to reduce the archive size)?
(I'm already growing a beard to replace the hair I've pulled out - doesn't
make any difference either 8-)

)
Any suggestions or solutions (even commiserations) welcome.

Cheers,
Julian

--
Julian Mattay, email: julian x mattay z csiro x au
(where x -> dot, z -> at)
Local IT Bloke
CSIRO, Forestry and Forest Products Ph: +61 8 8721 8118
Mt Gambier, South Australia, Australia Fax: +61 8 8723 9058

Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook] · Oct 8, 2003

While 2 gigs is the absolute upper limit for a .pst or .ost file, problems
such as what you are seeing can begin at 1.4-1.5 gigs. In reality, the
upper limit is closer to 1.87 gigs.

The boss will have to bite the bullet and archive more frequently and empty
the deleted items folder. Archiving all of the sent items from more than 2
weeks ago is also appropriate.

As for the slow loading, close Outlook and then find and rename the
outcmd.dat file to .old.

--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact.

After searching google.groups.com and finding no answer
Julian Mattay <[email protected]> asked:

| G'day,
|
| I'm trying to resolve the following Outlook problem:
| The setup is Toshiba Satellite notebook, 1.6GHz, 256 MB running Win2K
| SP3 and Outlook XP SP2 off an Exchange 2K server. The user has all
| folders synchronised and archived and there are heaps of them;
| archive file is
| 1.5GB (getting close to the dreaded 2GB limit but that's tomorrows
| job) and archiving is run fortnightly on older than 60 day items. He
| also has a couple of personal folders that are a mere 40 MB.
| Assorted problems he is experiencing:
| Occasionally outgoing messages get stuck in the Outbox (I hope
| Outlook XP SP2 has fixed this, but still early days).
| More importantly, he frequently experiences very slow loading and
| shutdown of Outlook (i.e. several minutes) or Outlook hanging on
| startup and then starting in safe mode which also takes several
| minutes.
| Things I've tried: I've upgraded from Outlook 2K to XP with no
| improvement, run scanpst on his archive and personal .pst files with
| no errors being picked up.
| It's not likely to be a network issue - 100 Mbps LAN connection with
| no apparent network problems.
| At this stage he doesn't see cleaning out his mail boxes as an option
| (likes to keep things including large attachments still attached to
| messages) and he's the boss - sigh. Whilst adding more RAM might speed
| things up a bit I don't think that would cure the problem(s).
| Should I try splitting the archive file into smaller files (will have
| to do this soon anyway to reduce the archive size)?
| (I'm already growing a beard to replace the hair I've pulled out -
| doesn't make any difference either 8-)

Julian Mattay · Oct 8, 2003

G'day Milly,

Thanks for your advice, particularly the smaller size at which pst files
can start developing problems. I'll split the archive folder tonight and
see if that solves the problem. I had tried renaming outcmd.dat with no
improvement (forgot to mention it in my post).

(The words "boss" and "bullet" have been cropping up in the same sentence
for a few days now but not with "biting" 8-)

)

Cheers,
Julian

While 2 gigs is the absolute upper limit for a .pst or .ost file,
problems such as what you are seeing can begin at 1.4-1.5 gigs. In
reality, the upper limit is closer to 1.87 gigs.

The boss will have to bite the bullet and archive more frequently and
empty the deleted items folder. Archiving all of the sent items from
more than 2 weeks ago is also appropriate.

As for the slow loading, close Outlook and then find and rename the
outcmd.dat file to .old.

--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact.

After searching google.groups.com and finding no answer
Julian Mattay <[email protected]> asked:

| G'day,
|
| I'm trying to resolve the following Outlook problem:
| The setup is Toshiba Satellite notebook, 1.6GHz, 256 MB running Win2K
| SP3 and Outlook XP SP2 off an Exchange 2K server. The user has all
| folders synchronised and archived and there are heaps of them;
| archive file is
| 1.5GB (getting close to the dreaded 2GB limit but that's tomorrows
| job) and archiving is run fortnightly on older than 60 day items. He
| also has a couple of personal folders that are a mere 40 MB.
| Assorted problems he is experiencing:
| Occasionally outgoing messages get stuck in the Outbox (I hope
| Outlook XP SP2 has fixed this, but still early days).
| More importantly, he frequently experiences very slow loading and
| shutdown of Outlook (i.e. several minutes) or Outlook hanging on
| startup and then starting in safe mode which also takes several
| minutes.
| Things I've tried: I've upgraded from Outlook 2K to XP with no
| improvement, run scanpst on his archive and personal .pst files with
| no errors being picked up.
| It's not likely to be a network issue - 100 Mbps LAN connection with
| no apparent network problems.
| At this stage he doesn't see cleaning out his mail boxes as an option
| (likes to keep things including large attachments still attached to
| messages) and he's the boss - sigh. Whilst adding more RAM might
| speed things up a bit I don't think that would cure the problem(s).
| Should I try splitting the archive file into smaller files (will have
| to do this soon anyway to reduce the archive size)?
| (I'm already growing a beard to replace the hair I've pulled out -
| doesn't make any difference either )
| Any suggestions or solutions (even commiserations) welcome.
|
| Cheers,
| Julian

Nikki · Oct 8, 2003

You could also try turning off the "Instant Messaging"

Open the TOOLS menu
Select OPTIONS...
Select the OTHER tab

Turn off the check mark next to "Enable Instant Messaging
on Microsoft Outlook"

Perhaps look into whether he needs Offline folders. It could
be that when he logs in his system is trying to update an OST
file. This can take some time if he has a large amount of info
in his account. The OST file is a mirror of his exchange account
that is kept on his local drive. You can turn off the Offline option.

OL2002: What Are Offline Folders and How Do You Use Them
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;286038

--
Nikki Peterson [MVP - Outlook]

While 2 gigs is the absolute upper limit for a .pst or .ost file, problems
such as what you are seeing can begin at 1.4-1.5 gigs. In reality, the
upper limit is closer to 1.87 gigs.

The boss will have to bite the bullet and archive more frequently and empty
the deleted items folder. Archiving all of the sent items from more than 2
weeks ago is also appropriate.

As for the slow loading, close Outlook and then find and rename the
outcmd.dat file to .old.

--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact.

After searching google.groups.com and finding no answer
Julian Mattay <[email protected]> asked:

| G'day,
|
| I'm trying to resolve the following Outlook problem:
| The setup is Toshiba Satellite notebook, 1.6GHz, 256 MB running Win2K
| SP3 and Outlook XP SP2 off an Exchange 2K server. The user has all
| folders synchronised and archived and there are heaps of them;
| archive file is
| 1.5GB (getting close to the dreaded 2GB limit but that's tomorrows
| job) and archiving is run fortnightly on older than 60 day items. He
| also has a couple of personal folders that are a mere 40 MB.
| Assorted problems he is experiencing:
| Occasionally outgoing messages get stuck in the Outbox (I hope
| Outlook XP SP2 has fixed this, but still early days).
| More importantly, he frequently experiences very slow loading and
| shutdown of Outlook (i.e. several minutes) or Outlook hanging on
| startup and then starting in safe mode which also takes several
| minutes.
| Things I've tried: I've upgraded from Outlook 2K to XP with no
| improvement, run scanpst on his archive and personal .pst files with
| no errors being picked up.
| It's not likely to be a network issue - 100 Mbps LAN connection with
| no apparent network problems.
| At this stage he doesn't see cleaning out his mail boxes as an option
| (likes to keep things including large attachments still attached to
| messages) and he's the boss - sigh. Whilst adding more RAM might speed
| things up a bit I don't think that would cure the problem(s).
| Should I try splitting the archive file into smaller files (will have
| to do this soon anyway to reduce the archive size)?
| (I'm already growing a beard to replace the hair I've pulled out -
| doesn't make any difference either 8-)