Sync between PC and notebook

[Ramesh]

HI,

Is there any free utility i can use to sync my Outlook2K on my desktop with
my notebook? I also use a Palm which has its own utility to sync Outlook.

Thanks for any help;

Regards
Ramesh

 

[brall]

Not a free one, but I've used SynchPST with success.

 

[Maxim]

Currently our EZOutlookSync ( www.ezoutlooksync.com ) is absolutely
free. It will compare and synchronize 2 PST files, where Outlook 2000
holds the data.
If you become a tester, you will be getting all update for free too.
Best regards,
Max

 

[Oliver Vukovics]

Dear Ramesh,

you could try the briefcase solution (work with one PST file from both
systems):
http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/sync.htm#briefcase

or in Outlook 2000 you could try as "Freeware" solution NetFolders (email
synchronization)
http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/netfolders.htm

a nearly complete list of all Third Party Solution:
http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/sync.htm

 

[FuseNews]

Try the briefcase solution. We currently have an external harddrive which
is shared on the network so that both the desk pc and notebook can access
it. Been using it for over 2 months now without a problem.

The only CONs are, you cannot have Outlook opened on both the desk PC and
Notebook. If you try, Outlook will pop up an error message stating that the
server cannot be accessed.
If you use BCM (Business Contact Managaer), you will have to keep seperate
data files. We keep a master BCM database and then do backups on a daily
basis from the master. On the external laptop, we do a restore from the
Master backup to keep data consistet. If we update the laptop, we just
email the contact to ourselfs then drag and drop it into the BCM accounts
contacts folder. A pain, but it has worked for us. You just have to
remember to use the Master backup files all the time and keep up on what you
are doing.

 

[Oliver Vukovics]

Dear FuseNews,

We currently have an external harddrive which is shared on the network.

A network PST is not supported by Microsoft:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/297019/EN-US/

If you try, Outlook will pop up an error message stating that the server
cannot be accessed.

For sharing solutions (same PST with several users) you may have a look on
this site if you are interested:
http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/share.htm

Ther are some "Store Providers" who can share PST files without to get this
error message.

 

[FuseNews]

A network PST is not supported by Microsoft:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/297019/EN-US/

We know that it isn't supported. But, we don't care if Microsoft supports
it, we can support it ourselves. Microsoft doesn't make solutions for
everything, so you have to come up with some on your own.

In addition to the networked file, we also do daily backups of our PST and
Archives on both machines. Make sure to backup each PC to it's own backup
file. Meaning do not back up the Laptop to the Desk PC's backup file. Make
a seperate backup for each computer. This way, if something does happen to
your PST file you'll have a backup either on the deskpc or laptop that only
a day old.

 

[Ramesh]

Thanks Oliver for your detailed response.

concern with Briefcase. Wouldnt this require the entire pst file to get
rewritten every time? Wouldnt that take considerably more time than a sync
software which can just write to the file? My pst size is around 70MB.

If I use a PDA to sync with the desktop and then use the PDA to update the
laptop (or vice versa), would that be a workable option or am I missing
something?

Thansk again
Ramesh

 

[Brian Tillman]

concern with Briefcase. Wouldnt this require the entire pst file to
get rewritten every time? Wouldnt that take considerably more time
than a sync software which can just write to the file? My pst size
is around 70MB.

That's very small for a PST and a file that size over a typical network
should take only about a minute (or less, depending on the network) to copy
in its entirety.

If I use a PDA to sync with the desktop and then use the PDA to
update the laptop (or vice versa), would that be a workable option or
am I missing something?

That's how I keep my work PST and my home PST in sync: I use my PDA as the
transfer agent.

 

[Oliver Vukovics]

Dear FuseNews;

We know that it isn't supported. But, we don't care if Microsoft supports
it, we can support it ourselves.

If i write something in a Newsgroup and I know that something is not
supported, i have to give this information. All our PST files were located
since a few years on a central Win2k server and we have more then 1 PST file
on every workstation. We never get problems, but I think I have to post this
information.

The interesting part of this "unsupported" PST file is, that Exchange 2003
save/synchronize the Personal Folders into a PST file. What are they doing
with the "Public Personal Folders" like the conference room (Personal
Folder)? Save all this PST files on one Server machine? If not, it is an
unsupported network?

Anyhow, it is not my problem.

 

[Oliver Vukovics]

Dear Ramesh,

If I use a PDA to sync with the desktop and then use the PDA to update the
laptop (or vice versa), would that be a workable option or am I missing
something?

this can be a workable option but it is also a limited option. If you have
any documents or attachments in the contacts or calendar items, thease
attched documents were not synchronized with a PDA (Active or hotsync).

We save and share also our documents in Outlook and link this documents with
the contacts, so the PDA synchronisation is not a workable option for us,
but it could work.