Oracle MKC said:
My understanding with the PST files, though, is they have to be saved
on the hard drive where the outlook files are stored.
Your understanding is incomplete.
I am looking to carry my personal outlook data on a flash disc/drive,
connect to the internet/personal pop email through my business
computer, but put none of my personal data on the business computer,
have it strictly on the flash drive.
Our IT staff said I'd have to save the pst files to the computer's
drive to access them.
Your IT staff is in error.
Is there anyway to point outlook to look at the pst files on the
flash drive directly, and save emails/calender info/tasks....
directly to the flash drive, with out installing a copy of outlook on
the flash drive?
Sure. With Outlook closed, plug in the flash drive and then move (not copy)
the PST from its current location to someplace on the flash drive. Start
Outlook. When it complains it can't find its folders, browse to the PST on
the flash drive, select it, and click OK. Outlook will open as normal and
you'll see all your data.
Assuming, of course, that your account is NOT an Exchange account or, if it
is, that you have delivery set to a PST.
Keep in mind, however, that devices based on flash memory have lifetimes.
You can write to them only so many times. This includes flash drives, SD
cards, CF cards, and many other portable rewritable storage devices.
Eventually, the device will no longer be writable and you'll lose access to
any data requiring write access on that device. (See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_memory#Limitations .) Just how many
times the device can be rewritten should be available from the device
vendor.