Why 5 Personal Folders in Outlook?

  • Thread starter Thread starter dan
  • Start date Start date
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dan

I notice that on my desktop my Outlook 2003 had
5 "Personal Folders", 3 of which have the full set of sub-
directories, and the other two have only one sub-set,
a 'deleted' folder. In contrast, my laptop has only one
Personal Folder. What's happening? Can I safely delete
the extra 4 Personal Folders? Or is this the result of a
back-up process?
Thanks for any help,
Dan
 
It's impossible to tell without knowing the full history of how you've used Outlook. You can check the dates on the files or look at the properties of the Personal Folders listed in your Folder List to determine which are actually being used.
--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Outlook and Exchange solutions at http://www.slipstick.com
Author of
Microsoft Outlook Programming: Jumpstart
for Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
 
I had a similar problem -- did so much mucking around with importing /
deleting (& creating a brand new PST, new format, & importing from the old)
that Outlook 2003 got confused. I fixed this by messing with the registry.
MS always includes lots of disclaimers about messing with your registry, so
be careful.

In your registry (Start / Run / regedit) drill down to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Windows
Messaging Subsystem\Profiles\Default Outlook Profile
(Instead of "Default Outlook Profile", you might see your Username)

There should be several Registery Keys there disguised as GUIDs. Look for
the ones where the key has a value of "Personal Folders". Basically, back up
each
"Personal Folders" key one at a time (Right Click / Export) and then delete
it, then open Outlook to see if you deleted the right one. In my case, I saw
3 entries that looked different from the 4th; the 4th was good while the 3
were bad, but again... case by case?

Good luck!
Sean Anderson


It's impossible to tell without knowing the full history of how you've used
Outlook. You can check the dates on the files or look at the properties of
the Personal Folders listed in your Folder List to determine which are
actually being used.
--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Outlook and Exchange solutions at http://www.slipstick.com
Author of
Microsoft Outlook Programming: Jumpstart
for Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
 
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