What is the need to backup PST files in Outlook?

MS Outlook is one of the most popular and widely used Email clients. The Outlook versions that are commonly used are Outlook 2010, Outlook 2007, Outlook 2003, and Outlook 2002. Outlook 2000 is not used now-a-days.

PST File corruption:
MS outlook stores all mail data such as: Emails, Attachments, Contacts, calendar entries, Notes, journals etc. in PST file format. The PST files in Outlook have a predefined maximum file size limit.

The Default PST file size limit varies from version to version.

• Outlook 2010: 50 GB
• Outlook 2007 and Outlook 2003: 20 GB
• Outlook 2002 and previous versions: 2 GB

The increasing PST file size can hamper proper Outlook functioning and it can also slow down your system. It can lead to severe PST file corruption and other related Outlook errors.
Besides the PST file size limit there are several other reasons that lead to PST file corruption.

Common reasons for PST file corruption:

• Unexpected or improper shutting down of Outlook
• Improper/interrupted compaction of PST
• Virus/malware infection
• Contradiction with newly installed hardware/software
• File system corruption
• Operating system’s malfunction etc.

Whenever, you try to access data from a corrupt PST file, you will be followed by some error messages that indicate the PST file corruption. Any kind of corruption in PST file makes the data stored within it inaccessible and unusable. So, to avoid such data loss situations its better to backup the PST files on regular basis. In case your PST file gets corrupt then, you can easily restore the mail data from the backup copy of PST file.

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How to recover permanently deleted items from Outlook?

In my previous article, ”How to restore a deleted mail from Outlook?” I have discussed the mail deletion scenario when the users are working with outlook on your local/personal system and there is no connection with Exchange.

In this article, I am considering the mail deletion scenarios when the users are working on Outlook with Exchange.

There can be two type of mail deletion. Below is the brief description for them.
1. Soft deletion: The mail deletion scenario, in which the deleted mail first goes to Deleted items folder then gets permanently deleted from the Deleted items folder, is called soft deletion.

When the user deletes the mail then, it goes to Deleted items folder. From the deleted items you can restore the mail to the desired folder as I have discussed in the previous article.

Even after you empty the deleted items folder, you can recover the item.
You might be thinking how this could be possible. Let me explain it further...

When you delete an item it goes to Deleted items folder. When you delete the item from Deleted items folder, where does it go? The deleted items folder still remains in the Exchange database up to a limited time that is called retention period. Those mails get stored in the dumpster from where they can be recovered by using the Recover Deleted Items functionality.

Note: The retention period is generally of 60 days however, it may be more or less that depends on the configuration and settings done by admin.

To use the Recover Deleted Items functionality, it must be enabled by the admin.

By default the Recover Deleted Items functionality is applicable only for Deleted Items folder in a user's private folders. If you want to apply this functionality to other folders (such as Sent Items, Drafts, Inbox and Outbox etc.) too, then you need to make some changes to the registry that I am going to discuss later on.

Steps to recover deleted items using ‘Recover Deleted Items functionality’:
1.Go to Folder List >Navigation Pane, then click Deleted Items.
2.Go to Tools menu the, click Recover Deleted Items.
3.From the list of deleted items, select the items you want to retrieve, and then click the ‘Recover Selected Items’ icon.

The selected items will be recovered and moved to the Deleted Items folder. From the deleted items folder you can move the items to desired folder.

2. Hard deletion:
If the mail items are deleted using ‘shift+Del’ then, they directly goes to dumpster and by passes deleted items folder. Such Dumpster is called hidden dumpster that is not accessible by Recover Deleted Items functionality of Outlook client thus, the Items that are hard deleted cannot be recovered directly by using Outlook client.
To be able to access the entire Dumpster you need to make a Registry change. A Good level of expertise is required for making the Registry changes because if you commit some mistake while making the Registry change then, it may lead to severe data loss situations.

So, to avoid such problematic situation its better to choose efficient deleted email recovery software that can recover the deleted mail from the PST file and let you access the deleted items.

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How to back up Outlook Express mail files?

Outlook Express is one of the most commonly used Email clients. Outlook Express is a predecessor of MS outlook. It was used as a default Email client in Windows XP. Outlook Express stores all the mail data such as emails, attachments, contacts etc. in DBX file format.

The default storage location for DBX file is:

C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities\{[identity ID]}\Microsoft\Outlook Express

                                  Or
C:\Windows\Application Data\Outlook Express\{[identity ID]}

Like other data files, the DBX files are also prone to corruption.

There can be several reasons for DBX file corruption such as:

• Improper systems shutdowns:
• Power failure.
• Hardware failures or other related problems such as :
• Hard drive failures
• Bad sectors
• Bad RAM etc.
• Data Storage Device Failure, External hard drives and storage devices related problems.
• Network Connection Failure.
• Incorrect File System Recovery.
• System Crashes.
• Cross-Linked Files or Lost Clusters on disk
• Abnormal Outlook termination.
• Increased file size.
• Virus attacks etc.

Whenever a DBX file gets corrupt, the data stored within it becomes inaccessible.
So, it’s a good practice to backup the Outlook Express mail data on regular basis.
If somehow, your DBX file gets corrupt then, the mail data can be restored from the updated   backup copy of the DBX file.

Follow given steps to back up Outlook Express mail:

1.Open Outlook Express ‘Store Folder’ in Windows Explorer.

2.Select the option to ‘show hidden files and folders’ in windows.

3.Select all files by using the shortcut key ‘Ctrl-A’ or by Selecting ‘Edit | Select All’ option from the folder menu.

4.Now, copy the selected files by using ‘Ctrl-C’ or by Selecting ‘Edit | Copy’ option from the folder menu. 

5.Create a new folder at your desired location to store the copied files.

6.Now, paste the copied files to the newly created folder either by pressing ‘Ctrl-V’ or selecting ‘Edit | Paste’ option from the folder menu.

Now, you are done. You can restore the DBX mail items form the backup copies of DBX files whenever required.

These steps work well if you need to backup small amount of mail data, but if you need to backup large amount of Express mail data files then, these steps can be very time consuming. In such situation it’s recommended to use some Mail Backup software that can automatically backup the mail data at the scheduled time and backup frequency.

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How to deal with Exchange server errors?

In my previous article titled,” What is EDB File?” I have discussed the EDB file, its location and its significance. The Exchange server contains Priv.EDB and Pub.EDB which stores all the user mail box data. The earlier versions of Exchange sever contains .STM files for separately storing the streaming media files (.i.e. Audio and video).

Since, all the data in Exchange server is stored in Exchange database store in EDB file format hence, if the EDB file gets corrupt then, user may loose access to the valuable mail data.

There can be various reasons for EDB file corruption such as: Physical hard drive corruption, increased file size, Jet errors, Exchange server failure, Exchange server dirty shutdown, virus attacks and human errors etc.

Exchange server error codes:
Whenever, you try to access a corrupt EDB File you are followed by different error codes such as:
"JET_errRecordNotFound, the key was not found" , "Jet_errRecordDeleted".

Basically, these errors are divided into two types one is exchange server error codes and other is the Exchange dirty shutdown errors.

1.Exchange Server Error Codes:
This includes various types of errors such as:

• System related errors
• Buffer manager related errors
• Version store related errors
• Directory manager related errors
• Record manager related errors
• Logging/Recovery related errors

2. Exchange Dirty Shutdown Errors:
# JET_errDatabaseStreamingFileMismatch -540
# JET_errBadDbSignature -531
# JET_errDatabaseDirtyShutdown -550
# JET_errConsitentTimeMismatch -551
# JET_errInvalidDatabaseId -1010
# JET_errInvalidDatabase -1028
# JET_errDatabaseCorruptedNoRepair -1224
# JET_errFileInvalidType -1812
# JET_errFileInvalidType -1812

These above mentioned errors lead to improper functioning of the Exchange server and later on, the corruption can get more severe and lead to permanent data loss situations. So, it is advisable to backup your EDB database. In case your EDB gets corrupt then, you can restore the mailbox data from the backup files.

If the EDB database gets corrupt and you don’t have any backup then, you need to use Exchange recovery software to recover the corrupt EDB file and save it into PST format. The recovered PST file can be imported to Exchange server or Outlook application and thus, you can access the Exchange mailbox data.

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How to restore a deleted mail from Outlook?

Outlook and Outlook Express data files have a predefined size limit. Whenever the size of PST or DBX increases or exceeds the maximum size limit, it may lead to database corruption or improper functioning of Outlook/Outlook Express application. So, most of the users prefer to delete unwanted emails from their Outlook/Outlook Express account to free the storage space. But they are unaware of the thing that the deleted items still exists and occupies space. Some users prefer to delete unwanted mails so that they can easily search and manage the mails. 

In both of the cases it may happen that unknowingly the user has deleted some important mails and also emptied the deleted mail folder.

Besides the above reasons, there can be several other causes for Email deletion in Outlook Express and Outlook such as:

• Database corruption
• Exceeding size of files
• Virus infection
• Improper termination of Outlook Express or Outlook application.

While working with Outlook, there can be two scenarios for outlook users:

• Working on their personal system with no Exchange connection.
• Working on Outlook with exchange.

Let’s consider the first case when you are using Outlook on your local or personal folder and there is no connection with Exchange.

If the Outlook is not connected with Exchange then, all Outlook mailbox data is saved in your personal system in PST file format. Whenever you delete an item, it goes to Deleted Items folder. If you haven’t permanently deleted the mail from deleted item folder then, you can recover it from the deleted items folder using the below given steps.

Steps to retrieve an item from the Deleted Items folder:
1.Go to menu>Folder List >Navigation Pane, then click Deleted Items.
2.From the given list of deleted items, select the items that you want to restore.
3.Right-click on the selected items, then click ‘Move to Folder’.

From the given list of folders select the folder to which you want to move the items after restore.
You can also drag the deleted items from the Deleted Items folder to another folder to which you want to restore it.

But what if you have emptied the Deleted Items Folder?

Well, you can recover the deleted items from the updated backup of the PST file. If you don’t have backup then, there is no direct recovery option.
So, it’s better and advisable to take a backup of the PST files on regular basis. In case, if some mails get deleted then, the deleted items can be easily restored from the backup file.

Don't have Backup copies of PST files? Don’t worry! You can still recover your deleted item...
Whenever you permanently delete the item from the deleted items folder then, Even after deletion from the deleted items folder the item still exist in the PST file. But as the pointer to the mail is lost, outlook cannot locate the deleted mail. To retrieve the deleted mail, you require a 'deleted email recovery software' that can recover the deleted mail from your PST file and let you access the deleted mail.

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How to Fix OST Synchronization Issues with the help of ‘OST Integrity Check tool’

Sometimes, while working with Exchange you can find some files missing from your Outlook mailbox or get some errors while performing mail operations such as read/write and send/receive etc. This might happen if OST file is not getting properly synchronized with Exchange server.

If the issues are minor they can be taken leniently but later on, they can lead to severe data loss situations. So, it becomes necessary to diagnose and repair synchronization issues of OST file with exchange. Otherwise it’s going to obstruct the proper functioning of exchange and communication within the organization.
 

You can use ‘OST Integrity Check tool’ to diagnose and repair OST synchronization issues. Its a default utility that is installed when you install Outlook.

It works in a simple three step process:
1.It scans the .ost file and the Exchange server mailbox
2.Compares data items from both mailboxes
3.Then, record and harmonize the differences between them.

A scan log is created to save discrepancies found between the two mailboxes. The tool provides you an option to automatically reconcile the differences or resolve the issues manually after inspecting the scan log from the Deleted Items folder.

Location of OST Integrity Check tool (Scanost.exe)
Drive: \Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE12.

How to use OST Integrity Check tool (Scanost.exe)?
First connect to your Exchange account then, follow the given steps to use OST Integrity Check tool.

Steps:
1.Go to the default location for Scanost.exe. Then, double click Scanost.exe to run.
2.Next choose the .OST file that needs to be checked.
There can be two cases:
I.The tool prompts you for a profile name list. Then, click the profile that contains the desired .ost file that is to be scanned and proceed
II.The tool prompts you to Connect or Work Offline. Then, click Connect and proceed.
3. Select the Repair Errors check box to resolve the discrepancies automatically
4. Click Begin Scan.

Above steps are successful to resolve almost all type of OST synchronization issues. However, there can be some cases when you are not able to fix the OST file to Exchange synchronization issues. It can also happen due to OST file corruption. You can run Scanpst.exe (inbox repair tool) to correct the corruption related problems. If both tools fail to help you then, you need some third party software that can repair your OST file.

There are many OST repair software available online along with Demo version. Some tools repair the corrupt OST file as well as convert the OST file to PST file format. You can choose the suitable one, try the demo version and then, purchase the most reliable one.

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5 Easy Steps to transfer contact data from Outlook to Entourage

Now-a-days along with advancement in technologies, many Emails clients are emerging to fulfill the daily changing communication and Information management needs for business organizations. The popular email clients are MS outlook, Mac Outlook 2011, Thunderbird, Entourage, Spicebird, Pocomail, AppleMail, and Eudora etc. Each Email Client has its own feature set and significance. Sometimes, According to the organization's needs and personal preferences user have to switch from one client to another client or may need to use the mail files created in one email client to another email client.

In this article, I am sharing 5 easy steps to migrate contact data from Outlook (windows based system) to Entourage (Macintosh OS-based system)by using an IMAP account. As you already know the Outlook files (PST format) are not compatible with Entourage files (MBOX format). So, you require an alternative method if you want to migrate from Outlook to Entourage or vice versa.

If you want to use contact data from Outlook (windows based system) into Entourage (Macintosh OS-based system) then, the best solution is to export the data from Outlook to a tab-delimited text file and then, import it into Entourage.

 

Follow the given steps to transfer contact data from Outlook to Entourage by using an IMAP account:

1. Export the contact data from Outlook application to a tab-delimited text file.
   

This tab-delimited text file can be easily imported to Entourage (Macintosh OS-based system)

2. After importing the contacts to tab-delimited text file you need to create an account on an IMAP mail server.
   
3. Configure Outlook application to be able to send and receive mail through IMAP server.
   

Also, configure Entourage (Macintosh OS-based system) so that it can send and receive mail through IMAP server.

4. Drag the contact files into the Inbox for the new IMAP account (windows based system).
   
5. Open the IMAP account (Macintosh OS-based system), and then drag the messages from IMAP account to the appropriate folders in Entourage.
   
   By following the above 5 steps you can transfer data from Outlook to Entourage.
   

There might be many cases when you would require to perform the reverse i.e. transfer data from Entourage to Outlook. If you are interested to read about Entourage to Outlook migration then, have a look at my previous post titled , “why do you need MBOX file to PST file conversion” in which I have discussed the need for MBOX file to PST file conversion and the features of an efficient MBOX file to PST file converter software.

I hope this post is going to be helpful for those who are desperately searching the way to migrate data from Outlook to Entourage or vice versa.

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Migrate from apple mail to Outlook 2011 using the Mac Outlook import wizard

Today, during my online search, I have discovered some points about Mac Outlook that are worth sharing and helpful for those who want to migrate from apple mail to Mac outlook 2011.

I read the Microsoft guidelines for Mac Outlook that says, you can import messages, accounts, rules and signatures from apple mail to Outlook 2011 using the Mac Outlook import wizard. Also, I have found some forums that contradict this statement and says that Outlook 2011 doesn't natively support an import option for apple mail.

According to Microsoft guidelines: You can import apple mail items to Outlook using the following method.

To follow the given steps first close apple mail and then launch Mac outlook 2011.

Steps to import the apple mail messages to Outlook 2011.

1.Go to File>Import.

2.Select ‘Information from another application’.

3.Click Next.
4.Select ‘Apple Mail’.

5.Click Next.
6.Check all the items you want to import.

7.Click Next.

After completion of the import process, you will be prompted to fill name and password for the respective apple mail account that has been imported.

I am not sure, whether these steps will really work or not. As I have fore stated that along with the above Microsoft guidelines, I have seen some discussions over forums that deny the statement that Mac outlook can directly import files from apple mail to Outlook. If it’s true there might be some bugs in the Microsoft guidelines for Mac Outlook and that need to be corrected.

The main question that arises here is,”How to import apple mail files to Outlook if direct import is not supported?” Well it’s simple, with the help of apple mail to Apple Mail to Outlook 2011 Converter software you can convert the apple mail files to RGE file format that can be easily imported and accessed into Mac Outlook. You can accomplish Apple mail to Mac Outlook migration task in few minutes.

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How plan a successful Novell GroupWise to Exchange/Outlook migration strategy?

GroupWise offers email, calendaring, personal information management, instant messaging, and document management. The same functionalities are offered by Outlook. Though, Outlook has become one of the most popular Email Clients. If you are an administrator and want to migrate from Novell group wise to Exchange then, you are going to face some challenges to perform an efficient migration.

1.Technical Challenges

1. Ensuring Coexistence 
2. Migrating Data

1.Ensuring Coexistence

If the size of the organization is small or medium than it’s okay to migrate the data from GroupWise to Exchange over a small time span using a proper planning this is called big bang approach.

But if you working with an large organization the migration process may take a long time , in that case  coexistence and coherence is required so, that the two e-mail systems behave like a single systems for end users.

This requires some thought in three areas:

1. Directory synchronization
2. Mail flow
3. Calendar and free-busy lookups

Directory Synchronization

• Provisioning of objects in Active Directory. If the AD object doesn’t exist, it won’t get a mailbox or appear in the Exchange GAL. 
• GroupWise and Exchange 2010 should have the same view and agree on the definition of users, groups and resources 
• GroupWise and Exchange 2010 should display the same address book or GAL.

Mail Flow

• Whenever the Group wise to Outlook migration is going on there can be three types of users
• non-migrated GroupWise users
• Users migrated to Exchange 2010.
• Users from Outside world.

So, it is required to maintain continuous and proper mail flow among these three communicating parties.

Calendar and Free-Busy Lookups

You can natively can be migrate Legacy calendar content  between GroupWise and Exchange 2010 but to accomplish  collaborative use of calendaring between GroupWise and Exchange 2010 , you need to configure Calendar Connector  for GroupWise, After that Microsoft Connector for

Novell GroupWise can be shared with directory synchronization and mail flow.

2.Migrating Data

If you are migrating data between the two platforms then you need to pre check tow things the:

• The amount of data to be moved
• Space consumed by it before migration & after migration

2. Logistical Challenges

The logistics of managing a GroupWise migration to Exchange include the following three areas:

•  Migration schedule
• User training and support
• Deploying Outlook to the desktop

The Migration Schedule

In its simplest form, a migration schedule needs to include a list of Start with a definitive list of

Users, mailboxes, names and resources, and then, dates to draft a Migration schedule.

User Training and Support

GroupWise and Outlook behave differently. As you migrate from GroupWise to Outlook and Exchange, your processes and help desk staff needs to be able to support them so, here arises a training need for the users.

Deploying Outlook to the Desktop

If you want GroupWise and Outlook to co work on the same workstation then, first install GroupWise then Outlook because if GroupWise is installed after Outlook, then Outlook stops working. 

You can customize Outlook installation using Custom Installation Wizard. Or choose Group Policy, System Center Configuration Manager, or manual install to deploy Outlook.

3. Cultural Challenges

It might be possible that the end users don’t like to use Exchange or have got habitual of using   GroupWise. They may face some problems while communicating and managing with the new platform so, being an admin the end users shouldn’t be insisted but they should be given proper help and time to get themselves familiar with the changed environment.

Keeping in mind, all the above discussed points you may step forward to migrate from GroupWise to Exchange/Outlook. With a laconic search online, you can find a wide variety of software that let you easily migrate from GroupWise to Outlook. Just choose the suitable one and enjoy efficient migration from GroupWise to Exchange/Outlook.

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Six common factors that make Email management necessary in Lotus Notes

I am writing this article keeping in mind that you are familiar with Lotus Notes application and Domino server. The maximum defined for Lotus Notes database is 64 GB but it may be smaller than 64 GB depending on the type of file system used. There are several factors that make it necessary to manage the database size. In this article, I am going to some factors that adversely affect Lotus Notes performance.

Most common factors that affect Lotus Notes performance:

1.Lotus Notes Mail size:

Increased Lotus Notes mail size will lead to increased CPU usage. More will be the size of mail files more will be the memory required. 

Increased mail size also degrades the performance of:

• Backup and restore 
• View indexing, 
• Compact and transaction logging etc. 

2.Number of documents in the Inbox:

Large number of documents in the Inbox leads to:

• Increased response time by CPU.
• Increased number of resources (CPU, memory) required by the server.
• Increased disk I/O activity.
• Increased time to start or failover a server.

3.Fixed and mixed mail files sizes:

If the Lotus Notes mail box is containing a mix of files with different size ranges (26 MB to 2000 MB) with an average size of 700 MB then, there is not a noticeable affect on steady state but the ramp-up period increases over time. Thus, the capacity of Lotus Notes and Domino utilization is degraded.

Ramp up period refers to the time period between product development up to maximum capacity utilization of product by making continuous improvements and changes.

4.Full-text index and search:

If a database is not indexed and searched regularly then, it will consume a lot of CPU resources each time it is searched, so it is advisable to maintain a full-text index for the database.

5.The size and number of Documents in mail file:

Increased size and number of Documents in mail file consumes more CPU resources thus, it degrades Lotus Notes performance.

6.Count of Domino partitions:

More will the count of domino partitions more will be the memory required .CPU usage increases as the number of domino partitions increases. So, it better to have a single Domino partition that supports higher numbers of users than having a large number of domino partitions.

These are the most common factors that must be kept in mind if you are a Lotus Notes user or Domino administrators. Regular Email management is necessary to keep the Lotus Notes and Domino server application function properly. If you are looking for the most common Email management practices for Lotus Notes, then keep reading my upcoming posts .Stay in touch.

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