Outlook help!!!

koolpc

koolpc

koolpc

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Joined
2 Dec 2004
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Mate has been having issues with outlook and excel. So, he tried to re-install excell and guess what? He has lost all of his outlook!! Emails and contacts gone!!

Anyway he can get them back? Do Virgin keep a backup of all his emails?
 
Have a look for his PST in C:\Users\name\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook. If its in there, you can just import it back in. Virgin would only keep a backup of all emails on the server, if you told Outlook to leave a copy.
 
koolpc said:
Thing is, outlook is no longer on his pc so would that file have been wiped too?
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The PST file is probably still there, unless it was deleted manually for some reason. Don't forget that the AppData folder is hidden, so to find it you'll need to enable "Show hidden files, folders and drives" in your folder options.

When you find it, I'd suggest making a backup copy of it before you do anything else, just in case something unexpected happens. :)
 
It depends on his setup - if for instance Outlook was periodically auto-archiving older emails, there will probably be one or more "archive.pst" files in addition to the primary "outlook.pst". His contacts will be in the outlook.pst itself though.

This assumes he's using POP3 - if he's using IMAP the mail will be cached locally in a file with an .ost extension (which can't normally be accessed directly), but it should be retained on the remote server in any case.
 
Basically what he needs to try is this:

look for PST in C:\Users\name\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook
 
koolpc said:
Think he uses pop3
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I'd configure it for IMAP when doing the reinstall, it's more convenient (access from more than one location), and more bombproof (the mail stays on the remote server so doesn't get lost in the event of an accident).

He'll still need to back up outlook.pst every so often however, as that's where his contacts and other info are stored.
 
CaptainCrash said:
I'd configure it for IMAP when doing the reinstall, it's more convenient (access from more than one location), and more bombproof (the mail stays on the remote server so doesn't get lost in the event of an accident).

He'll still need to back up outlook.pst every so often however, as that's where his contacts and other info are stored.
Click to expand...

But outlook backs up to there automatically anyway?
 
CaptainCrash said:
What do you mean, "backs up to there" ? No, if you're using POP3 the client will download the mail and delete it from the server, unless it's been specifically told to leave remote copies.
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This. Unless you tell outlook to leave a copy on the server, it will download all emails from the server without leaving a copy behind. If you're gonna use POP3 then make sure to enable this option (When filling in the account details, click more settings and then the advanced tab. It should be at the bottom).
 
It would not be a pst it would be an ost, but only if he has enabled offline mode. If he has not then there is a high chance that there is still a copy of the emails on the virgin servers. If sets up the accounts again and it does not download all his emails then he has lost them all.

reinstalling excel should not break outlook profiles, he must have done something else.
 
Virgin

2yrs ago I was in Germany and for the first time accessed my Virgin e-mail - there were over 19,000 there, nearly all of which I had deleted from Outlook!
Suggest your friend looks there.

Good Luck

MikeD
 
Thanks People.

What is the best procedure to backup all emails, in and out and saved and contacts from Outlook? Foolproof way please. Thanks
 
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