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How to import Outlook Data Files (.pst) – the files formally known as Personal Folder Files (.PST)

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If you upgrade from Outlook 2007 to Outlook 2010, your .pst files will auto-magically be imported into your Outlook profile. You don’t need to do anything (beyond upgrading) to get them there.

 

If you want to do a clean install where you uninstall Outlook and then install Outlook 2010, you may need to manually import your .pst files into your profile. As with Outlook 2007, it’s easy to do in Outlook 2010 but the commands to do it are in a different spot.

Here is one way to do it in Outlook 2010 Beta:

1. In Outlook 2010, click the File tab.

2. Click Open and then click Open Outlook Data File.

3. Navigate to the .pst file to import and then click Ok.

You’re done! 

 

If you or your organization isn’t a fan of .pst files, check out the Personal Archive feature with Exchange Server 2010 and Outlook 2010. As with .pst files, the Personal Archive feature does not affect user’s primary mailbox size. The difference is that the e-mail archive folders are stored on the Exchange server and can only be accessed while the user is connected to the internet. Users can access their Personal Archive just like a .pst file in Outlook 2010. Because archived email is stored on the Exchange server users can access it from OWA as well. For more information about the Personal Archive in Exchange 2010, see Understanding Personal Archive (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=178303).

 

You can also disable .pst files in your organization. In Planning for Messaging Records Management 2010 Help (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=178295), see the sections “Limiting Access to PST Files” and “Configure user's systems to prevent moving or copying Exchange mailbox data to PST files”.

 

And while I’m on the Exchange Server 2010 tangent, you should definitely check out the new features available if you haven’t already. See Microsoft Exchange 2010 (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=163579) and What's New in Exchange Server 2010 (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkId=164425).

 

Happy Office 2010 Beta evaluating!

Comments

  • Anonymous
    January 01, 2003
    Elizabeth - You might want to post this on the Outlook 2010 forum.  You'll likely get help faster. http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/outlook/threads

  • Anonymous
    January 01, 2003
    It is very useful knowledge to convert outlook to .pst files. You can try third party OST to PST also www.getbackdata.net/ost-to-pst.html

  • Anonymous
    January 01, 2003
    While upgrading Microsoft Outlook 2007 to Outlook 2010, I was lost my PST file data due to corruption. But after reading a technical blog I have got an idea about repairing corrupted PST file through Inbox Repair Tool (scanpst.exe). All steps are written in this blog helped me to recover back my damaged PST file data. To follow up such post visit- http://www.itninja.com/blog/view/how-to-run-scanpst-exe-to-repair-outlook-2010-2007-2003

  • Anonymous
    January 01, 2003
    Outlook PST Recovery is a reliable solution to repair and recover Outlook personal storage file '.PST'. After repair, the contents are restored to a new importable PST file. The application also facilitates the recovery of folders.

    Get More Info:- http://www.filesrecoverytools.com/outlook-pst-recovery.html

  • Anonymous
    January 01, 2003
    Please post your issues to the Outlook 2010 forum: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/outlook/threads Lots of people there to help.

  • Anonymous
    January 01, 2003
    Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 and Outlook Web App deliver a rich, familiar Web e-mail experience, so your users can work and collaborate more effectively wherever they are. Users can access e-mail, voice mail, instant messaging, SMS text messages, and more—all in one place and through all major Web browsers. www.microsoft.com/.../outlook-web-app.aspx

  • Anonymous
    January 01, 2003
    Please post your issues to the Outlook 2010 forum: social.technet.microsoft.com/.../threads Lots of people there to help.

  • Anonymous
    January 01, 2003
    Are you highlighting and selecting the individual .pst file in the folder you've navigated to and then clicking "OK"?  Same thing happen with the archive.pst file?  Or does that one work?

  • Anonymous
    January 01, 2003
    Post issues to the Outlook 2010 forum please!   http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/outlook/threads

  • Anonymous
    January 01, 2003
    You can use any third party application to repair and recover old PST files in new PST files. I would like to refer such a software called Kernel for Outlook PST Repair that can repair and save damaged PST files in new one. For more information visithttp://www.pstrepairutility.com

  • Anonymous
    January 01, 2003
    I followed this process and my data file was imported correctly; however, send/receive never starts - status bar says "preparing to send/receive" perpetually.

  • Anonymous
    January 01, 2003
    http://www.itninja.com/blog/view/how-to-run-scanpst-exe-to-repair-outlook-2010-2007-2003Visit the Correct Blog URL

  • Anonymous
    January 01, 2003
    Very informative article over Outlook PST file import process. Although Outlook is a very popular email client among all users across the world but it also has some flaws that affects the working flow of users. To tackle with such issues, one solution is available here - http://www.recovery-tools.org/ms-outlook-pst/ so you can have a look at here to find complete solution.

  • Anonymous
    January 01, 2003
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    November 21, 2009
    I'm attempting the first process above - Copying the .pst and archive .pst from my office 2007 laptop onto a flashdrive...

  1.       In Outlook 2010, click the File tab.
  2.       Click Open and then click Open Outlook Data File.
  3.       Navigate to the .pst file to import and then click Ok. However, when I click "open Outlook data file" I get the error "the file Outlook.pst is not an outlook data file (.pst).  What am I doing wrong.

  • Anonymous
    November 22, 2009
    I have downloaded the 2010 beta and want to install it on my primary PC at home as it's the only way I can truly beta test the products.   The one issue I have is the handling of my outlook 2003 PST file.  Will Outlook 2010 simply open this file and use it as it normal or will it need to perform some sort of magical file conversion to a new PST (or other) Outlook format?  If it does do this is there any way I'll be able to get my PST file back (complete with current emails) when the beta ends (i.e so I can take my PST file and put it back into Outlook 2003)? Thanks

  • Anonymous
    January 20, 2010
    Downloaded Office 2010 Beta, could not access my information. Deleted 2010 and know can't get office Outlook 2007 to work. What do I need to do? Error message indicates it can't find data files? Cannot open default folders. Cannot open because a data file to send and receive is not  available. Help Thanks,

  • Anonymous
    April 15, 2010
    Hey Elizabeth, it might be too late at this poing but perhaps this might help someone else...  I ran into the same issue but finally got things to work by doing the following:

  1. On the PST file in question, go to "Properties" -> "Details" -> "Remove Properties and Personal Information"
  2. Go with the defaults of "Create a copy with all possible properties removed" and apply the changes.
  3. After it was done I was able to finally open the resultant file (has a "- copy" appended to the filename) using Outlook 2010. I logged this on the before-mentioned forums here: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/outlook/thread/bcc6cb4d-5f8b-43e1-9f6c-8e2cb83927cf#954776b1-51ef-4b89-a706-64d692d0df3f

  • Anonymous
    February 13, 2011
    What does OWA mean?

  • Anonymous
    February 17, 2011
    Yes, but how to recover 3 months of recent emails NOT converted from 2007 to 2010.

  • Anonymous
    March 01, 2011
    George You might know it till now but OWA is: Outlook Web Access meaning: Internet based Outlook application - launches via Internet Explorer ;) Cheers Muzzy

  • Anonymous
    April 12, 2011
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    April 12, 2011
    When I try to import my pst files into outlook 2010 it is asking for a password but I did not put a password on it when I did the back up......has this happened to anyone?

  • Anonymous
    April 19, 2011
    I met with the same problem on my Win XP SP3 machine. It was working fine and suddenly after the machine reboots, I got the scanpst.exe file. I downloaded the file from this Forum and when I run the program, I got another error message saying "An unexpected error preventing access to this file (my outlook.pst), use the scandisk to fix the check the disk for errors, and then use the Inbox Repair Tools to fix the errors again". I ran the checkdsk with the F (fix errors) options under cmd and after that, I still not able to fix the Outlook error. Any help please!! I am getting despertae with teh Outlook and I have so much my previous mails in it. The Outlook is more than 3.5 GB in size. Thanks for any help that will be offered. <a href="http://www.repair-outlook-pst-file.com">outlook pst repair</a>

  • Anonymous
    July 20, 2011
    thanks

  • Anonymous
    August 09, 2011
    Does not work.

  • Anonymous
    September 13, 2011
    Have done the above at least 12 times and pst created in 2003 still does not import

  • Anonymous
    October 18, 2011
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    November 03, 2011
    I want to import one pst into another pst file in Outlook 2010. I cannot find any information on this.

  • Anonymous
    December 12, 2011
    When I go to open and pst file it tells me there is nothing to view. Then when I go to import and try to import it tells me that the pst file is all ready in use. I am not sure what else I can do to get these e-mails moved. I was able to do my contacts and calender with no problems.

  • Anonymous
    December 15, 2011
    I'm trying to copy/move my pst files from a XP pc to a W7 laptop but keep getting an error message when importing to the laptop help

  • Anonymous
    January 14, 2012
    I just installed MS Outlook 2010 on new computor with Windows 7 and can not open Outlook sharing.xml.obi files I exported on to the new computor or export them into Outlook 2010 as I need to have old outlook to open the files. Please help.

  • Anonymous
    February 11, 2012
    Just converted 2007 to 2010 Outlook.  Everything appears fine except that some folders created to isolate emails no longer appear, i.e. new folders were created in 2007 to organize emails and for easier retrieval.  Any insight on this would be helpful. Did to recommended upgrade path.

  • Anonymous
    February 23, 2012
    how can i import my old mails to my new exchange server Data file? I tried dragging and dropping but imported mails only remain on my computer. What can i do to synchronize my local mail database with exchange data store?

  • Anonymous
    March 16, 2012
    I don't want to "open an export of 2007 pst in 2010, I want to "import" it, so it becomes my primary pst file.  But when I attempt to do this, it says the file has an error.  Has this happened to anyone in the past, and how do I remedy it?

  • Anonymous
    June 11, 2012
    I've installed OUtlook 2010 and successfully imported my 2007 files. HOWEVER, the directories have not imported and I have emails from 2008 - 2012 to redistribute. Any ideas? ALSO, archive files are not importing?! Thanks Sarah

  • Anonymous
    July 27, 2012
    When I open my contact manager in Outlook 2010 the contact list is there but when I click on it I get an error that says the contact is missing.  I am doing this from a backup file of my 2007 Outlook into my new 2010 Outlook.  What is going wrong ?    Thanks for your help.

  • Anonymous
    October 16, 2012
    CAN ANY BODY PLEASE ANSWER MY NEEDS. IF I WANT TO SHIFT MY DATA FROM A PC X TO PC Y SO, HOW CAN I RESTORE MY PST FILE INTO THE NEW PC? THANK YOU,

  • Anonymous
    December 04, 2012
    Hi Ibrahim, As we know that Outlook stores all email information in PST file. If you need to shift your email data from One PC to other than you can simply use Outlook Import & Export Wizard. It will help you to create backup data from One PC and you can easily import email item in New PC outlook profile.

  • Anonymous
    December 30, 2012
    Dear All, Please note that sometimes when you import from 2007 into 2010, the outlook fails to send/receive and says can't read data file. You should delete your account, recreate it and in the manual setup, there is an option when you sets the outlook to use existing data file. Then you should browse your data file and everything will be working afterwards.

  • Anonymous
    January 07, 2013
    how about importing a pst file into another pst file - Outlook 2010??

  • Anonymous
    January 07, 2013
    so its actually, File tab, Options, Advanced, Export. the Export button gives the import features as well. just the older Outlooks.

  • Anonymous
    January 21, 2013
    good job

  • Anonymous
    March 19, 2013
    Thanks very much. Appreciate this information.

  • Anonymous
    April 21, 2013
    opening pst did nothing. I archvived an account and deleted it from outlook. when I did file -> open -> open pst file -> clicked on file (265Kb in size) nothing happened.

  • Anonymous
    April 28, 2013
    When most people think of importing a file... they think it has something to do with actually importing data. For example ... if you haev an exchaneg account and want to bring in pst data . ... this is just opening a pst file. not importing it.

  • Anonymous
    May 13, 2013
    I have copied 2007 pst to 2010.When click send and receive old mails again come from server.please help....

  • Anonymous
    July 31, 2013
    How can i import my old mails to my new exchange server Data file? Its really so interesting matter to discuss..I've shared it with so many guys too, they also got it so informative and useful...

  • Anonymous
    August 27, 2013
    thank you.  that worked perfectly

  • Anonymous
    September 25, 2013
    I would suggest this application to recover your outlook files. I personally tried and it worked like a charm gallery.technet.microsoft.com/OST-Recovery-Recover-84522a9e

  • Anonymous
    October 09, 2013
    File -> Open -> Import see office.microsoft.com/.../import-outlook-items-from-an-outlook-data-file-pst-HA102505743.aspx

  • Anonymous
    December 05, 2013
    Work with ost/pst files by using ost to pst converter OST to PST Converter Toolbox contains a lot of handy solutions For more info www.osttopstconverter.convertertoolbox.com

  • Anonymous
    March 23, 2014
    Thanks

  • Anonymous
    March 31, 2014
    It worked like a charm..

  • Anonymous
    April 28, 2014
    thank you very much, you are more clever my IT Dept

  • Anonymous
    May 22, 2014
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    August 03, 2014
    I am trying for Load outlook emails without pst file, but due to increase in size, its say to Delete some files to load, can someone guide how to load it

  • Anonymous
    November 02, 2014
    You guys are great! Your information was invaluable, thank you.
    Showcase Television Network, Inc.

  • Anonymous
    November 11, 2014
    When I want to import my pst file to Outlook I get the message 'The Personal Folder file(.pst) is already in use in the current profile.' How do I continue with the import. thank you very much for any advice.

  • Anonymous
    January 11, 2015
    Thank you very much.
    This information was helpful.

  • Anonymous
    February 05, 2015
    Is there a way to add a corrupt PST file back to your profile. We are testing backup software and want to see the affects of a corrupt PST file. It won't let me add it because it's corrupt. Is there a way around the error a to let me add it to my data file?

  • Anonymous
    July 01, 2015
    I have been using MS Outlook 2013. The option to open PST file is same, File >> Open & Export >. Open Data File