How Outlook Stores Your Data

Outlook is basically a flat-file database. As you create new e-mails, or as new e-mails are received, or when you create and save a new item in an Outlook folder, Outlook adds the new item to the location identified as the primary store. The exact location depends on how you configured Outlook when it was installed on your computer. Usually, your Personal Folders file (username.pst for example) is stored on your local computer in your My Documents folder.

If you are not connected to an Microsoft Exchange Server, your e-mails, calendar, and other items are delivered to and stored locally in a personal folder (.pst) file. The letters pst stand for Personal Storage Table. The following files are commonly referenced by the various versions of Outlook.

Outlook data files (.pst)

drive:Documents and SettingsLocal SettingsApplication DataMicrosoftOutlook

Offline Folders file (.ost)

drive:Documents and Settings< username >Local SettingsApplication DataMicrosoftOutlook

Personal Address Book (.pab)

drive:Documents and Settings< username >Local SettingsApplication DataMicrosoftOutlook

Offline Address Books (.oab)

drive:Documents and Settings< username >Local SettingsApplication DataMicrosoftOutlook

Outlook contacts nicknames (.nk2)

drive:Documents and Settings< username >Application DataMicrosoftOutlook

Recovering Outlooks PST, OST and other such data from laptops and computers which have become inaccessible, had failed hard drive, or has corrupted data, requires training and sophisticated equipment to rebuild and restore good, usable data. ADR Data Recovery has been in the hard drive data recovery business for over 12 years and successfully recovers critical data from laptops, computers, servers, and RAID servers every day.

Jason Perry

Outlook Backup - What Is The Best Way to Do It?
Outlook backup is a bare necessity for those who use MS Outlook email client for everyday communication. If you are like most people, who like to start their day with a hot steaming cup of coffee looking through morning mail, you sure can imagine how...

Data Recovery And Back Up For Email Clients
Booting issues, virus attacks, or corrupted file systems are very much present in any exchange or mail servers and can cause many of your archived email messages to apparently disappear. Companies which rely heavily on email communication and do not ...

Do you Know Your Outlook Express?
Outlook express is an email client that comes bundled with Windows 95 and higher and facilitates home users to access their e mails by dialing to an internet service provider.Outlook express is the primary e- mail client for most e mail needs. Every ...

Does it Pay to Backup Emails from Clients Like Outlook Express?
How often do people loose their email data? Is this important to backup your email client before loosing important emails? Are you thinking it wont happen to you?Well, for those who use an email client and loosing their emails is one of the worst ...

Back up Your Mail - Get Your History Safe (Outlook Express Oriented)
To get control over your own mail store in Outlook Express means to be up-to-date in terms of private business and procure order in all kinds of epistolary relationships. These affirmations are out of question.Just imagine a thunder crash over your p...

Data Backup Strategies - Backing Up To CD
You are reading this article which probably means you own a computer. Most likely you have some very important documents and other files on your computer and it could be disastrous for you to lose these. This is why you need to consider it a backup...

Backups Required for Your Online Business
Your on-line business cannot afford a feeling like this in your stomach Have you ever experienced that terrible feeling in the pit of your stomach? You know the one. The one you hope is just a mistake. Nah, that couldnt really be happening to me. T...

Data Backups - One Key to Business Survival
Your customer data is a precious resource that can literally be worth its weight in gold! If used properly, it can be mined over and over for additional sales and referrals. Do you use this gold mine to increase the profitability of your business?Y...

Challenges in Recovering Deleted Email
Both computer forensics experts and data recovery technicians seek to recover deleted data. Data recovery is primarily interested in bringing back files, while computer forensics tends to dig deeper, looking not just for deleted documents, but also f...

Military Application Of Data Recovery
According to Data Recovery Labs it is reported the Chinese are currently testing the manufacturing of new hard disk drives by pioneering new coating materials for the magnetic media/platters, involving the development of mixing plastic based material...

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 13th, 2008 at 7:52 am and is filed under Data Recovery Service . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.