Delay receiving e-mails, and a 2GB PST

[cakestick]

Hello, a couple of Outlook 2000 problems here..

First off, two of my users are receiving e-mails up to a day after they were originally sent. When the e-mails come in, they are still timestamped with the date/time they were sent, as opposed to when they are actually received. I have run SR-1a and SP3 on their office installations to no avail, and as far as I can tell it is a problem with the client.

I have read about Windows Firewall blocking the port that is responsible for Outlook "pushing" e-mail to the client, but there is no such software or block running on the machines. Hoping that somebody might have an idea as to what I can do.

My other issue revolves around a user's .pst that is at the 2gb limit. He has deleted enough e-mail to bring himself to about 1.7gb, but the size of the PST remains the same. Reports about how the Inbox repair tool works makes me wary of using it, as it seems to just truncate random information until the file is usable again. However, the user is now unable to synchronize with his Exchange mailbox, and I'd like to resolve that as soon as possible.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[smah]

I can't help with the delay problem, but once messages (or other data) is removed from the .pst file, it can be compacted to reduce it's size. In Outlook 2000, right click on Outlook Today, Properties, Advanced button, Compact button.

I'm surprised that Outlook is still working, usually problems arise before reaching the 2GB threshold. Also, as with all things of this nature, make a backup of the existing .pst file before starting the compaction, just in case.

 

[58sniper]

I have read about Windows Firewall blocking the port that is responsible for Outlook "pushing" e-mail to the client

I'm sure you mean Exchange, and not Outlook. Although that problem isn't about mail getting "pushed", it's about the new mail notification. Outlook "pulls" the mail.

Smah is correct. The file needs to be compacted manually to be reduced in physical size. It's not automatic.

The threshold is roughly at the 1.92GB mark. The file needs to be local for maintenance. Actually, it has to be local for use as well.

If you're using Exchange, there's no need for .pst files, and dozens or sites explain why.

Pat Richard, MCSE MCSA:Messaging CNA
Microsoft Exchange MVP
Want to know how email works? Read for yourself -

http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2821.txt