-=PCTechTalk=- Moving the Outlook Express Store folder

Hi Don,
    Assuming you're talking about Outlook Express' Message Store, I am 
guilty of committing the first two of those querries.  In fact, setting up 
my message store and swap file on a separate partition is one of the first 
things I do to every personal install of Windows I perform.  The two 
processes are actually quite easy.  Below is my method for moving the 
Outlook Express Store folder somewhere else.  Moving the Swapfile will be 
under a separate post.


Moving your Outlook Express message store to another location:

1.    Open Windows Explorer (Start > All Programs > Accessories > Windows 
Explorer), go to the View menu and make sure there's a check next to the 
Status Bar listing.  If there isn't, click on that line to add it.  The 
status bar is a small bar at the bottom of Windows Explorer that shows you 
how much space is being used by the currently viewed folder, as well as the 
remaining free space on that drive partition.  It's so incredibly useful 
that I cannot understand why it's turned off by default on earlier Windows 
operating systems.

2.    While still in Windows Explorer, locate your OE store folder using the 
path shown in your own OE's Store Location window (In OE, Tools > Options > 
Maintenance > Store Folder button) as your guide.  Be sure to click directly 
on the 'Outlook Express' folder in the left pane of Explorer so that the DBX 
files inside the folder are showing in the right pane.  Look at the status 
bar to see how much space is currently being occupied by all of your DBX 
files.  Write down this amount somewhere.

3.    Next, you'll need to check the size of the other drives and decide 
which drive partition you'd like to use to store your DBX files from now on. 
Your primary concern must be that the drive has plenty of room for the total 
size of the current files, plus room to grow (and only you can guess at how 
much additional room you might need at time ticks on and you hoard more 
messages).

4.    Once you've settled on a particular drive (which can be an external 
hard drive or even a thumb drive provided there's enough space), select that 
drive in the left pane.  RIGHT click in the right pane, select "New" and 
then "Folder" from the menu.  This will create a new folder in the right 
pane that's waiting to be named.  Give the folder a name that makes sense to 
you (OEFiles, Outlook Express Email, DBX House, OE Store, whatever) and 
press the Enter key to set it in stone.

5.    Now, go back to your original DBX store folder, select the entire 
contents of that folder (CTRL+A), RIGHT click one of the highlighted files 
and select Copy from the context menu that opens.

6.    Next, go back into the new folder you just created, RIGHT click inside 
it and select Paste from the context menu.  All of your DBX files will be 
copied to the new folder.


Showing OE Where To Find Them:

1.    Go back into OE and open up the Store Location Folder property sheet 
if it's not already open.  Click on the 'Change' button.

2.    Use the 'Browse For Folder' window to locate the new folder you just 
created and filled above.  Select that folder and click on the 'Ok' button.

3.    It will warn you that there this new location already appears to be a 
DBX Store Folder and will ask you if you want to use the one already there 
or start with an empty Store.  BE SURE TO READ THIS WARNING VERY 
CAREFULLY!!!  Different versions of OE use different wording.  No matter how 
it's worded, you want it to use the store that's already there and NOT 
replace it with an empty Store.  Make your selection and click Ok to set it 
in the registry.

4.    Close all Option screens and then close OE.

5.    Restart OE and then make your way back to the Maintenance tab's Store 
Location Folder window.  If all went well, OE will now show that it is using 
the new location.  If that's the case, use OE for a few days to make sure 
everything is running well.  After that, compare the dates between the two 
locations.  If the new location includes DBX files that are up to date and 
the old one hasn't changed at all, feel free to delete all of the files in 
the old location.  They are no longer needed.

If anything goes wrong during this process, there's no reason to panic.  You 
can always start over since OE cannot start using a new location until the 
app is closed and then restarted.  If you get really stuck, just fire off a 
message to PCTT and we'll walk you through it.

Peace,
GMan

"The only dumb questions are the ones that are never asked!"

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "DSWabc" <dswabc@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2007 6:46 AM
Subject: -=PCTechTalk=- Has anybody ever...


> 1. Used an external drive for their message store?
> 2. Used a second internal drive or an external drive for a)Windows Swap 
> file or b) My Documents?
>
> 3. Used remote assistance?
>
>
> If so would you please share any experiences and resources?  I have an 
> external drive now and would like to store all my data and mail folders 
> there instead of on drive C:.   I would then move the drive back and forth 
> between desktop and laptop as needed instead of trying to keep things 
> synchronized between the two computers.
>
> Also, my Mom finally upgraded to broadband and is now using IE6 and OE6 
> instead of Juno and it will be easier (I hope) for me to use Remote 
> Assistance to help her instead of driving 45 minutes oneway to do it in 
> person.  Especially as often as she will need help.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Don 


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