#2535606 - 06/19/08 02:18 PM
Getting Outlook Express to use Store files on a network-mapped drive
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Joe
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Bridgewater, NJ
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I recently finished building/converting an old system to a home server, and putting together a new desktop. I would like Outlook Express on my new desktop to use files that reside on the server. The server uses a RAID 1 array, so any files there are backed up.
Server WinXP Home SP3 750GB RAID 1, 2 partitions (C = 25GB, D = 725GB) D drive is shared on the network
Desktop WinXP Home SP3 Outlook Express A folder on the server's D drive is mapped as the Z drive
When I go to change the Store location in Outlook, any drive and/or folder that is local to the desktop is acceptable, but whenever I click on the Z drive, or inside ony folder on the Z drive, the OK button greys out. Clearly Outlook Express does not want its files going on a networked drive. Any way I can do what I want?
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#2535640 - 06/19/08 03:04 PM
Re: Getting Outlook Express to use Store files on a network-mapped drive
[Re: Rilex]
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RSColonel_131st
Lifer
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Lifer
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Vienna, 2nd rock left.
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We've been doing the "PST on a Server" thing for three years now in a small branch office. But these are backed up daily, monthly archives... even if something gets corrupted, the user can go back to the previous day.
Also, it can slow down Outlook (or hang the whole system) if it doesn't find the share.
So, with "full" Outlook, I'd say you give it a try, as long as you have a daily backup to another medium (from the RAID drive to tape or a different disk). If something got corrupted, you can revert to the day before.
But since OE doesn't give you the option anyway, a scripted copy will be the smarter solution. I'd hook it into the XP "scripts to run on shutdown" part, so OE will be closed and it won't cost you productive time. With a more elaborate VBS script, you could even check date or week and only do it occasionally so the shutdown is fast most of the time.
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#2535653 - 06/19/08 03:17 PM
Re: Getting Outlook Express to use Store files on a network-mapped drive
[Re: RSColonel_131st]
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Joe
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Sorry, RSC, I missed your first post. The network is 100MB, and the desktop and server are connected through a DLink router. So, fast enough. Both computers are always on, though, so a script would have to close Outlook Express (if it's open), then copy all of the .dbx files to the server drive. Ideally the script would then open Outlook Express if it was open previously, or do nothing if it was closed previously. I would appreciate scripting help; I know what I want to do conceptually but don't know how to go about it in actuality.
There are problems with simple copies, though, aren't there? Say I delete a folder in Outlook Express, then that night I copy all of my local .dbx files to my server. The folder I deleted still exists on my server. If I ever have to restore my email, that folder will "come back from the dead", won't it?
Rilex, Thanks for the link. At the office there are six of us on this server. That's it, that's the whole company. I comprehend the issues discussed in that link, but is it really a problem for such a small application?
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#2535676 - 06/19/08 04:01 PM
Re: Getting Outlook Express to use Store files on a network-mapped drive
[Re: Joe]
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Joined: Jan 2001
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RSColonel_131st
Lifer
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Lifer
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Vienna, 2nd rock left.
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The problem with simple copies is true. My OE never had more than two or three additional folders, so that wouldn't have mattered to me, but if you are using an elaborate folder structure, and each is it's own file, that may be rough. I found info about robocopy here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RobocopyIt has a mirror mode, so actually will delete files in the target if they are no longer present. To close OE, you can simple use this script I found (enter the appriorate process/.exe name) [QUOTE]' ProcessKillLocal.vbs ' Sample VBScript to kill a program ' Author Guy Thomas http://computerperformance.co.uk/' Version 2.7 - December 2005 ' ------------------------ -------------------------------' Option Explicit Dim objWMIService, objProcess, colProcess Dim strComputer, strProcessKill strComputer = "." strProcessKill = "'iexplore.exe'" Set objWMIService = GetObject("winmgmts:" _ & "{impersonationLevel=impersonate}!\\" _ & strComputer & "\root\cimv2") Set colProcess = objWMIService.ExecQuery _ ("Select * from Win32_Process Where Name = " & strProcessKill ) For Each objProcess in colProcess objProcess.Terminate() Next WSCript.Echo "Just killed process " & strProcessKill _ & " on " & strComputer WScript.Quit ' End of WMI Example of a Kill Process []/(QUOTE] The third and fourth line from the bottom are the message window, you can delete them. Worked for me just fine with internet explorer. So, easiest is to save this as "closeOE.vbs", then create a batch file or .cmd file in which you call the script, then call the robocopy job, then call OE from it's full path again. If you can do that over night with both machines running, then mail size won't be that much of an issue. For me, I do this stuff during shutdown of windows, so I would have to be aware of the copy duration.
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#2535761 - 06/19/08 05:51 PM
Re: Getting Outlook Express to use Store files on a network-mapped drive
[Re: RSColonel_131st]
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Joe
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Yeah, the whole shebang will run overnight. Thanks for the script; I'll try it out when I get home. Is a .vbs file just a text file with the appropriate extension? Killing a process isn't the same as closing it, is it? Sometime you close Outlook programs and they give a "hey, wait a minute" type message. Robocopy's mirror function is exactly what I need; thanks to both of you for pointing it out. Wikipedia says Robocopy "was part of the Windows Resource Kit", then included in Vista. So, what exactly do I need? Windows XP Service Pack 2 Support Tools? Windows XP Service Pack 2 Deployment Tools? Something else?
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#2535792 - 06/19/08 06:09 PM
Re: Getting Outlook Express to use Store files on a network-mapped drive
[Re: Joe]
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Rilex
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Washington
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Rilex, Thanks for the link. At the office there are six of us on this server. That's it, that's the whole company. I comprehend the issues discussed in that link, but is it really a problem for such a small application? The same rule applies to one person and one PST.
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#2536318 - 06/20/08 03:39 PM
Re: Getting Outlook Express to use Store files on a network-mapped drive
[Re: RSColonel_131st]
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Joe
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Bridgewater, NJ
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I googled "Outlook Object model" and my head hurts. I'm not a computer programmer. I think data corruption on the local drive would be a big issue. If the data corrupts when Outlook in closed, and then that corrupted data is immediately copied to a server, overwriting yesterday's un-corrupted data, then that backup is a failure and all copies are bad. I found thos, which says the following will close Outlook if inserted into a VBS script: Set objOLK = createObject("Outlook.Application")
objOLK.quit
Is this different from killing the process? Can the above be modified for Outlook Express instead of Outlook?
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Exodus
by RedOneAlpha. 04/18/24 05:46 PM
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