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Outlook.pst file remains same size even after deleting emails. Why?

Dexter Morgan ~ Modified: October 13th, 2017 ~ ~ 2 Minutes Reading

Home › Forums › Outlook.pst file remains same size even after deleting emails. Why?

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  • October 13, 2017 at 6:13 am #5243 Score: 0
    Dexter Morgan
    Moderator
    38 pts

    I’m in trouble with the error “deleting emails does not reduce PST size”. Let me tell you what I did. I am using Windows XP & MS office 2007.

    I have 1 PST file (PST_10) which is 3.7 GB in size. I closed my PST file from Outlook & then closed Outlook too. I traverse to the folder where the PST is placed & had made the copy of it & renamed as (PST_11). After that, I opened Outlook & opened my new PST file. Following this, I shift deleted my emails which were there (since June 2011). I did the same procedure with each folder in my PST file. Then I again closed my PST file as well as Outlook.

    When I went back to the folder where the 2 PST’s were stored, I saw the size of the new one has not even reduced a bit, rather the size was increased by few Kbs. Even the renamed option was disabled & I was not able to rename my PST file.

    My main motive to create a new PST file was to reduce the size of it, but even after the deletion, the size remains the same. I am trying to compact the files. But the files are taking so much of time for compaction & I don’t know how much time will it take more.

    If anyone knows what is exactly happening, please let me know. If nothing will work, then please suggest me a suitable method to start a new PST to store my emails.

    Thanks for your support!

    October 13, 2017 at 7:21 am #5245 Score: 0
    Lincoln Burrows
    Moderator
    16 pts

    If you have deleted the emails, the emails will be still there in your PST files, unless & until you perform or run the Compact utility. After that, all the items will be deleted from the recycle bin. But when you compact PST file, all the deleted items will get removed, the free space is reordered.

    Thanks.

    October 13, 2017 at 8:44 am #5246 Score: 0
    Henry Davidson
    Moderator
    31 pts

    Hi,

    To decrease the size of Outlook data file (.pst & .ost) you refer this link:

    https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Reduce-the-size-of-Outlook-Data-Files-pst-and-ost-e4c6a4f1-d39c-47dc-a4fa-abe96dc8c7ef?CorrelationId=b624c9eb-82c4-4770-bcbf-7cb42bd13f3a&ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US&ocmsassetID=HA010356311

    October 13, 2017 at 10:23 am #5252 Score: 0
    Dexter Morgan
    Moderator
    38 pts

    Hi, Henry, I tried this method also, But it took a lot of time. Can you please suggest me a quick process?

    October 13, 2017 at 11:03 am #5254 Score: 0
    Henry Davidson
    Moderator
    31 pts

    Well, to fasten up the process you can Compress the file after archiving to remove the space. Follow the below-mentioned steps:

    Click on file >> Account Settings >> Data File >> Select PST file >> Settings >> Compress.

    Hope this will help you!

    October 13, 2017 at 11:49 am #5267 Score: 0
    Dexter Morgan
    Moderator
    38 pts

    Hi, All

    Thanks for the techniques which you all have shared. I am able to move my other folders of Outlook easily but my Inbox is very bulky so it is consuming a lot of time. Even the Outlook is creating an issue while opening. As my Inbox include so many emails which are useful, Please suggest me methods so that I can truncate the files into 3 Folder or many to manage my inbox data easily.

    Thanks.

    October 13, 2017 at 12:26 pm #5272 Score: 0
    Kerry Morris
    Moderator
    33 pts

    Hi Dexter,

    I think you should use a third party utility i.e. SysTools Split PST software to break your files & folders for easy management. I also tried this tool to break PST files & found Satisfactory results to divide oversized Outlook PST files into smaller parts. This tool will also help you to divide your inbox files into multiple parts.

    October 16, 2017 at 5:54 am #5275 Score: 0
    Dexter Morgan
    Moderator
    38 pts

    Hi, kerry morris I’m happy that with your help I am able to truncate my inbox items. The tool which you recommended is outstanding & has helped me split my PST files. And guess what I break down the files according to date as the tool offers this option too. I am really very thank full to you for your help!

    November 17, 2017 at 7:41 am #5845 Score: 0
    James
    Moderator

    Hello Guys,

    This thread is very helpful because from here one can get the perfect solution related to several PST file corruption issues. But I have one doubt, if my Outlook.pst file gets damaged, then how can I recover and manage there file size issue?

    Thanks & Regards
    James

    November 20, 2017 at 7:19 am #5869 Score: 0
    Kerry Morris
    Moderator
    33 pts

    Hello James,

    This is one good question. There are so many reasons for Outlook.pst file gets damaged. One of such reason is its large file size. If you faced this problem by the oversized issue then you can use the above mentioned third-party utility to resolve your problem by splitting process. In other case, first you want to recover your PST data file and then you can use this utility. for the recovery process you can also take the help from SysTools Outlook Recovery tool.

    Thanks & Regards
    Kerry Morris

    November 27, 2017 at 12:04 pm #5973 Score: 0
    James
    Moderator

    Hi Kerry Morris,

    I am very thankful to you for this valuable suggestion.

    Thanks & Regards
    James

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