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How to find Outlook .ost /.pst files in command prompt

Anonymous
2020-09-15T18:44:26+00:00

Windows 10 has developed a critical error and, following the assessment of an expert technician, I have been advised to reinstall.   The process will remove all apps but preserve my files which are, in any event, backed up daily.   I am not sure if the reinstall will erase Outlook's pst files and I'm not sure if I included them in my daily backup routine.  I really don't want to risk losing all my archived emails.   I am, therefore, looking to find these files on my PC's hard drive and save them to an external hard drive before I initiate the Windows 10 reinstall.   I can only access the drive by command prompt or  notepad  - but I do not know how to search or find the files !

I assume they are hidden in some way.   Can anyone suggest a means of finding files stored anywhere on the hard drive in my PC, whether hidden or not, using only DOS commands? I cannot find the file in users/local data or even that file in users. HELP

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Performance and system failures

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  1. Anonymous
    2020-09-15T22:50:25+00:00

    Excellent.

    Do you need anything else?

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  2. Anonymous
    2020-09-15T20:59:28+00:00

    Not getting the command expression above to work : 

    screen shot 1 - my dir search 

    screen shot 2 - the error from the 

    command above 

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  3. Anonymous
    2020-09-15T19:30:16+00:00

    X means you are accessing a memory disk. This can occur if you are accessing from Windows installation disk. To change the disk, you must type C: and press enter.

    You can access that partition, if your disk is healthy.

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  4. Anonymous
    2020-09-15T19:08:22+00:00

    Thank you - 

    cmd has me in “x” as the directory - which is boot ... 

    not sure how to get to “c” and that partition ? 

    if that makes sense

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  5. Anonymous
    2020-09-15T18:51:42+00:00

    Hi, my name is Jose. I'm an Independent Advisor and a Windows user like you. I'll be glad to help you today.

    From the CMD window, run the following commands:

    CD \ "This command will bring you to the root path"

    DIR /S *.PST " This command will show you all pst file names and location"

    DIR /S *.OST " This command will show you all ost file names and location"

    After that, you can copy those file using the command COPY <Original path> <Destination path>

    Please let me know if you need any further assistance.

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