Can I merge .PST files

Hi, Paddy. Thank you for coming to the forum. My name is Femi. It is worth noting that this is a user community, and we are all users here, much like yourself. While we strive to assist and share insights, we are not Microsoft directly.

In my experience, what you can do is to use the built-in import and export feature of Outlook. This method allows you to import the data from one PST file to another PST file, and optionally delete the duplicates or replace the existing items. To use this method, you need to follow these steps;

Open Outlook and create a new blank PST file by clicking on Home > New Email > More Items > Outlook Data File. Give your blank PST file a name and save it.

Click on File > Open & Export > Import/Export > Import from another program or file. On the next screen, select Outlook Data File (.pst) and click Next.

Browse to the PST file you want to import and click Next. You can choose whether to replace duplicates, allow duplicates, or do not import duplicates. For simplicity, choose Do not import duplicates.

Select the folder you want to import from the PST file and click Next. You can choose to import the entire PST file or only specific folders. You can also choose to include subfolders and filter the items by date, type, or category.

Select the folder you want to import to in the new PST file and click Finish. You can choose to import to the same folder structure or to a different folder. You can also set a password for the new PST file if you want.

Repeat the steps for each PST file you want to import to the new PST file. You can also delete the old PST files after you have imported them to the new PST file.

To learn more; https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook_com/forum/all/how-do-i-merge-two-outlook-pst-files/f0ed4a3d-ce84-460e-ab00-9dcb24118eb6

https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/merge-outlook-pst-files/

https://www.msoutlooktools.com/blogs/how-to-merge-outlook-pst-files/

Note: These are non-Microsoft sites. The pages seem to provide accurate and reliable information. Beware of advertisements on the site that may advertise products frequently classified as PUPs (Potentially Unwanted products). Please do thorough research on any product advertised on the site before downloading and installing it.

I hope this helps, let me know if this contradicts what you need. I remain helpful in answering any more of your questions.

Best Regards,

Femi.

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Thank you Jeck Yonk.

I will try that. I will copy all the exiting PST files onto an old computer and merge them on that so if anything goes wrong I still have the originals on my current PC.

Hii Paddy

If you want to transfer data from an old computer to a new computer, then I advise you to use the Merge PST Tool, this application is the best. You can merge PST files in bulk without losing data. It works on all Windows OS.

Hi Kemi,

Thank you for your reply.

Is my assumption that each email address has its own .PST file correct and if I merge them now they will each use the new merged .PST file and not start a new one each?

Before I follow your method can I do this merging of all the .PST files together on a Memory Stick without losing the current ones I have on the computer in my Outlook files folder.

Having lost a lot of important data in the past I do not want that to happen again.

My way of thinking is by merging the existing ones onto a memory stick I could then back them up delete them from Outlook files folder. Install the merged ones from the memory stick and check that I have all the data and that my Outlook is working as it is now.

If it is, then I can delete the existing files use the merged one, delete the existing ones from where I backed them up then back up the new merged file.

From then on hopefully I will only be backing up the one file.

Hope this makes sense.

Regards Paddy