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Outlook 2016 .ost and .pst data files

Peggy F 21 Reputation points
2022-02-17T21:08:38.597+00:00

I have been having troubles with my Outlook 2016. I would create a new note and as soon as I would try to save it - Outlook would shut down. If I would try to open Outlook I would receive the yellow yield sign with a red ! in the middle and be told "The file C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Outlook\email - Test.ost cannot be opened
and then Outlook closes.
After seeing I didn't have what I believed should be a .pst data file here and that might cause a problem I copied and pasted my .pst from my Documents\Outlook Files to the C:\Users\user\Documents\Outlook Files*.pst

Now it seems things work fine so my question is: Is what I've done okay? Should I remove the .pst in the Documents\Outlook Files or simply leave things as is and be happy until something else goes wrong?

thank you in advance
Peggy

Outlook Management
Outlook Management
Outlook: A family of Microsoft email and calendar products.Management: The act or process of organizing, handling, directing or controlling something.
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  1. Faery Fu-MSFT 18,731 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor
    2022-02-18T05:29:35.713+00:00

    Hi @Peggy F ,
    Welcome to our forum!

    The file C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Outlook\email - Test.ost cannot be opened

    In order to verify, what type of account are you using? Is it an Exchange/IMAP account?

    What detailed version of Outlook are you using(File > Office Account > About Outlook)? Check the version and upgrade it to the latest.

    Now it seems things work fine so my question is: Is what I've done okay?

    Based on my search, .pst file is stored in C:\Users\Administrator\Documents\Outlook Files

    According to my tests, these two are the same path, and I can't be sure because your copying the data file to the default path fixes your pst file.
    175693-pst.png

    This issue may also occur due to a corrupt Outlook profile, given this case, it recommended you delete your existing profile and create a new profile via Control pane > Mail > Show profiles > Add then re-add your account and see if the issue continues.
    175608-1.png

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