Outlook.pst file location in Windows 11

Question

I'm moving from at Win 10 laptop to a Win 11 laptop. I'd like to start Outlook on the new hardware with a copy of my outlook.pst from my Win 10 environment. I can't find the file location for Outlook in the Win 11 system.

Answer 1

Hi @J Brennan ,

maybe this helps: https://www.stellarinfo.com/article/find-change-pst-file-location-outlook-windows.php

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(If the reply was helpful please don't forget to upvote and/or accept as answer, thank you)

Regards
Andreas Baumgarten

Answer 2

I think what I asked for is impossible. Outlook on my Win 11 laptop has not "started", so there is not an existence of a an outlook.pst file. I will have to go thru the effort of setting up one mail account on the new hardware, search for the location of the new outlook.pst file and substitute my existing mail file for the "skinny" file and restart Outlook. I'll comment back on this entry on my success.

@AndreasBaumgarten42

Answer 3

Hi there,

The location of your .pst file depends on your version of Outlook, your version of Windows, and how you set up your account or created the .pst file. You can find your .pst file in one of the following locations:

Windows 10 drive:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook

Windows 10 drive:\Users\<username>\Roaming\Local\Microsoft\Outlook

Older versions of Windows drive:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook

Find and transfer Outlook data files from one computer to another https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/find-and-transfer-outlook-data-files-from-one-computer-to-another-0996ece3-57c6-49bc-977b-0d1892e2aacc

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--If the reply is helpful, please Upvote and Accept it as an answer--

Answer 4

There could be a few reasons why you are unable to find the location for Outlook on their new Windows 11 laptop:

1. The file location may have changed: Microsoft may have changed the default file location for Outlook in Windows 11, which could differ from the location in Windows 10.
2. Hidden Files and Folders: You may not have enabled the option to show hidden files and folders on your new laptop. By default, Windows hides certain files and folders to prevent accidental deletion, making it difficult for you to locate the "outlook.pst" file.
3. User Profile Folder: You may not look in the correct user profile folder. In Windows 11, the user profile folder is usually located in the "C:\Users" folder; however, if you are looking in a different folder, they may not be able to find the file.
4. User Permissions: You may not have the necessary permissions to access the Outlook file location, which could be due to a misconfiguration in the user account settings or group policies preventing access.

If the above reason is not sufficient, then you can follow the steps below.

Once you found the "outlook.pst file" on your Windows 10 Laptop, then you can transfer it to the new Windows 11 laptop. This can be done by copying the file to an external storage device such as USB or an external hard drive.

Then you can connect the external storage device to your new Windows 11 laptop and copy the "outlook.pst" file to the appropriate location. Then you need to select the correct folder location on Windows 11 where the "outlook.pst" file needs to be placed.

Once the file has been successfully transferred to the new laptop, you can then open Outlook on the Windows 11 laptop and import the "outlook.pst" file to access all of your existing data.

You can also follow the reference shared by @Andreas Baumgarten.