Outlook 2010 Replicating mixed PST/OST profile to another desktop

[Ian Thomas]

I have a requirement that I thought should be simple, but isn't. My explanation below is I hope complete enough for someone to give me some suggestions on how to approach a solution.

Reading some Slipstick posts, I think the way to do this is by using the Windows Easy Transfer, but I'm not really sure. I am about to experiment with creating and modifying one or more PRF files, in case that's needed as well.

What I find I need to do more often than I wish, is to replicate my "main" desktop's email setup to a laptop - for travelling away from base for extended periods (1-3 weeks).

Over the years, I have experimented with a crude method - copying the latest PST files from the base desktop to the laptop, then creating a new profile on the laptop and attaching those PST files. That works (but in the past, I have had to enter all email accounts into the default account and that takes time), but I think it can be expedited by using a PRF file and importing it.

The above method has worked because the data files have been .PST only.

However, with .OST (MAPI, both Outlook.com and Hotmail.com using the Microsoft Outlook/Hotmail Connector), I haven't found a way to take the "latest" .OST files from the main/base desktop and use it on the laptop.

My main Outlook 2010 desktop has a mix of .OST and .PST data files - 2 x PST files, and one each of a (very small) Hotmail.com .OST file and a large (almost 4Gb) Outlook.com .OST file - both MAPI.

Because I have had a separate problem (on the desktop Outlook 2010, with the OST/PST mix as described), I have "rebuilt" the Hotmail account from an empty .OST (newly created account ).
The problem - emails to one or several of the email accounts are NOT updated (but my separate Windows Phone 8.1 smartphone with both the "cloud" email accounts - Outlook.com, Hotmail.com - is always perfectly synchronized).
This "rebuilding" is of course achieved simply by removing the (small) Hotmail.com MAPI account from the profile of 4 email accounts (2xPST, 2xOST), deleting/removing the Hotmail.ost datafile from the disk, and re-creating the Hotmail.com account to add back in - and waiting for synchronization (download of emails etc from the cloud) to bring it up-to-date.

I need an easier way than downloading 4Gb of emails attachments and other Outlook entities from Outlook.com in the Microsoft cloud, to an empty .OST account on my laptop.

Suggestions?

 

[Diane Poremsky]

However, with .OST (MAPI, both Outlook.com and Hotmail.com using the Microsoft Outlook/Hotmail Connector), I haven't found a way to take the "latest" .OST files from the main/base desktop and use it on the laptop.

The ost are tied to the account that created them and aren't easily moved. If you export the profile from the registry on the desktop and run it on the laptop, you'd be able to reuse the ost files but the profile might have problems. The profile stores the full path of the data files - while include the user account name. If your users account is the same on both, it will work better, but it's not 100% guaranteed because the computer guid is also stored in some places. For this reason, we recommend making a new profile rather than exporting the registry or using easy transfer.

With Hotmail connector, imap, and exchange accounts the mail folders should be identical, including sent items; read and deleted changes should sync up too.

there really isn't a good solution for the Hotmail account (or any imap accounts) - it'll need to do that sync once. later in the year Hotmail will be moving to office 365 exchange online - this won't help the initial sync problem but should fix the problem where everything doesn't seem to sync.