Troubleshoot backups of Microsoft Outlook data
Who is this article for?
Instructor, no.
Incydr Professional, Enterprise, Horizon, and Gov F2, no.
Incydr Basic, Advanced, and Gov F1, no.
CrashPlan Cloud, no.
Retired product plans, yes.
CrashPlan for Small Business, no.
Overview
If you are experiencing problems backing up your Microsoft Outlook data (PST or OLM file), review the solutions listed below.
For general information about backups of Microsoft Outlook data, see Backing Up Microsoft Outlook Data.
Considerations
This article describes troubleshooting steps for rare situations. For most users, we recommend the steps in Backing Up Microsoft Outlook Data.
In server-based email configurations (such as enterprise environments or email clients using Exchange or IMAP), backing up email stored on your device may be unnecessary if your email is also stored on the email server. Contact your email provider with questions about your email storage.
Windows
CrashPlan backs up open files (like your Outlook .pst file when Outlook is open) using Microsoft's built-in VSS technology. Problems backing up this data most commonly occur in systems with:
- Older versions of Windows without VSS or with an older version of VSS, especially early versions of Windows XP
- Windows Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) failures
- Extremely large PST files
Recommended solution
To eliminate issues with the Windows Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS), follow the steps below to clear your VSS snapshots.
- Go to the Windows Start menu.
- Search for cmd.
- Right-click on cmd.exe select Run as Administrator.
- In the command prompt, enter this command:
vssadmin delete shadows /all - Press Enter.
It may take up to 24 hours for VSS to rebuild its snapshot in order for CrashPlan to successfully back up the PST. If the issue persists after 24 hours, see the alternative solutions below or contact our Customer Champions for Code42 for Enterprise support.
Alternative solutions
Solution 1: Separate backup set
Create a separate backup set with specific settings optimized for backing up your PST file.
- Open the Code42 app.
- Create a new backup set.
- Change the file selection of your new backup set to include only the PST file location.
For the default location of your PST file, see Outlook File Locations below. - Go to Settings > Backup and change one or both of the following settings in your new backup set (as applicable for your Outlook usage):
- Change Backup Will Run to Between specified times and select a time window when Outlook is usually closed.
- From Advanced Settings, disable Back Up Open Files so that the PST file backs up only when Outlook is closed.
- Wait for the new backup set to back up completely.
- Change the file selection of your other backup set to exclude the PST file.
Solution 2: Back up copy of PST file
As an alternative to backing up the PST file directly, you can use a two-stage process: use another application to copy your PST file, then back up the copy with CrashPlan. This process grants CrashPlan full access to back up the copied file, because it is not actively in use.
There are a number of tools that can be used to copy your PST file, including:
- Personal Folders Backup tool - provided by Microsoft for copying files on a set schedule
- Applies to Outlook 2007 or earlier
- Provided for free
- Read Microsoft's guide to Using the Microsoft Outlook Personal Folders Backup tool
- Backup Outlook - A third-party product for backing up Outlook data
- Applies to Outlook 2000 through Outlook 2013 (32-bit and 64-bit)
- Requires purchase
- Read Quickstart for Backing Up Outlook Data for instructions
To back up the copied file, follow the instructions below.
- Select a PST copy tool.
- Configure the tool to copy your PST file as needed (for example, once per day).
- Change your backup file selection to include the copied PST file.
- Wait for the copy of the PST file to back up completely.
- Change your backup file selection to exclude the original (non-copy) PST file.
OS X
Recommended solution
If you have problems with your Outlook backups, export your OLM file, then back up the copy with CrashPlan. This process grants CrashPlan full access to back up the exported file because it is not actively in use. To back up the exported file, follow the instructions below.
- Export or manually archive your Outlook data.
- Change your backup file selection to include the exported OLM file.
Outlook file locations
The default location of your Outlook Data File depends on your operating system and Outlook version.
| Operating System | Outlook Version | File Location |
|---|---|---|
| Windows 7, 8, and 10 |
|
C:\Users\<username>\Documents\Outlook Files |
| Outlook 2007 | C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook | |
| Mac OS X 10.10 or later | Outlook 2016 | /Users/<username>/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/Outlook/Outlook 15 Profiles/Main Profile |
| Mac OS X 10.5 or later | Outlook 2011 | /Users/<username>/Documents/Microsoft User Data/Office 2011 Identities/Main Identity |
| Mac OS X 10.4.9 or later | Entourage 2008 | /Users/<username>/Documents/Microsoft User Data/Office 2008 Identities/Main Identity |
External resources
- Microsoft Support: How to Manage .pst Files in Microsoft Outlook (includes video tutorial)
- Microsoft Support: Introduction to Exchange accounts
- Explanation of IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol)