There are systems and users who need to upgrade to 2010 but also need to keep their older accounts intact. There are resource, finance and operation limitation which simply do not give IT managers the ability to upgrade. This limits the use of new Outlook and Exchange features for some users. It also places more demands on system admins and IT managers.
Installations are becoming more complex with mixed versions and different features for some users. One big problem is how to handle backup and restores in such installations. System admins may need to support different Exchange Server versions at the same time. What will happen to old PST files? There is a large amount of data in older PST files which still needs to be accessed!
Outlook has a plug-in feature to back-up PST databases. This plug-in is useful when you have to do your own backup. It seems like not many people use this feature, so installing and running your own backup is a good practice.
Downloading Microsoft Outlook Backup Plug-In / © 2010
Microsoft Outlook has an optional feature to back up your PST directories. You need to manually install this feature. First download the add-in from the Microsoft support site [here]. The add-in is called “Outlook 2007/2003/2002 Add-in: Personal Folders Backup”.
Select ''RUN'' on the Open File - Security Warning to install the Outlook Backup Pllug-In / © 2010
Run the pfbackup.exe by clicking on the file in the Windows Explorer or on the download file in your browser (Firefox, Chrome.) If you get an “Open File: Security Warning” click RUN (see above image.) When the programs starts it will show up as below:
Microsoft's Exchange Server 2010 new "Archiving, Retention, and Discovery" features. A peek at future technology for regulation and reporting. See Microsoft website for details.
Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 added a whole new feature set: “Archiving, Retention, and Discovery” (see description here). Many Windows (and Office) system admins believe that this new Exchange 2010 server is a major improvement over the previous Exchange 2007. Microsoft essentially gives users a point-and-click archive and restore capability that every user can perform on their own. What a great idea at first look. Backup is different from archive however, backup is a complete copy of the item rather than moving it between mailboxes. A second look reveals how Microsoft has added some policy capability like “Retention Policies”, “Legal Hold” and “Role-based Access Control (RBAC)”. To use some of these features, Microsoft moved mail messages from local PST storage to the Exchange Server. In corporate deployment this means more than just purchasing more central storage.
Users can perform manual Outlook PST file backup. Manual PST backup gives user the freedom to restore their e-Mail account by themselves / © 2010
Even with sophisticated enterprise backup systems like EdgeSave PST2PST Backup systems, it is sometimes useful to perform a manual backup. Performing your own PST backup is an easy task. It involves finding your PST file on the system. Then copying manually the file. This operation will not change your regular Outlook operation. System administrators encourage users to perform a manual backup even when there are automates systems like DataMills‘ EdgeSafe PST2PST Backup systems installed on your computer.
Overview:
Backing up an Outlook PST file manually is created by making a copy of a PST file. First step is to find out where the PST file is located. Then you copy the file. Outlook needs to be closed when you copy a PST file manually.
