Compacting a PST file means minimizing the size of an oversized Outlook PST file to save it from corruption. PST Compacting frees up the space of hard drive. For Outlook versions earlier than 2003, there was a 2GB PST file size limit beyond which it gets corrupted. This limit is 20GB in Outlook 2003 & 2007 ie when the PST file size exceeds 20GB in Outlook 2003 & 2007, there are many chances of its corruption. Therefore to keep in it manageable limits, compacting has to be done. Each version of  Outlook comes with a “Compact Now” option which helps in reducing the size of PST file much below the maximum limit size. But in some instances when the size of PST file exceeds much beyond the prescribed limit, this utility fails to work properly. Here comes the need of a suitable third party Compact PST File software which can Compress PST file to reduce its size & hence save it from corruption.

Lets take a scenario to explain the above problem. Suppose you are using Outlook 2007 & the size of your PST file has exceeded much above 20GB (say 30GB). In such situation your Outlook will behave abnormally and you will not be to access your important e-mails and other data. In order to access your important data, you have to either split your PST file into small PST files or compact it to reduce its size. As long as its size is above 20GB, you cannot open Outlook and access its features like sending/receiving e-mails, calendering etc.

Cause:

The root cause for the occurrence of above problem is oversized Outlook PST file. PST file has exceeded 20GB file size limit & hence gets corrupted.

Solution:

In order to resolve the above problem and access the inaccessible data, an Outlook user have to follow below mentioned steps:

(1) Open the MS Outlook by clicking its icon or from the file menu within the “Start” menu.

(2) Click “File” from the standard toolbar.

(3) Now press “Data File Mangement” from the drop down menu.

(4) After doing this, highlight “Personal Folder” by pressing over it with your mouse.

(5) Look for “Settings” and click on the button.

(6) Now select the “Compact Now” option in the “General” tab box.

(7) Compact PST file by clicking “OK” and close the box.

However even after using above method doesn’t solve the problem, then Outlook users must go for a suitable PST Compact Tool. Such software employs high end scanning techniques to Compress PST File with great ease and preserves the original integrity of all the stored data in Outlook. Many softwares are available in the market that are specifically designed and developed to compress an oversized Outlook PST file. Stellar Phoenix Compact PST v2.0 is one such software.

Stellar Phoenix Compact PST v2.0 is an advanced Compact PST File software that compresses Outlook PST file to reduce its size & hence saves it from corruption. The software supports MS Outlook 2010, 2007, 2003, 2002 (XP), 2000 and is compatible with Windows 7, Vista, XP, 2003, 2000, and NT4(SP6).  The software scans and compacts all the PST file items such as e-mails, contacts, notes, attachments, tasks, journals, appointments, and calendar entries. The tool extracts the attachments from PST file, compresses the attachments in a Zip file, and then stores them on any desired location. Built with rich graphical user-interface, the software is easy-to-operate without any prior technical knowledge required.