If you're a daily user of Microsoft Outlook, you're aware of the necessity to manage your mailbox and keep it responsive. However, after years of day-to-day use, Outlook can begin to slow down, especially if it constantly has to load and search through a larger number of data saved in a PST (Personal Storage Table) file. A common reason a PST file slows Outlook down is because of duplicate files or duplicate items in the PST file. Cleaning all the duplicate files can be a simple and effective way to turn Outlook's sluggish performance into a Clean and seamless experience. In this article, we'll discuss how we come to have duplicate PST files, how they impact performance, and simple cleanup methods- so that you can enjoy a clean and better Outlook.
What Are PST Files in Simple Terms?
PST files are offline data containers utilized by Outlook to store your emails, contacts, events, and tasks. Each PST file is equivalent to a personal mailbox archive. Because backups can be created, emails can be moved, and Outlook can be migrated from one device to another, it is very common to create a series of separate PST files - occasionally having similar, or even the same, content.
There should be concern not just about the number of PST, but also that a single piece of data can exist in multiple duplicate PST, leading to more storage usage and confusing search results.
The Following Details How Duplicate PST Files Are Created:
Most users don't create duplicate PST on purpose. They create Object = report/PST duplicates as a byproduct of normal maintenance procedures performed by the user. Some common reasons that lead to duplicate PST are:
Multiple Imports
- Importing the same backed-up duplicate PST file into Outlook more than once.
Profile or Account Change
Setting up the same email account again in Outlook can cause a new PST to be created.
Restores and Migrations
Moving duplicate PST during a system migration process can cause the same data to be copied twice.
Sync Conflicts
Errors during syncing with the mail servers can cause duplicate PST of certain items, e.g., emails or calendar events.
Manual Archiving Without a Plan
Archiving older messages into multiple duplicate PST files without sufficiently labeling or tracking.
Understanding how duplicates are created will help you avoid making the same mistake in the future.
Reasons to Clean Duplicate PST:
Ignoring duplicates in PST might seem benign, but they create serious issues:
Disc Space Usage - Each duplicate PST can be several gigabytes, and it doesn't take long for the duplicates to swell that usage.
Performance - Your Outlook will take longer to open, search, and index oversized data files.
Data Confusion - You won't have an easy time understanding which PST is holding the most recent version of a message.
Risk of Corruption - The larger and more entitled the duplicate PST, the greater the risk of file corruption and data loss.
Manually Cleaning Duplicate Items
For smaller mailboxes or when you want to be extra careful, you can manually delete duplicate items:
Open each folder (Mailbox, Sent Items, Contacts, Calendar, etc.)
Sort items by Subject, From, or Date
Select and delete messages that are repeated
This approach is time-consuming, but it will ensure that you do not accidentally delete anything significant.
Utilize Quick Options to Clean Duplicate PST
Although manual options offer some options for small mailboxes, when faced with larger duplicate PST files or multiple accounts, the manual efforts can take substantial time, and they also create the possibility for errors to arise as the user is manually evaluating the duplicate PST. Utilizing a professional tool like TrustVare Outlook Duplicate removal is much quicker, as it allows users to scan multiple duplicate PST/OST files at the same time, and clean out duplicates like emails, contacts, calendars, tasks, journals, and notes. This tool, while keeping your original data safe, only cleans duplicate PST files. This software is useful on a computer with all versions of the Windows OS, including 11, 10, 8.1, 8, 7, and is good for ANSI and UNICODE, meaning that Outlook does not need to be installed.
Benefits Of This Tool
Supports multiple files: You can scan and add multiple duplicate PST or OST files simultaneously, making it quicker than doing it one by one.
Flexible duplicate criteria: Allows you to specify which fields (Subject, Sender, Receiver, Date, Attachments, etc) should match upon cleaning duplicates PST.
Folder scanning: You can select a single folder (such as Inbox or Contacts) rather than scanning the entire duplicate PST, which speeds up the process.
Preview before removal: Preview maintained from the found duplicate PST items. You can see and select specific items to delete before they happen.
Safe, non-destructive: Not affecting the initial PST file, it only cleans identified duplicate items.
Generates a report: A Summary report will be provided after cleanup, so you know what was cleaned from the duplicates PST.
User-friendly interface: Basic and intuitive design, easy to run for any user (not tech-oriented).
No Outlook Installation: It was created as a standalone utility and can be run without Outlook installed or present on the machine.
How to Stop Duplicates From Happening Again in the Future
- After you have done the work to clean up your duplicate PST, you can take some simple actions to help prevent duplicate PST from forming again:
Do not import the same PST file more than once
New PST archives or backups should have unique, descriptive names so they can be easily identified from the original PST file and other archives and backups In the future, no duplicate PSTs should be necessary
Each account should try to just have a single duplicate PST allowed to be active whenever possible
Instead of copying over old emails, regularly invoke the archive option
Occasionally, check File > Account Settings > Data Files and get rid of PSTs or at least unused entries
Good maintenance will save you from having to do it again.
Conclusion
Redundant duplicate PST files can silently impair Outlook’s performance, consume unnecessary disk space, and complicate your email management process. The good news is that cleaning duplicate PST files doesn’t need to be cumbersome or take a lot of time. You can always detach unneeded PST files, use the tools that Outlook provides, or use a professional duplicate remover quickly. This can be done once, and you can clean duplicate PST files without problems. this tool will hlep Outlook to remain organized and run at peak performance, helping your daily email work get done easier and faster.
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Optimize Your Outlook – Quick Ways to Clean Duplicate PST
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