I need a backup solution for (1) file.

[thecomputerguy]

I have a non-msp client who bought a new computer and I installed it for him. Moved everything from local + Backblaze (backup) to OneDrive, then terminated his Backblaze account.

Everything was working great until his PST (Yes I know...) kept getting corrupted while sitting in the OneDrive. I figured if it didn't sync everyday it would sync some days and that would be fine enough. We tried reducing his PST from 45GB to 10GB ... No go. I don't really ever work with PST's anymore so that explains my lack of knowledge on dumping the PST into the a OneDrive sync'd folder.

End result is I had to move the PST into C:\Outlook and everything appears to be fine now, but now his PST will never be backed up.

So do I reinstate his Backblaze account for $100 a year and call it a day so it can grab that singular PST file?

Or does someone have a ultra simple solution to copy a 10GB PST file into a OneDrive folder weekly on a schedule or something like that so it gets backed up occasionally?

I would imagine this is something Robocopy could handle but I'm not sure how to configure that.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Guessing it's someone with residential class email....that lives in a PST.
So....OneDrive will handle PST files, it's just...Outlook cannot be open (connected). But you should not have Outlook running...with its PST or OST sitting in a folder that lives under OneDrive. OneDrive really only supports closed files...not any database type files that would be in use (never store your active Quickbooks or Outlook files under OneDrive).

You can still leverage OneDrive as a way to back up the PST, you just have to have something that will copy/export the PST...into a OneDrive folder. There are some 3rd party programs out there which will plug into Outlook...and automatically export the PST (either fully or incrementally)...to a location of your choice (such as a OneDrive folder. Safe-PST backup is one I recall...not sure how good it still is...but check out some and pick what you like...there should be quite a few choices out there these days.

 

[phaZed]

You want to Right-Click the file and select "Always Keep on this Device" - That way the local copy is indeed local and accessible, but is still copied to OneDrive.

Otherwise, you can always run a script or RSync/etc to copy that file from "C:\Outlook" to "C:\OneDrive\Documents\Outlook Backups" on a schedule.

 

[thecomputerguy]

You want to Right-Click the file and select "Always Keep on this Device" - That way the local copy is indeed local and accessible, but is still copied to OneDrive.

Otherwise, you can always run a script or RSync/etc to copy that file from "C:\Outlook" to "C:\OneDrive\Documents\Outlook Backups" on a schedule.

Did that ... a couple days later the PST was broken again.

 

[thecomputerguy]

Guessing it's someone with residential class email....that lives in a PST.
So....OneDrive will handle PST files, it's just...Outlook cannot be open (connected). But you should not have Outlook running...with its PST or OST sitting in a folder that lives under OneDrive. OneDrive really only supports closed files...not any database type files that would be in use (never store your active Quickbooks or Outlook files under OneDrive).

You can still leverage OneDrive as a way to back up the PST, you just have to have something that will copy/export the PST...into a OneDrive folder. There are some 3rd party programs out there which will plug into Outlook...and automatically export the PST (either fully or incrementally)...to a location of your choice (such as a OneDrive folder. Safe-PST backup is one I recall...not sure how good it still is...but check out some and pick what you like...there should be quite a few choices out there these days.

Yeah exactly .. I had the live PST file in the OneDrive ... I thought I had done something like that before and it worked fine but apparently not. It's been a long time since I've worked with PST's so maybe I'm mistaken.

That's kinda what I was asking for was if anyone had any experience in an add-on or software that could do that for me.

 

[britechguy]

I realize this does not directly answer your question, but have you considered getting him to move to "new" Outlook? Particularly for residential email.

 

[thecomputerguy]

I realize this does not directly answer your question, but have you considered getting him to move to "new" Outlook? Particularly for residential email.

Tried that and New Outlook wants to use IMAP by default .. I cant remember if it gave me the option to use POP ... it probably did.

But managing PST's with New Outlook is still a mess.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Yeah the file will default to local "keep on device' since it's opened/used all the time by Outlook..but still ..it is a database file, it is CONSTANTLY changing. Outlook sticks 10 million fingers into OST and PST files at the same time..it is VERY heavily used and constantly changing. Similar with things like Quickbooks files...which is why datafiles such as these should be in OneDrive.

Try that Safe PST I mentioned above.

 

[britechguy]

Well, I force clients to IMAP where the only other option would be POP. That protocol is not longer supported by me.

 

[thecomputerguy]

Yeah the file will default to local "keep on device' since it's opened/used all the time by Outlook..but still ..it is a database file, it is CONSTANTLY changing. Outlook sticks 10 million fingers into OST and PST files at the same time..it is VERY heavily used and constantly changing. Similar with things like Quickbooks files...which is why datafiles such as these should be in OneDrive.

Try that Safe PST I mentioned above.

Gotcha ... sorry I missed the Safe-PST part.

 

[thecomputerguy]

Well, I force clients to IMAP where the only other option would be POP. That protocol is not longer supported by me.

Neither do I but in this particular case ... guy is 75 years old, uses Earthlink. I'm just gunna take my money and run and not fight it.

I even told him that this computer will likely outlive him.





edit: just kidding no I didn't

 

[lan101]

Neither do I but in this particular case ... guy is 75 years old, uses Earthlink. I'm just gunna take my money and run and not fight it.

I even told him that this computer will likely outlive him.





edit: just kidding no I didn't

Maybe worth it to just try em client or thunderbird with a better result...I know no one likes change especially non tech saavy seniors lol.

I've actually been pretty successful switching email programs with people. I know the last couple times I went from outlook to em client it pretty much imported everything over with no issue. In those few instances I believe it was an older outlook and probably moving data over to a new pc...but it didn't pose a problem after doing so.

 

[Markverhyden]

I long ago stopped trying to get PST's to work on any kind of network device. Cloud or LAN. Just had too many problems, especially with customers expecting free support since I set it up like that.

 

[frase]

Maybe worth it to just try em client or thunderbird with a better result...I know no one likes change especially non tech saavy seniors lol.

I've actually been pretty successful switching email programs with people. I know the last couple times I went from outlook to em client it pretty much imported everything over with no issue. In those few instances I believe it was an older outlook and probably moving data over to a new pc...but it didn't pose a problem after doing so.

That is my goto either emClient or Thunderbird for these issues, works well for the situation.

 

[britechguy]

Earthlink

Which does support IMAP:

EarthLink IMAP Settings​

To set up your account in an email client (like Outlook, Apple Mail, or Thunderbird), use the following configuration:

Incoming Mail Server (IMAP):

• Server: <span>imap.earthlink.net</span>
• Port: <span>993</span>
• Security: <span>SSL/TLS</span>
• Username: Your full EarthLink email address (e.g., <span>username@earthlink.net</span>)
  
  
• Password: Your EarthLink password
  

Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP):

• Server: <span>smtpauth.earthlink.net</span>
• Port: <span>587</span>
• Security: <span>STARTTLS</span> (or SSL/TLS)
• Authentication: Required (Use the same username and password as above)

It's getting very, very rare for any email service provider not to support IMAP, even those like Earthlink that were "POP-only" for many years.

 

[fincoder]

A recent Windows 11 update broke Outlook (classic) with POP accounts when PST files living in OneDrive. Microsoft support article here

Until the last couple of weeks it worked fine, except of course the PST files didn't sync to the cloud until closed. I had previously advised this client to move all their email folders to an IMAP account, I added their Gmail to Outlook for that purpose, but of course they never did.

I fixed it for them yesterday by deleting their Bigpond POP accounts and moving their 40-50 folders (about 3GB) from PST to a Gmail (IMAP) account they have in Outlook, then re-adding their Bigpond accounts as IMAP. It went very smoothly but took an hour or so to move folders around. The end result is barely any different from a POP setup with offline folders (usability-wise), except now their folders are backed up by Gmail (free 15GB cloud storage). This should be no problem for an elderly person, they don't necessarily need a separate gmail account, e.g. providers like Earthlink support IMAP (albeit likely with less storage).

 

[Metanis]

Gmail (free 15GB cloud storage)

What always burns me is that Google counts your saved Photos against that 15GB... People with Android phones may not even know they are saving all their pics there in the Photos app.

 

[fincoder]

What always burns me is that Google counts your saved Photos against that 15GB... People with Android phones may not even know they are saving all their pics there in the Photos app.

Yes, but another Gmail account can be used for email only and the full 15GB is available. In my case above, the Google account had no other storage used besides email (I think because they use iPhone/iCloud for photos).

 

[britechguy]

People really do need to learn how things work in the age of cloud computing. You have to turn things on/off in the mix and match configuration that matches what you've got.

I've been an Android user for as long as I've had a smartphone, and always turned off the syncing of photos to Google Photos. Mine get uploaded to my computer, at which point they're in the Pictures library, which is synced to OneDrive. Even before I was an M365 user, that same process occurred, but I was doing far more routine full system image backups then.

If memory serves, Google Drive content is also counted against that 15GB. I started using my first (and still primary personal) Gmail account almost the moment it became possible to sign up without an invitation. All these decades later, I am still using only 80% of that 15GB with email and Drive content combined.

 

[lan101]

A recent Windows 11 update broke Outlook (classic) with POP accounts when PST files living in OneDrive. Microsoft support article here

Until the last couple of weeks it worked fine, except of course the PST files didn't sync to the cloud until closed. I had previously advised this client to move all their email folders to an IMAP account, I added their Gmail to Outlook for that purpose, but of course they never did.

I fixed it for them yesterday by deleting their Bigpond POP accounts and moving their 40-50 folders (about 3GB) from PST to a Gmail (IMAP) account they have in Outlook, then re-adding their Bigpond accounts as IMAP. It went very smoothly but took an hour or so to move folders around. The end result is barely any different from a POP setup with offline folders (usability-wise), except now their folders are backed up by Gmail (free 15GB cloud storage). This should be no problem for an elderly person, they don't necessarily need a separate gmail account, e.g. providers like Earthlink support IMAP (albeit likely with less storage).

Yeah I had to uninstall that update and hide it on a machine last week.

KB5074109

After that it all worked well again on Outlook.