My set up is Vista Business 32bit and Outlook 2007 B2TR where my PST files
are stored on a local network drive.
When opening Outlook, I recieve the message:
"Cannot Start Microsoft Office Outlook. Cannot open the Outlook Window. The
set of folders cannot be opened. The file xxx\Outlook.pst cannot be accessed."
On going to the location of the pst file, I can rename, but not copy or move.
"Error 0x80070021: The process cannot access the file because another
process has locked a portion of the file."
There are no processes using this file as I have tried to access the same
file from another computer to the network drive. I have also tried to use
"unlocking" tools which say the file is not locked by any process.
It seems that Outlook didn't unlock the file after it was closed the last
time and has left it in a half-locked state.
I have tried to run the SCANPST application on it, however it too cannot
access it to scan it.
Are there any ideas to how this could be resolved? I have alot of emails in
these PST's and would prefer not to have to start from scratch.
"chrismcb" <chrismcb@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:62470679-4820-47B7-B245-695B5C053107@microsoft.com...
>I am having a problem with my Outlook PST files.
>
> My set up is Vista Business 32bit and Outlook 2007 B2TR where my PST files
> are stored on a local network drive.
>
> When opening Outlook, I recieve the message:
> "Cannot Start Microsoft Office Outlook. Cannot open the Outlook Window.
> The
> set of folders cannot be opened. The file xxx\Outlook.pst cannot be
> accessed."
>
> On going to the location of the pst file, I can rename, but not copy or
> move.
> "Error 0x80070021: The process cannot access the file because another
> process has locked a portion of the file."
>
> There are no processes using this file as I have tried to access the same
> file from another computer to the network drive. I have also tried to use
> "unlocking" tools which say the file is not locked by any process.
>
> It seems that Outlook didn't unlock the file after it was closed the last
> time and has left it in a half-locked state.
>
> I have tried to run the SCANPST application on it, however it too cannot
> access it to scan it.
>
>
> Are there any ideas to how this could be resolved? I have alot of emails
> in
> these PST's and would prefer not to have to start from scratch.
>
>
> Thanks,
>
> Chris
This is why Microsoft does NOT support the use of pst files over a
network......You also run the very considerable risk of corrupting pst files
that are accessed over a network. Put the files onto a local drive, and if
you need to have them on a network location for daily backing-up then write
a script to copy them after Outlook has closed.
I didn't know Microsoft didn't reccomend the use of pst files over a network,
I won't be doing it again, however, I cannot move these files to my computer
as it is locked.
"Gordon" wrote:
> "chrismcb" <chrismcb@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:62470679-4820-47B7-B245-695B5C053107@microsoft.com...
> >I am having a problem with my Outlook PST files.
> >
> > My set up is Vista Business 32bit and Outlook 2007 B2TR where my PST files
> > are stored on a local network drive.
> >
> > When opening Outlook, I recieve the message:
> > "Cannot Start Microsoft Office Outlook. Cannot open the Outlook Window.
> > The
> > set of folders cannot be opened. The file xxx\Outlook.pst cannot be
> > accessed."
> >
> > On going to the location of the pst file, I can rename, but not copy or
> > move.
> > "Error 0x80070021: The process cannot access the file because another
> > process has locked a portion of the file."
> >
> > There are no processes using this file as I have tried to access the same
> > file from another computer to the network drive. I have also tried to use
> > "unlocking" tools which say the file is not locked by any process.
> >
> > It seems that Outlook didn't unlock the file after it was closed the last
> > time and has left it in a half-locked state.
> >
> > I have tried to run the SCANPST application on it, however it too cannot
> > access it to scan it.
> >
> >
> > Are there any ideas to how this could be resolved? I have alot of emails
> > in
> > these PST's and would prefer not to have to start from scratch.
> >
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Chris
>
>
> This is why Microsoft does NOT support the use of pst files over a
> network......You also run the very considerable risk of corrupting pst files
> that are accessed over a network. Put the files onto a local drive, and if
> you need to have them on a network location for daily backing-up then write
> a script to copy them after Outlook has closed.
>
>
>
Thanks, but I have tried all that - there is no process locking the file.
I really don't know why it believes it to be locked as i have tried on
multiple computers to see if i can move it, but they all say it is locked.
"Gordon" wrote:
> "chrismcb" <chrismcb@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:2D5D8FBF-907A-435C-BDA2-D21952B5133E@microsoft.com...
> >I didn't know Microsoft didn't reccomend the use of pst files over a
> >network,
> > I won't be doing it again, however, I cannot move these files to my
> > computer
> > as it is locked.
> >
>
> Check in your task manager that Outlook.exe is not still running - if it is,
> stop it and then try...
>
>
>
I connected to the remote hard drive using a Unix machine which, I presume,
didn't see the file as locked and managed to make a copy of the files then
delete the originals.
"Gordon" wrote:
> "chrismcb" <chrismcb@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:CCF3015B-F34D-4192-AD87-5F3FD86118E9@microsoft.com...
> > Thanks, but I have tried all that - there is no process locking the file.
> >
>
> try disconnecting all machines from that drive and then re-connecting one
> machine....you don't have a PDA docked anywhere, do you?
>
>
>
"chrismcb" <chrismcb@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:691E9A07-7F3F-40DA-A1D5-F18CAE533485@microsoft.com...
> Thanks, but I didn't have a PDA connected.
>
> I ended up resolving the situation on my own:
>
> I connected to the remote hard drive using a Unix machine which, I
> presume,
> didn't see the file as locked and managed to make a copy of the files then
> delete the originals.
>
After trial and error I found out that in my case the culprit was Google Desktop. Killed the process and was able to backup pst files.
Hope that helps someone...
Re: .pst File Locked by another "process" [message #482186]
Tue, 03 March 2009 18:45
AYYAlife Messages: 1 Registered: March 2009 Location: United Kingdom
Junior Member
All I actually needed to do (after an afternoon of messing about) was restart my network file server it turns out!!
I think the message that Winderrors throws about the datafile being process locked creates understandable confusion, giving the impression that the problem is on the PC.
I think my problem started when I introduced my Belkin N standard triple aerial WiFi PCI card and moved the WiFi Router into another room less than a week ago. Having watched the data rates and signal level they seem to be pretty "variable" at best and nowhere near as stable as G. standard.
Previously my buffalo LinkStation NAS server had been rock solid hosting my outlook.pst for months via Ethernet cable.
I think the signal had just had a rather "variable" moment and the server itself had somehow locked up the file perhaps mid-write.
Time to get Ethernet over mains I think, particularly since it "offers" up to 200 Mb whereas the N standard on my BT Hub2.0 still only "offers" 130 Mb on a good day -- right next to the box. Through one wall I'm only getting 65 Mb at a good moment, really not much more than the 36 Mb (through same wall) offered by G. standard and certainly not worth the extra hassle.
Thanks Chrismcb for helping me think out of the box so to speak. I used my PDA with Resco Explorer to work out that the lock was on the NAS box.
I appreciate this thread as I had exactly this problem this morning. I rebooted my Buffalo Linkstation Pro XHL NAS. Now when I started Outlook it said something like "mail file was not closed properly, checking file..." After some seconds, Outlook then started with all my mail files in view.
I noticed these problems after I set my NAS drive to "spin down" the disk if not used. The problems have now occurred a couple of times in the morning when we leave the Outlook client program open overnight. This is the first time I had to reboot the NAS however.
Can any body else confirm this?
PS: I'm only getting about an 11MB/sec transfer rate on my NAS over a 1 GB ethernet connection. The LS XHL is only rated at around a 66MB/sec transfer rate when direct connected to a fast Inte i7 based computer according to a Buffalo Tech.
Hi,
I have encountered the similar problem some days before. I found a good tool called Advanced Outlook Repair. You can download a free demo version at http://www.datanumen.com/aor/aor.exe . I think it is a useful repair tool for you. It is easy to recover your PST file by using its wizard. It is a powerful tool to recover messages, folders and other objects from corrupt or damaged Microsoft Outlook PST files.
Detailed information about Advanced Outlook Repair can be found at http://www.datanumen.com/aor/
I found this solution on another site and it worked for me (after trying all of the suggestions above). Give it a shot and see what happens!
This problem is caused by an MS Outlook Add In which prevents Outlook from closing down. The add in that is usually responsible for cauysing this problem is the one that search/indexing tool. The cure is very simple:
(i) With Outlook open go to Tools Menu
(ii) Click on 'Trust Centre'
(iii) On the left hand pane, choose Add-Inns and then near the bottom of the window you'll see a button that will let you manage your COM Add-Ins.
(iv) Ensure the drop down box is set to 'COM Add-Ins' and then click GO
(v) Highlight Windows 'Search Email Indexer' and then click 'Remove'.
(vi) Click OK and then close Outlook.
(vii) Re-open Outlook and run the backup. (The program will tell you that Outlook needs to close first before backing up). All should then be OK.
Per the recommendation in this thread I am back to running our mail (pst) files from the local drive. I am using an Outlook add-in that backs up our Outlook files to the file server daily everytime we exit the program...
Works pretty well, but my backups are always some days later as we tend to leave Outlook running for days or a week at a time...Harold E.
If you have problems with pst file, you can try a tool called Advanced Outlook Repair. You can download a free demo version at http://www.datanumen.com/aor/aor.exe . I think it is a useful repair tool for you. It is easy to recover your PST file by using its wizard. It is a powerful tool to recover messages, folders and other objects from corrupt or damaged Microsoft Outlook PST files.
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