Moved .pst, old emails downloading

My main computer needs to go in for repairs, so I am firing up my backup computer. I moved my outlook.pst from my main computer to my backup computer so I could have all my latest Outlook data. Outlook is finding the right PST because my contacts are correct and my latest email is correct.


However, the first time clicked Send/Receive, Outlook started to download over 700 emails (which are second copies of ones already in the PST. It should have only been about 10. I'm guessing it's downloading all the emails since I last used this computer, which was about the beginning of October.

I thought it might be all the emails on the mail server, but my web mail shows 683, and Outlook was downloading 700+.




When I moved the file, this is how I did it: I deleted the old outlook.pst from the Outlook appdata folder, and then replaced it with the newer outlook.pst file, pasting the newer file in the same place in the same folder. The I had to go in through Outlook Tools>Account Settings>Data Files and change the default data file location from My Messages to Personal Folders. I did not use any import or export.

Both computers are Win7 Ult x64, and Outlook 2007.



Does anyone know why this might be happening and how to prevent all those emails from downloading again? I really don't want to have to delete them all.

Thanks,
Kim

Hi, kimc, welcome to the Seven Forums! :)

Any emails left on the email server will be downloaded by Outlook if that specific installation of Outlook has not already downloaded them whether or not they are in the PST data file. This also happens when you uninstall Outlook, perform a reinstall and use the PST data file from your old Outlook installation.

Certainly, you want to use the old PST file, or import it onto another computer as you did, but, again, any emails still on the email server will be re-downloaded. The only way to prevent this would be to change the settings for your email account not to leave any emails on the server and perform a send and receive before you port the PST data file or uninstall and re-install Outlook.

I don't recommend leaving it set that way though because you'll be unable to receive emails on your other devices if Outlook downloads them first.

The above is applicable to POP accounts, not IMAP accounts.