Monday, June 24, 2013

Microsoft Outlook Repair Tools

Microsoft Outlook is a very common email client used for personal and business purpose alike. It also doubles as a personal information manager, which includes calendar, task manager, contact manager and journal. 
In Outlook, the information that you create are stored as “.pst” files (Personal Storage Files). But then, there is also the issue of its vulnerability in losing data. There is the risk of file getting corrupted while compacting or due to the file size limit of .pst files. Sometimes, compacting .pst files or corrupted header file can make your data inaccessible. Microsoft Outlook lets you recover the corrupted data using the following Microsoft repair techniques.
Problems with MS Outlook
In order to fix such issues, you can either use the Inbox Repair Tool (scanpst.exe) or an Email Recovery Software. An inbox recovery tool is a preloaded free utility from Microsoft. But the email recovery software is a paid service.
Outlook Repair using Inbox Repair Tool or “Scanpst.exe”
Scanpst.exe is an executable file located in 'C:\Program Files\Common Files\System\MSMAPI\1033'. You could also download this from the Microsoft website, and copy it to the above mentioned folder. Before you run this program, you should exit Outlook. The permissible size of the .pst file is 2 GB, exceeding which leads to instant corruption. In such cases, use Oversized PST or OST Crop utility first, and then follow up with the Inbox repair tool. The problem with this tool is that it is not efficient enough to repair those corrupted .pst files.
Outlook Repair using Email Recovery Software
If you have failed to fix a problem using Scanpst.exe, email recovery software comes to your rescue. It’s an easy-to-use software and the capability of the software varies from product to product. It’s actually a paid service but the trial version is available to check its capability.
How to use this software
• Install the email recovery software to a healthy drive in your computer. Make sure not to install it in the same drive from which you have lost your data.
• Now you have to attach the drive (containing your lost data) to the healthy drive as a secondary one.
• Run email recovery software to recover and repair the corrupted files.
• Once the files are recovered, save those .pst files to the healthy drive.
The above mentioned Microsoft repair steps should help you fix the PST issues associated with your Microsoft Outlook application. If you need further assistance on this, contact Microsoft Support Center and get your problem fixed quickly.

Fix Slow Email Opening Issue In Microsoft Outlook

Outlook is a great software application that lets you manage your various email accounts with ease. Microsoft Outlook is not just a regular email client program used for managing your emails; you can make use of its various other features like calendar, task manager, contacts manager, notes etc to manage your multiple tasks. People use Outlook to sync their different email accounts with Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail etc. Microsoft Outlook syncs with the inbox of these email accounts and downloads email messages to your computer. Not just PC users, but even those using handhelds make use of Outlook even on their smart phones, to check their email.

Though Outlook can effectively manage your different email accounts, over time it might start to slow down its response. The frequent use and regular syncing makes your Outlook clogged and sluggish. If you think Outlook is taking more time to open your email than usual, then it is high time you optimized your Outlook application. The following Outlook Help guidelines will help you perform this easily.

Instructions

• Launch Microsoft Outlook on your computer. If you have too many read email messages in your inbox folder, move the messages to other folders to clear space. Try to keep emails fewer than 100 in your inbox folder. Click on an email and drag it over to a folder on the left pane by holding down the mouse key. If you want to move multiple emails at once, simply select the checkboxes next to the email messages, and then click and drag one of them to the destination folder you want.
• Another method to make your Outlook perform fast is to archive your Inbox folder. You can clear your Inbox folder by configuring the archive settings. Right-click your inbox folder and select Properties from the popup menu. This will bring up the Properties window. Now click on the "AutoArchive" tab and select the period from the drop down date box to set the time period that you want an email to remain in the folder before it becomes archived. You can set this as Daily, Weekly or Monthly, depending upon the number of emails you receive.
• Also empty the trash folder on your Outlook and on your computer to clear up space and speed up your Outlook. Right-click on the Trash folder on the left pane of Outlook, and select the Empty option. Perform the same with Spam folder too. Now go to your computer desktop and empty the Trash/Recycle Bin, by right-clicking and selecting the Delete option.
• Finally restart Outlook to bring the changes.

Go through the Outlook Help menu to get more tips and tricks on making Outlook perform faster.

Monday, June 17, 2013

Resolving Windows 8 Problems During Installation On Virtual Box 4.1

It is quite a long time since the developer preview of the next generation OS- Windows 8 has been released. As expected, the new OS is engineered to run not only on conventional PCs and tablets, but on virtual machines as well. However, while trying to install an altogether new OS, it is quite likely that some issue or the other may creep up. And off late, some similar problems are being reported while trying to install Windows 8 developer preview on Virtual Box 4.1.
In this post, the Windows 8 help crew gives you a comprehensive account on how to install the developer preview edition of Windows 8 on Virtual Box 4.1 sans any issues.

How to Install Windows 8 Developer Preview on Virtual Box 4.1

The following steps would make the installation of Windows 8 Developer Preview on Virtual Box 4.1 a cakewalk for you, without any common Windows 8 problems.
1. Commence the procedure by downloading virtual box and installing it on your machine. Download Windows 8 developer preview as well.
2. You may now launch Virtual Box & click on “New” for creating a new virtual machine for Windows 8. Click on “Next” to proceed.
3. Name your new virtual machine, and choose the operating system as "Microsoft Windows". Select the version of your OS as "Windows 7 64-bit", and then click on “Next”.
4. Assign 1 GB of RAM for your Windows 8 VM, and create a new disk option for the same. Click on “Next”, and choose the option that reads "VDI (VirtualBox Disk Image)". Again select “Next” and choose the option "Dynamically allocated".
5. You may now allocate the desired disk space for your Windows 8 VM, and then click on “Create”. Right click on the new VM and select “Start”.
6. Specify the installation media path for your Windows Developer Preview. Click on “Start” to power on the VM, and choose “Next” to continue the installation process. Select the option “Install Now”, accept the license agreement, and then choose the option for Custom Installation.
7. You may now select the disk where you wish to install Windows 8, and then click on “Next” to initiate the installation process.
8. Once the installation winds up, your virtual machine would restart. As it is for the first time, you shall be asked to furnish a few credentials such as your email id, machine name etc.
Well, that’s it! Its time to explore the world of Windows 8 on your new virtual machine. Just in case more Windows 8 problems creep up, do get in touch with Windows 8 support.