How to Remove Duplicate PST Files: A Complete Guide

If you use Microsoft Outlook a lot, you know how important PST (Personal Storage Table) files are. They keep all of your Outlook data, like your emails, contacts, calendars, tasks, and more. One problem that many Outlook users have, though, is making duplicate PST files or things inside PST files. These duplicates take up space that doesn't need to be there and make Outlook run slower, crash the system, and make it harder to keep track of data in the right way over time.
 
 
In this  blog will talk about what causes duplicate PST files, why you should get rid of them, and the safest and most effective ways to do so:

Why do PST files that are the same show up?

It's important to know why duplicate PST files happen before you delete them. These are the most common reasons:
 
1. Wrong way of importing or exporting
When users import Outlook data files (PST) multiple times without choosing the proper choices, they end up with duplicate files. When you sync Outlook with more than one device or server, it can sometimes make copies of emails, calendars, or contacts.
 
2. Newer Versions of Outlook
When users move data from one version of Outlook to another, they often the breeze up with more than one PST that has the same information in it.
 
3.  Setting Up Multiple Accounts
If you set up the same email account in Outlook more than once, it can create more than one PST file with the same items. Mistake with Backup and Restore: When you restore from backups without properly deduplicating, you often end up with the same PST stored again.

Why You Should Remove Duplicate PST Files:

  1. Keeping duplicates may not seem like an important issue at first, but it causes a lot of problems in the long run:
  2. Takes Up Space on Your Difficult Space Large PSTs take up a lot of disk space.
  3. Slows Down Outlook: When Outlook has to deal with a large PST, it slows down, freezes, or even crashes.
  4. Data Confusion: It's difficult to find what you need when you have more than one copy of the same email or contact.
  5. Risk of Corruption: If PST files are too large, they are more likely to get corrupted, which could mean losing data.
  6. By getting rid of redundant PST files, you make Outlook run better, manage your storage better, and get more done.

Methods to Remove Duplicate PST Files:

There are a few different techniques to get remove of duplicates in Outlook. You can either try doing it yourself or use a professional tool, depending on how comfortable you are with technology.
 
a) Script Methods 
  • Get rid of duplicate emails by hand
  • Open Outlook and go to the folder where there are copies.
  • Sort emails by the subject, the sender, or the date.
  • Choose and eliminate duplicates one at a time.
  • This works for tiny quantities of data, but not for big PSTs.
b) Use the Import/Export feature in Outlook
  • Go to File > Open & Export > Import/Export in Outlook.
  • Pick Import from another file or program.
  • Choose: Do not bring in copies.
  • Again, import the PST file.
  • This stops duplicates from happening, but it doesn't necessarily get rid of ones that are already there.
c) Tool for Cleaning Up
  • Outlook has a built-in Clean Up Tool that gets rid of extra emails in chats.
  • Click on Home, then Clean Up, and then Clean Up Folder or Clean Up Folder & Subfolders.
  • The program will get rid of any messages that are already in the conversation.
  • This capability only works for emails, though, not contacts, calendars, or other things in Outlook.

Professional Software: Get rid of all duplicate PST emails:

Free techniques take a lot of effort, are prone to mistakes, and don't work well with big PST files. This is where tools made for professionals to remove duplicate PST files come in.

Using professional tools has different benefits:

Users can try the GainTool Outlook Duplicate Remover it is automatically scans and finds duplicates in your emails, contacts, calendars, tasks, and diaries, and removes them without losing important information/data. Remove Duplicate PST Files easily and save time by deleting a lot of duplicates at once.
Give advanced filters for things like date, subject, sender, etc. Keep the data safe from inadvertent deletion. It manages huge numbers of duplicate PST files well to keep them from getting corrupted. This software supports all Windows OS versions like 11, 10, 8.1, 8, 7, and also this tool supports ANSI and UNICODE without downloading an application. You can use these tools to combine, eliminate, or relocate duplicates to a new PST file to make things easier to find.

How to Avoid Having Duplicate PST Files in the Future:

Look at your account settings.
Make sure that Outlook doesn't set up your email accounts more than once.
 
Be careful when bringing in data
Always choose the option When moving PST, don't bring in duplicates.
 
Fewer PST Files
Try putting data into fewer files instead of making many PST. Do regular maintenance

Conclusion

At first glance, duplicate PST files can not seem like a problem, but they can eventually cause Outlook to slow down, consume important storage space, and even destroy your data. You can keep an orderly, quick, and secure Outlook by working out the reasons behind duplicates and employing the appropriate techniques, whether they are manual cleanup procedures for smaller files or specific tools like GainTools Outlook Duplicate Remover for larger management. Simple practices like routine maintenance, careful importing and exporting, and avoiding multiple account configurations help avoid future duplicates. In addition to saving space, following these procedures will eventually improve the stability and smoothness of your Outlook experience.
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