Tips & Guide to Optimize Outlook 2007 , 2010 and Win XP, Win 7

Good links.

Good software
http://www.howto-outlook.com/products/outlooktools.htm
http://www.ghacks.net/2010/06/02/microsoft-outlook-tools/

http://www.ghacks.net/2009/04/16/microsoft-outlook-attachment-extractor/
http://www.kopf.com.br/outlook/screenshots.php


http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook-help/best-practices-for-outlook-2010-HA102459562.aspx#_Toc283818119

http://www.hackstacks.com/3-tips-to-optimize-your-outlook-20102007-mail-folders-for-faster-response/2913

http://www.emailaddressmanager.com/outlook/faster-outlook.html


• Tip 1: Clean Your Email: DELETE * FROM OUTLOOK WHERE EMAIL != NEEDED_IN_FUTURE.
• Tip 2: Archive Emails: Archiving is basically removing your older emails from your active PST file into another PST. There are auto-archiving options available in Outlook and you can set them up.
• Tip 3: Multiple PST Files: Outlook manages all emails, contacts, etc. in a Data File (PST file). It allows you to have multiple PST files open at a given time. Through experience, it has become very clear that the sluggishness of Outlook is directly compared to the size of the PST files it is working with. So, after deleting and archiving, if the size of your PST is still more than 600-700 MB, then break it up into multiple PSTs. I have 3 PSTs open: Personal Mail, Project Mail, and Everything Else.
• Tip 4: ReIndex: After you have carried out your deleting, archiving, and moving around of the email, rebuild your search index. With Outlook 2007, you get Windows search integration which help in lighting fast searches. However, since you just moved everything around, the index is out of sync and though it will get in sync over time, it’s best to delete the old index and make a new one. This ensures that you get right search results after maintenance.
• Tip 5: Compact your PST: Through the Data File Management menu option in the File menu, you can compact your PSTs. As I mentioned, when you delete email, Outlook doesn’t free up space. You need to manually fire the command to compact it. Compacting not only frees up space, it can also help when you defragment the PSTs (next tip).
• Tip 6: Defragment your PST Files: This always gives a big boost to Outlook performance on my computer. You can either defragment the whole disk using the Disk Management Tools in Windows XP. Or you can defragment the individual PST files using the great tool from SysInternals that is mentioned at the article I linked to at the beginning of this post. Note: Outlook should be closed when you are doing this.
• Tip 7: Rules Maintenance: If you use rules to filter your emails and move them around, now is a good time to review them. There can be many old rules that probably are not relevant anymore, and you might want to change the rules to work with you new PST structure.
• Tip 8: Maintenance Mode Tip – Turn off Search Service: while carrying out the maintenance, turn off the Windows Search Service. As you move around large number of emails, it can slow things down as it will try to update the index (which you will rebuild anyway, if you follow my advice).
• Tip 9: Maintenance Mode Tip – Turn off Preview Pane: Since you will be clicking and selecting a lot of email, you don’t want to waste time for a preview being generated each time. This will help reduce overall time for the maintenance task.


http://blog.gadodia.net/taking-control-of-your-inbox-inbox-zero/

Good
http://www.connectedinternet.co.uk/2007/10/27/five-ways-to-speed-up-outlook-2007/


Problem #1: Downloading e-mails take forever because I have a bunch of rules that need to be processed.
Reason: Every rule gets processed on every e-mail. if you have a lot of rules, and get a lot of e-mails, you're guaranteed to have problems.
Solution #1: Add "Stop processing more rules" to the end of every rule.
Solution #2: Use Hosted Exchange. For anywhere between $7 and $15 a month, you can upgrade your POP3 e-mail account to a hosted Exchange account at your own domain name. This way, when you use Rules in Outlook, they run on the server, and not on the client. You also get a bunch of other benefits, like disaster recovery, syncing with your smartphone, push e-mail, and Outlook Web Access. I know that may not sound like an attractive option, but once you try it, you'll never go back.

Problem #2: Outlook takes *forever* to open.
Reason: Your Outlook file is way too big. You're probably not archiving your e-mail often enough.
Solution: Follow the "7-6-6" rule for AutoArchiving. Simply, every 7 days, archive anything older than 6 weeks to an archive folder, and create a new Archive file every 6 months. And whenever you see your AutoArchive folder open, close it. Finally, compact your PST & OST files often.

The simple tips help keep my Outlook performing well. Like everything else, it just requires a little maintenance. With these tips, my Outlook consistently opens in under 3 seconds.


http://msexchangeteam.com/archive/2007/12/17/447750.aspx

Optimizing Win XP

Speedup Folder Browsing

You may have noticed that everytime you open my computer to browse folders that there is a slight delay. This is because Windows XP automatically searches for network files and printers everytime you open Windows Explorer. To fix this and to increase browsing significantly:

Open My Computer
Click on Tools menu
Click on Folder Options
Click on the View tab.
Uncheck the Automatically search for network folders and printers check box
Click Apply
Click Ok
Reboot your computer

http://www.connectedinternet.co.uk/2005/12/03/10-simple-ways-to-speed-up-windows-xp/2/

Speed Up Boot Times I

This tweak works by creating a batch file to clear the temp and history folders everytime you shutdown so that your PC doesn’t waste time checking these folders the next time it boots. It’s quite simple to implement:

1. Open Notepad and create a new file with the following entries:
RD /S /q “C:\Documents and Settings”UserName without quotes”\Local Settings\History”
RD /S /q “C:\Documents and Settings\Default User\Local Settings\History”
RD /S /q “D:\Temp” <–”Deletes temp folder, type in the location of your temp folder”
2. Save the new as anything you like but it has to be a ‘.bat’ file e.g. fastboot.bat or deltemp.bat

3. Click ‘Start’ then ‘Run’

4. Type in ‘gpedit.msc’ and hit ‘ok’

5. Click on ‘Computer Configuration’ then ‘Windows Settings’

6. Double-click on ‘Scripts’ and then on ‘Shutdown’

7. Click ‘Add’ and find the batch file that you created and then press ‘Ok’


http://blog.gadodia.net/outlook-2007-freezing-minimized/
My earlier posts (here and here) on this topic mentioned the steps I have been taking to improve the responsiveness and performance of Outlook 2007. Well this one is to detail the relief that has come out of these steps. The patch I mentioned in the earlier posts has helped a lot. My Outlook is definitely less sluggish (to a point where it’s almost normal).

As for the problem with freezing of Outlook when the last email is being downloaded, after I reduced the size of my PST from over 2GB to a little below 1GB, the freezing has become a second as compared to a few seconds earlier.

I strongly recommend the following steps:

•Install the Microsoft Patch
•Reduce the size of your PST by archiving old emails, deleting non-important emails, dividing your emails into multiple archives.
•Compact the Size of your PST.
•Defragment your hard drive or at least the PST files (you can use contig from sysinternals to do that).
Do all this and I am sure that you will see an improvement in your Outlook performance. Oh yeah, as lots of people before me have said: DO NOT use RSS from within your Outlook. Turn it off. If you want a desktop aggregator use RSSBandit.

Contig v1.55
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897428.aspx

Update for Outlook 2007 (KB933493)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=C262BCFD-1E09-49B6-9003-C4C47539DF66&displaylang=en

Improving Windows XP Performance
http://www.pugetsystems.com/articles.php?id=32

Outlook 2007 Vista Problem - Mail Stuck at outbox

i always get error message when try to shut down outlook - "The data file 'personal folder' was not closed properly"

or A data file did not close properly the last time it was used and is being checked for problems

and also OUTLOOK.EXE continues running in the background after exit Outlook. Making it impossible to start outlook again.

Here is a good guide for solving the problem :

http://www.slipstick.com/problems/close.asp
http://www.howto-outlook.com/faq/outlookdoesntclose.htm

Problem: After closing Outlook, it continues to run. You need open the Task Manager and End Process.

Outlook can't close properly if another application is accessing Outlook's message store.

Symptoms which indicate that Outlook is not closing properly include receiving an alert telling you that Outlook is checking the data file when you open it. If you use two Outlook profiles, when you switch profiles you aren't presented the screen to select the profile and Outlook opens directly to the first profile.

Below is a list of software known to cause problems in all versions of Outlook. This list is intended to give you an idea of what types of programs will cause Outlook to remain running, most often Fax software, anti-spam or anti-virus software, or PDA sync software. However, the culprit on your computer may be a different program.

See Disable Add-in or uninstall the software.

Antivirus programs that support scanning email for viruses will tend to keep Outlook open. Disable email scanning and Outlook should close correctly. It's perfectly safe to disable this setting - it gives you advanced warning of viruses but as long as you can control your urge to open every attachment you receive, you'll be just as safe with it disabled. The antivirus programs that can affect Outlook include, but are not limited to, the following programs: Kaspersky Antivirus Pro version 5 Panda AntiVirus Outlook Plug-In (pavexcli.dll) Norton Antivirus with e-mail scanning and script blocking enabled. Once you identify the program that is causing Outlook to remain loaded, check their support site for updates and additional information, or diable or uninstall the add-in. Many spyware and adware programs hook into Outlook and other email clients. Removing them will usually correct the problem and allow Outlook to close properly.
Add-ins which may keep Outlook open	The following is a short list of add-ins which are reported to keep Outlook running after it's closed. WinFax Pro. Disable WinFax or remove the WinFax Fax log from the profile. Remove them by opening Tools, Options, Mail Setup tab, Data Files and delete if present. ActiveSync (especially when a PDA is cradled) Blackberry software Stamps.com (when using address from Outlook's Contacts) Outlook Express (when sharing Contacts with the Windows Address Book (WAB) Franklin Covey Plan Plus Mapilab's Messenger Journal utility Earthlink's Spamblocker (the installation file is ELSBSetup.exe) Outlook Attachment Sniffer TechSmith's SnagIt 7 with Outlook integration enabled. Cloudmark Spamnet OneNote 2003 (with Outlook 2000) Fourelle Venturi Client Internet Download Manager - uninstall iProtectYou TMAntispam - the antispam part of Trend Micro's PCCillin Internet Security 2005 suite Infuzer FSecure 2005 antispam add-in Prophet 2004 (by Avidian) - check for updates Intuit Quickbooks iTunes calendar sync add-in ABBYY FineReader 9.0
Disable Add-ins	Before uninstalling or disabling add-ins, check for an updated version. It may fix the problem. In Outlook 2003 and earlier, add-ins are found on the Tools, Options, Other tab. Click the Advanced Options button. Click COM Add-ins button and uncheck add-ins to disable. While most add-ins are listed under COM add-ins, some may be in Add-in manager. Return to Outlook. In Outlook 2007, you need to go to Tools, Trust Center, Add-ins. Select COM Add-ins from the dropdown at the bottom of the dialog Press Go. Uncheck the add-ins you suspect might be keeping Outlook open Close the dialog. Most add-ins will be listed in COM Add-ins, but a few may be listed under Exchange Client Extensions, which on the dropdown with COM Add-ins. I’m trying to disable some addins but I get the error; If you cannot disable addin “The connected state of Office Add-Ins registered in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE cannot be changed.” How can I disable the addin without uninstalling it? Sounds like you are using Outlook on Windows Vista. However you can also get this error on previous versions on Windows when you are logged on as user and not as an administrator. To disable the addin you must start Outlook with administrator privileges. Windows Vista Right click on the Outlook shortcut and choose “Run as administrator”. Then press Continue or provide administrator credentials when prompted. Once you’ve made the change, restart Outlook to run it under the user context again. Windows XP/2000 Logoff your user account and logon to the computer as an administrator. Once you’ve made the change, logon with your own user account again.
Other Causes	♦ Setting Outlook's "Empty deleted items when closing" option can also cause it. Disable it on the Tools, Options, Other tab. ♦ In sites where both Outlook 2000 and 2003 are in use, Outlook 2000 may not close properly due to conflicts between Outlook 2000 and 2003. This occurs when Outlook 2000 is used to open your mailbox after accessing it using Outlook 2003 or if another user viewed your shared Calendar with Outlook 2003. You can try opening Outlook 2000 using the /cleanfreebusy switch, but if that fails to correct the problem, you'll need to call Microsoft for the hotfix in Outlook 2000 Post-Service Pack 3 Hotfix Package: January 13, 2004. ♦ In addition, a corrupt *.SRS (send and receive profile file) appears to keep Outlook 2003 open. Find and rename the SRS for the profile. It's a hidden file found at C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook. Use Windows Search to find the files (enable the advanced options to search all hidden files and folders) or paste this line into the Windows Explorer Address bar: %USERPROFILE%\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook To learn more about the files contained in this directory, see Outlook & Exchange/Windows Messaging Backup and Dual-Boot.
Tools	Close Outlook Close Outlook is a small utility that closes Outlook so you can back up the PST file. Just use the Windows Task Scheduler to run it before your automated backup starts. Free. KnockOut Free system tray application to monitor the state of Outlook (and Word) on your machine. Shows you when Outlook is running, even if you can't see any Outlook windows. Allows you to shut down Outlook or Word. Can turn off the "new mail" envelope icon. Very useful for developers. Outlook Shutdown Addin Outlook Shutdown Addin is a COM add-in which enables Outlook to shutdown completely when a user exits from the application, eliminating the need to open Task Manager to end OUTLOOK.EXE.
Developer Information	If you are a developer and your add-in is causing Outlook to remain open, get ItemsCB from the Resources page at www.microeye.com and use it to release all the Outlook objects and handle all errors. If you need additional assistance, visit the forums at OutlookCode.com or the Outlook programming newsgroups at news://msnews.microsoft.com. If you are unable to use a newsreader (such as Outlook Express) to access the newsgroups, you can use the web-based interface to the newsgroups.
More Information	Mail Issues with Microsoft Outlook