Troubleshooting Slow Outlook Performance due to Large PST File

What Is a PST File?

A PST (Personal Storage Table) file is where Outlook stores all your emails, attachments, calendar events, contacts, and more. Every time you send or receive an email, the PST file grows in size. Over time, this file can become very large, especially if you don’t delete old emails to reduce PST file size Outlook.

Causes of Outlook PST File Performance Issues

Several factors can slow down Outlook performance. Some of the main reasons are:

• When the PST file exceeds the recommended size (usually over 10 GB).
• Large or numerous email attachments increase the file size quickly.
• Older versions may not handle large PST files as well as newer ones.
• Not emptying the Deleted Items folder or archiving old emails.
• Moreover, if the file gets damaged, it can slow down or even crash Outlook.

How to Check PST File Size?

If you want to repair oversized PST file Outlook, first find out what the size of your PST file is. To check your PST file size, follow the steps below:

1. Firstly, open Outlook on your computer.
2. Next, click on File and choose Account Settings.
3. Again, select Account Settings and choose the Data Files option.
4. After that, select your Data file and click Open File Location.
5. Lastly, right-click the file and choose Properties to see the file size.

How to Optimize Outlook PST File Performance Issues?

To improve Outlook’s performance, you need to reduce the size of your Outlook Mailbox without deleting. Below, we discuss the top six methods to reduce. The 5 methods are manual, and the last one is a professional method. The professional tool is the instant and hassle-free solution. Let’s explore all the methods one by one and get a better output.

Method 01: Remove Deleted Item Folder to Fix Outlook Slow Due to Large PST

In MS Outlook, when you delete an email, it goes into the Deleted Items Folder. Still, it consumes space in your PST file and affects your Outlook performance. So, follow the steps below to permanently remove deleted emails.

1. Again, go to Outlook and right-click on the Deleted Items folder.
2. Lastly, click on Empty Folder to permanently delete them.

Method 02: Compact PST File for Better Outlook Performance

After permanently deleting emails, Outlook still holds the file space until you compress it. You can also try Aryson PST Compress Tool that can easily compact size of your Outlook mailbox without Outlook installation or try manual methods which is given below:

Note: You may not see a huge change in file size right away, but the space becomes available for new data.

Steps to use the compact now feature:

1. Again, open Outlook and go to File. Choose Account Settings.
2. Then, select the Account Settings option and choose the Data File tab.
3. After that, select your Data file and press Settings.
4. In the end, choose the Compact Now option and click OK.

Method 03: Transfer Old PST File Data to New PST File

The process of moving your PST file data to a new PST file helps you to clean up storage space. Here is how you can perform it:

1. In MS Outlook and go to Account Settings, and again select Account Settings.
2. Then, select Data File and click Add to create a new PST file.
3. Enter the name and location of your new PST file. Click OK.
4. After that, select the email that you want to transfer.
5. Right-click on that data and choose the Move option.
6. Then, click on Other Folder and select the items to move. Click OK.

Method 04: Use Mailbox Cleanup to Fix Outlook PST File Performance Issues

The Outlook also provides a Mailbox Cleanup feature to reduce the size of your PST file. Follow the steps to use the Compact Now feature.

1. In Outlook, click on File and choose the Tools option.
2. Then, select the Mailbox Cleanup option.
3. Now, you will see the different options to help you free up storage space.
4. Select options as per your requirements and click on Delete.
5. Finally, click on View Conflicts Size to remove any alternative versions of the items.

Method 05: Reduce PST File Size Outlook Using Import/Export Feature

The Import/Export feature allows you to reduce the size of the PST file. It doesn’t split the PST file; instead, it creates backups of older data and transfers them into a newly created PST file. Follow the steps to perform it:

1. In Outlook, again, click on File and choose the Account Settings option.
2. Click on the Data File tab and select Add to create a new file.
3. Then, specify the name and location for your new PST folder.
4. The newly created PST file will be visible under the Data File tab.
5. Again, click on File and choose the Open & Export option.
6. Then, select the Import/Export and Export to a File. Click Next.
7. After that, choose Outlook Data File and press Next.
8. Select the specific folder or the entire folder to export.
9. Finally, click on Browse to choose the location and then click Finish.

Limitations of the Manual Method

Above all, the manual methods are free to use and good for basic cleanup. But, they have some limitations, such as:

• They can be time-consuming, especially if you have a large PST file.
• Increase the risk of compromising data formatting, integrity, and availability.
• They do not provide the option to split a large or oversized PST file by using a date range.

To avoid these limitations, you can use the alternative method mentioned below.

Method 06: Professional Tool to Optimize Outlook PST File Performance Issue

The Aryson PST Splitter Software is a reliable and effective solution to reduce your PST file size. It splits your large or oversized PST files into smaller parts based on Size, Date, Sender, and Folders. You can also split multiple PST files at once using this top-notch utility. It also offers a feature to set a password on the resultant file. Additionally, this tool provides an option to remove duplicate data to free up storage space. Similarly, it offers multiple advanced features such as:

Advanced features of this Tool:

• It maintains the folder hierarchy of the original PST file during the splitting process.
• This utility is designed with an advanced algorithm that provides high speed and 100% accurate results.
• Also, provide a Date filter for transferring only selective emails based on start and End dates.
• There is no need to run Outlook on your system while performing, and it gives a hassle-free solution.
• With its simple and user-friendly interface, both tech and non-tech users can easily perform the splitting process.
• Fully compatible with all Outlook and Windows versions, like Windows 11, 10, 9, 8, etc.

Steps to Split Large PST file Outlook

1. Firstly, launch the Aryson Split PST Tool on your system.
2. Now, choose Add Files or Add Folder to select the PST file and click Next.
3. After that, preview and select the PST file to split.
4. Then, choose different options to split, like Split PST by Size, Date, Sender, and Folder. Press Next.
5. Lastly, apply Advanced features according to your requirements. Click Split.

Conclusion

A large or oversized PST file can generate Outlook PST file performance issues. Thus, it becomes a necessary step to reduce the size of your large PST file. Above, we explained various methods to perform this process. The manual methods are free to use and have some limitations. Therefore, many users prefer to directly use the recommended tool. It is easy to use and provides a hassle-free result. Furthermore, the try (Demo) version of this utility is available to split 50 emails per folder.

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