If the .PST file is in the old ANSI format used by Outlook 97-2002, then it
is too big and you probably won't be able to open it. You can take a look at
http://www.slipstick.com/problems/repair2gbpst.htm and see if there is
anything else you can do to try to retrieve the data in it.

If, however, the .PST file was created in the new Unicode format in Outlook
2003 or 2007, 2GB is not too big. In that case try some of the suggestions
he http://www.slipstick.com/problems/scanpst.htm

To answer your other question, if you open a .PST file from within Outlook
using File | Open | Outlook Data File, it will open as a list of Personal
Folders in your Folder List -- you can navigate through its folders just like
you can with your default .PST file.

--
Jocelyn Fiorello
MVP - Outlook

*** Messages sent to my e-mail address will NOT be answered -- please reply
only to the newsgroup to preserve the message thread. ***


"RDRTWO" wrote:

Jocelyn:

Thankyou for taking the time to answer my query. When I tried to use the
file/open pst file/archive.pst command, i recieved an hour glass and the
Outlook program hung up. Could it be that the pst files are too big. The
file is slightly under 2 gig. Also, when I use that command, what should I
expect to see? When I used the "imprt" command and directed the subsequent
boxes to the archive file, I saw a list of the folders in the archive file.
However, when I selected the calendar folder, nothing happened. Your
knowledgeable help would be appreciated.

Rick

"Jocelyn Fiorello [MVP - Outlook]" wrote:

Did you try simply opening the archive.pst file in Outlook via File | Open |
Outlook Data File? That is the much-preferred method for accessing Outlook
items.

--
Jocelyn Fiorello
MVP - Outlook

*** Messages sent to my e-mail address will NOT be answered -- please reply
only to the newsgroup to preserve the message thread. ***


"RDRTWO" wrote:

Gotten myself into a fix here. Noticed that my old appointments were
dissapearing from my calendar. Had not activated auto archiving but thought
the program might be doing it anyway. Tried to restore by importing from an
archive.pst file I found with a current date, but could not restore just the
calendar. Decided to bring the entire thing over with no duplicate entries
to be made. Drove the size of my mailbox.pst over the 2 gig limit and
Outlook could not open it. Used the truncating program to whittle down the
file size. Ran the repair program and was able to restore all of my e-mail.
Still no calendar. All appointments are gone. Was able to restore future
programs by synching with my Blackberry. Anyone have any suggestions on how
I can restore my calendar?