Microsoft Outlook is a widely used email client and personal information manager that is available as part of the Microsoft Office Suite.
It provides appointments, email, calendar, contact management, notes, journal, and web-browsing capabilities. Outlook is vital for personal and professional communications, offering robust features for organizing and managing emails and other data types.
Your Outlook data, such as emails, contacts, events, tasks, and other data, are stored in the Outlook data files: PST (Personal Storage Table) mainly used for POP3, IMAP, and web-based mail accounts, and OST (Offline Storage Table) used for Exchange, Office 365, and Outlook.com accounts.
Understanding the location of your Outlook PST files is vital for effective management, backup, migration, recovery, and repair of Outlook data files.
The location of Outlook PST and OST files varies depending on the version of Outlook and the Windows OS you use.
The table below outlines the default file location of the PST files across various versions of Outlook and Windows, providing a handy reference for locating your crucial Outlook data files.
Outlook PST Location
| Outlook Versions | Windows OS Version | Outlook PST File Location |
| Outlook 97 Outlook 98 | Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000 | C:\Windows\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook\ |
| Outlook 2000 (No longer supported by Microsoft) | – | – |
| Outlook 2002 | Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP | C:\Documents and Settings[Username]\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook\ |
| Outlook 2003 | Windows 2000 (SP3), Windows XP, Windows Vista | C:\Documents and Settings[Username]\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook\ |
| Outlook 2007 | Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 | C:\Users[Username]\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\ |
| Outlook 2010 | Windows XP (SP3), Windows Vista (SP1), Windows 7, Windows 8 | C:\Users[Username]\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\ |
| Outlook 2013 | Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 | C:\Users[Username]\Documents\Outlook Files\ |
| Outlook 2016 Outlook 2019 | Windows 7 (SP1), Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 | C:\Users[Username]\Documents\Outlook Files\ |
| Outlook 2021 | Windows 10, Windows 11 | C:\Users[Username]\Documents\Outlook Files\ |
Finding Your Outlook PST Files
This part talks about two ways to locate your Outlook PST files on your Windows computer.
Method 1: Using Outlook
- Start the Outlook application.
- Navigate to Account Settings. Click on File > Account Settings > Account Settings from the menu.
- In the Account Settings window. Click on the Data Files tab.
- A list of all the PST and OST files associated with your Outlook accounts.
- Select the PST file you want to locate.
Method 2: Windows Search Function
- Click on the search icon in the taskbar.
- Type “.pst” into the search bar and hit the enter button. Windows will start searching for the files and folders with the .pst extension.
- Select the most appropriate file with the .pst extension. Right-click on it and select the Open File Location option. This will take you directly to the location where your PST file is saved.
Also Read: How to Open Outlook PST File on Mac?
How to Move the Outlook PST File Location to a New Folder
Changing where your PST file is stored is a common need, whether you want to move it to a larger drive, a network share, or simply out of the default Documents folder. The process requires a few careful steps because Outlook must be told about the new location; simply cutting and pasting the file in File Explorer while Outlook is open will cause errors or data loss.
Steps to Change the Outlook PST File Location
- Close Microsoft Outlook completely. Confirm it is not running in the system tray before proceeding.
- Navigate to the current PST file location. Use the path you identified in Outlook’s Account Settings > Data Files tab, or use File Explorer to browse to C:\Users\[Username]\Documents\Outlook Files\ for Outlook 2013 and later.
- Copy or move the PST file to your desired new location, such as D:\OutlookBackup\ or a OneDrive subfolder.
- Reopen Outlook. If Outlook cannot find the original file, it will display a prompt asking you to locate the missing data file. Browse to the new location and select the PST file.
- Alternatively, manually reconnect the file by going to File > Account Settings > Account Settings > Data Files tab, selecting the old entry, clicking Remove, then clicking Add to browse to the PST file in its new location.
- Verify the new path by reopening the Data Files tab and confirming the updated location is listed correctly.
Note that Microsoft does not support storing an active PST file on a network share or on certain cloud-synced folders. If you plan to store your PST file inside a OneDrive or Dropbox folder that syncs in real time, be aware that simultaneous file access by Outlook and the sync client can lead to file corruption. Microsoft recommends keeping active PST files on a local drive and backing them up to cloud storage separately.
Where Is the Default Outlook PST File Location in Windows 10 and Windows 11?
By default, the Outlook PST file location on Windows 10 and Windows 11 depends on which version of Outlook you have installed. For Outlook 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021, Microsoft changed the default save path away from the hidden AppData folder to a more accessible location: C:\Users\[Username]\Documents\Outlook Files\. You can also navigate there using the environment variable shorthand %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Outlook Files\ in the Windows Run dialog (Win + R).
For older Outlook versions such as Outlook 2007 and 2010 running on Windows 7 or Windows 8, the default PST location was the hidden AppData directory: C:\Users\[Username]\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\. Because AppData is a hidden folder, you may need to enable “Show hidden files, folders, and drives” in File Explorer’s View options before you can navigate to it directly. Alternatively, paste %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Outlook into the Windows Run dialog to jump straight there.
If you have upgraded Outlook or migrated from an older Windows version, your PST file may still reside in the legacy AppData path even if your current Outlook version would normally use the Documents folder. Always verify the actual path by checking the Data Files tab inside Outlook’s Account Settings rather than assuming the default location applies to your installation.
Conclusion
This concludes our discussion of the location of Outlook data files on various versions of Outlook and Windows OS.
Depending on the location of the Outlook version you are using and on what system. The file is saved in the C drive’s AppData folder by default. However, the exact location can change depending on your version. Refer to the above table to learn more.
Frequently Asked Questions
Moving or transferring the PST files is essential for ensuring the safety of your data, regardless of the reason why you want to move your files from their default location to another location.
– You must first locate the PST file using the Outlook application or the Windows Search function.
– Close the Outlook application. This will help prevent any issues and errors.
– Navigate to the location of the PST file, right-click on it, and select the copy option.
The major issues like corruption, and oversized PST files. Performance issues, and inconsistent Outlook operations.
Misconfigured account settings such as restricted access or incorrect location. Last but not least sync issues.
Yes, you can change the default location of the Outlook PST files. You simply need to go to the default location of the PST file and move it to any other location. Later on, reconfigure the Outlook settings.
