How to Compress Oversized PST Files Without Data Loss

Has your Outlook become slow? Are you getting frequent warnings like “PST file size limit exceeded”? If yes, then it is a sign that your PST (Personal Storage Table) file has become too large and needs to be compressed.

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In this blog, we will learn:

• Why PST file becomes oversized
• Manual ways to compress PST file
• Best Third-party Tools
• And permanent solution to the problem without any data loss

Why PST file becomes oversized?

In Microsoft Outlook, PST file stores all your emails, calendar, contacts, tasks and other data. But over time, this file keeps growing.

Reasons:

• Emails with lots of attachments
• Not permanently deleting deleted items
• Not taking backup of sent items
• Not using archive properly
• Dangers of oversized PST file:
• Outlook speed decreases
• File can get corrupted
• Outlook starts crashing
• New data is not saved
• Risk of losing emails

Solution: Compressing PST file

Now let’s talk about the ways to compress PST file without data loss.

Manual method: Compress PST file from Outlook itself

Microsoft Outlook itself has an in-built feature through which you can compress your PST file.

Step-by-Step Process:

• Open Outlook
• Go to File > Account Settings > Account Settings
• Go to the “Data Files” tab and select the PST file you want to compress
• Now click on “Settings”
• Click on the “Compact Now” button
• Wait for the process to complete

Note: This method is only effective if you have already deleted unnecessary emails, deleted items, etc.

Second Manual Technique: Using Archiving

Archiving allows you to move old emails to a new PST file.

Here’s how:

• Open Outlook
• Go to File > Info > Tools > Clean up old items
• Select “Archive this folder and all subfolders”
• Select an old date (such as 6 months or 1 year old emails)
• Give a new PST file a name and location
• Click on “OK”

This will make your main PST file lighter and also increase the speed of Outlook.

Third-party Tools: When manual methods are not enough

If your PST file is very large (e.g. more than 20GB) or prone to corruption, then the manual method is limited. In such a case, the following professional tools can prove to be helpful:

Softaken Compress PST Tool is a Windows-based software specially designed to compress oversized PST files of Microsoft Outlook. This tool not only saves space but also improves Outlook performance.

Key Features
1. Compress large PST files easily
This tool can compress PST files of 20GB, 30GB or even more size without any hassle.

2. Option to remove or compress attachments separately
Softaken Tool gives you the option to:
Remove attachments from PST file
Extract them to a folder
Reduce file size by compressing

3. Support for both ANSI and Unicode PST files
Whether your PST file is old ANSI or new Unicode, this tool supports both.

4. Compress multiple PST files in batch
If you have more than one PST file, you can compress them all at once – saving both time and effort.

5. No Outlook installation required
You don’t need to have Microsoft Outlook installed on your system to run this tool.

6. 100% secure and data loss-free process
This tool does not harm any of your email, contact or calendar data.

How to use? (Step-by-Step Process)

Download the software: Download the tool from Softaken’s official website

Install and launch it

Add the PST file you want to compress

Select the Compress Mode (Attachment Remove/Compress/Extract)

Set the output location

Click Start and the tool will do the job

Conclusion
Oversized PST files are a common but serious problem that can affect Outlook’s performance. The good thing is that you can compress it without any data loss, whether by using the manual method or a tool.

If you use Outlook at home or in a small office, manual compacting and archiving may be enough. But for larger or business use, a professional tool is worth the investment.