Recovering PST files from my company's Windows computer Inti my Mac

I have started recovering Outlook PST files from my office Windows computer into my Mac. I already have a PST reader on the Mac. I use a USB key to do the transfer.

Problem: some PST files are big and the FAT formatted USB key cannot contain these huge PST Files. Knowing that I do not have admin privileges on the Windows computer and that the windows computer probably appears on the Marc's finder through wifi, what are the recommended methods I should consider to recover on the Mac these PST file ? What wiring to implement? Internet cable? Crossover Internet cable? TIA

How large are the PST files? Unless they're over 4 GB they should be able to be transferred via a USB flash drive formatted to FAT-32. I've never heard of a PST file being that large so it's possible that I don't understand what you're trying to do?

chscag said:

How large are the PST files? Unless they're over 4 GB they should be able to be transferred via a USB flash drive formatted to FAT-32. I've never heard of a PST file being that large so it's possible that I don't understand what you're trying to do?

Click to expand...

Thank you for the confirmation. Yes BIG PST files are possible with Outlook & Exchange 2007: as big as 6 GB, can probably be more, my biggest is about 6.5 GB. This created my initial problem, which I could not solve: .pst files above about that size would refuse to be copied on a 16 GB USB flash drive despite their having plenty of space available. Suspecting that FAT32 formatting of the USB drive was the cause and not willing to do NTFS (Windows) formatting from the mac, I issued the question to the forum. Now that I went through it and am done, FWIW, here is how it went.

Attempt A: Sharing the office PC folders & files for access by the mac. Failed

Officially, this is simple. Slowly through the wireless router or fast through two ethernet cables both connected to the wireless router (a time capsule), the mac "sees" the PC. No more. The office PC is secure like an oyster: no way to enter. unless you are advised by the secretive corporate admin. Attempt failed.

Attempt B: Sharing the mac folders for access and copying into from the PC. Success

This is the complex and anti-intuitive route: using the PC's finder to work our file copying, Complicated and unforgiving, but it works.

This is described somewhere in this forum. It goes somewhat like this:

On the mac, launch system preferences and click on "Sharing"

Enable file sharing, select what it takes for file sharing to Windows: click "SMB (Windows). Before closing this windows, take note there of your mac IP address [provided by your router] (may be something like "afp//192.166.1.9/")

Click "accounts" to verify your login name on the mac (may be something like "MacBookPro-de-Jean-Pierre-Smith"), remember your password (the one you use to enter your account on the mac)

From the Windows PC (wifi or wire connected to the mac), Go to start menu and click "run"

Enter the mac IP address, like "\\192.166.1.9\" and click "OK"

Bingo ! you are in the mac but not in your account yet. Your are asked a funny question about login and password, which makes you believe you are still on the Windows world. Wrong belief : you are in mac territory with the look and feel of Window territory. Enter your mac account login and password and click "OK"

In your windows window, you are now in the mac, navigating in your private folders, ready for copying those .PST files directly

Same as before. PST files bigger than a certain size (4GB) cannot copy (unknown cause, someone on this forum may explain the cause). So zip them of 7z them on the PC. Copy the compressed files (which are not so big once compressed), or cut the regional PST files into smaller PST files. Unzip those big files on the mac with The Unarchiver (Apple Store). The smaller psd files copy all right

You can then access those pst files on the mac with PST Bridge (Apple Store)

Bingo !

I give my warmest thanks to this forum.

HTH

Nice work. Glad you sorted that out. A couple of things occur to me after reading your post.

1. I suspect that formatting the USB drive to NTFS would have allowed the files to reside there no problem That could be sone from a PC. Once the files are on there the Mac should still be able to read the disk. OS X has read support for NTFS built in.

2. Saving the files in zip format probably cut down on the size needing to be transferred significantly. Good idea. I think that OS X can open them without any other software. Haven't done it in a while but I think that is still built in.

BTW Any idea why those files were that large? I've never seen one quite that large before.

Slydude said:

BTW Any idea why those files were that large? I've never seen one quite that large before.

Click to expand...

On the PC which I use at the office, I create one PST file for ever for permanent files and one PST file per calendar year for regular files. This archive contains the files last used during the year (not created, last used). When in 2014, if I need to access a file created in 2013 or earlier, I move it from where it resides into 2014. As in my mac world, emails I send (plus attachments) get filed in the same folders as those mails I receive (plus attachments). That being said, my 2014 PST file is 6.5 GB. Each year, it gets bigger. Probably due to increased reliance on sending and resending huge attachments.

HTH

That helps to explain things a lot. Thanks. After I posted I thought it might be something like that.