Troubleshoot backing up and deleting using AutoArchive

I can't find my archived items.

I get a message when I click Archived Folders in the Folder List.

Your archive file may have been moved, renamed, or deleted.

• If the file has been moved, search your hard drive for it. An archive file, by default, has the extension .pst. If your file is missing, try searching for it without an extension in case it has no extension or a different extension. Once you find it, move the file back to its original location.
• If the file has been renamed, right-click the file in Windows Explorer, click Rename on the shortcut menu, and then type the file's original name.
• If the file has been deleted, check your Recycle Bin to see if it is still there. If it is not there, click the File menu in Outlook, and then click Archive. Or, click the Tools menu, click Options, click the Other tab, and then click AutoArchive. This will create another archive file; however, it will not contain any previously archived items.

I don't see Archive Folders in the Folder List.

The setting to display Archive Folders may have been turned off; however, you can turn it back on.

1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Other tab.
2. Click AutoArchive.
3. Select the Show archive folder in Folder List check box.

   The folder won't display in the Folder List until the next time AutoArchive runs.

I turned on AutoArchive and nothing is being archive or deleted.

You may have turned it on for an individual folder but turned off the global AutoArchive setting. To turn on the global setting, on the Tools menu, click Options, click the Other tab, and then click AutoArchive. Make sure the Run AutoArchive every n days check box is selected and that you've specified the number of days.

Word documents and other Office file types aren't being archived or deleted.

Outlook can only archive files when they are stored in Outlook folders, not in file folders on your hard disk. If the files are attached to an e-mail message or other Outlook item, Outlook will archive the files.

I can't turn off AutoArchive.

If the Run AutoArchive every n days check box is not available in the AutoArchive dialog box, the system administrator may have disabled it so that retention policies can be enforced.

I can't select multiple folders to archive.

When AutoArchive is on, the default settings apply to all folders. You can specify different archive settings for each folder individually.

An empty folder remains after I archived items from it.

When you archive, the original items are moved to the archive file, but the original folders are left in place even if they are empty. To remove the empty folder, right-click the folder, and then click Delete Folder name on the shortcut menu.

I get a file size limitation message when I try to archive items.

One of the following conditions may apply:

• You are trying to archive to a file on a server that has run out of disk space. Contact your administrator.
• You are archiving to a file on your hard disk, and you have run out of disk space. Delete old files to free disk space.
• You have exceeded the file size limitation set by your administrator. Contact your administrator.

Some items aren't archiving as I expected.

When you archive items in a Calendar folder, recurring items are not archived if any occurrences are scheduled after the archive date. Old occurrences of a recurring item in a Calendar folder are needed to keep track of future occurrences.

When you select a folder to AutoArchive, if the folder contains items that you have moved from another location, or that you have modified, the items are archived according to the dates on which these actions occurred, not according to the date created.