# Need to shrink db (email) folder. Currently has 59,000 files **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 4, 2006, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-shrink-db-email-folder-currently-has-59-000-files/351313 "2006-04-04T20:58:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2006, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-shrink-db-email-folder-currently-has-59-000-files/351313/1 "2006-04-04T20:58:40Z")
An email folder with almost 60,000 files strikes me as rather big. It takes up almost 2 gigs on my HD. One of the folder options allows compressing it. Does compressing files slow access much? Are there any good utilities to compress it even more? OR, can I transfer to my secondary HD, and have my system access it from there? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2006, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-shrink-db-email-folder-currently-has-59-000-files/351313/2 "2006-04-04T21:08:16Z")
Are you implying that you actually want to \*\*keep \*\*59,000 emails? ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2006, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-shrink-db-email-folder-currently-has-59-000-files/351313/3 "2006-04-04T21:20:15Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Are you implying that you actually want to \*\*keep \*\*59,000 emails? Are you implying the OP should go through all 59,000 emails and pick out the ones he/she wants to keep? Anyway, to the OP: you probably want to tell us what the e-mail client and operating system you use. And if the reason for asking is because your primary HDD is running out of space, can’t you just move the entire mail data to the secondary HDD? ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2006, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-shrink-db-email-folder-currently-has-59-000-files/351313/4 "2006-04-04T21:34:09Z")
59,000? Big deal. My mailbase has approx 228,000 emails stretching back 9 years. Disk space is cheap. Now, if you’re using Outlook, it’s not a good idea to have very large PST files (near 2 GB) so you might want to create seperate PST files. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2006, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-shrink-db-email-folder-currently-has-59-000-files/351313/5 "2006-04-05T04:43:05Z")
They have boosted it in recent versions, but for normal folks, 2 GB is the absolute maximum size for an Outlook mailbox or .pst file. The default warning that the file’s getting too big is about 1.8 GB, and at 2, it shuts off. You’re also limited to about 65,000 items in the file. Either way, you’re far too close to the maximums for comfort. There is a registry edit that allows you to have 20 GB pst files, but I don’t know if that also boosts the number of items that can be in the file. You really should stay smaller - where I’m at, we don’t allow server-based mailboxes over 100 MB, and strongly suggest pst files be kept under 50 MB. The database file that’s the core of a pst tends to get a little wonky past a certain point. Plus, smaller pst files means smaller risk of loss in case a file does go bad. There is a pst repair tool, but it’s almost guaranteed not to work on anything much bigger than 50 MB. Compressing once in a while is a good idea - it’s much like doing a disk defrag and helps maintain the database structure. ---
**Author:** ![Jpeg\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/4bbf92/32.png) [@Jpeg\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jpeg_Jones)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2006, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-shrink-db-email-folder-currently-has-59-000-files/351313/6 "2006-04-05T17:08:00Z")
How do you make smaller pst files, then? And still store old emails. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2006, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-shrink-db-email-folder-currently-has-59-000-files/351313/7 "2006-04-05T17:19:37Z")
> [@Jpeg Jones](#): > > How do you make smaller pst files, then? And still store old emails. - Use the menu option for file -\> new -\> personal folders file (.pst) - From the folder list window, create folders inside your new PST file - Drag and drop emails to move them into a folder in your new file. ---
**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2006, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-shrink-db-email-folder-currently-has-59-000-files/351313/8 "2006-04-05T19:49:51Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > … can’t you just move the entire mail data to the secondary HDD? Can I do this just by clicking and dragging? If so, does the email client know to look for the file in the F drive? ---
**Author:** ![Kiwi\_Fruit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kiwi_fruit/32/12_2.png) [@Kiwi\_Fruit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiwi_Fruit)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2006, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-to-shrink-db-email-folder-currently-has-59-000-files/351313/9 "2006-04-05T22:13:40Z")
> [@Carnac the Magnificent!](#): > > Can I do this just by clicking and dragging? If so, does the email client know to look for the file in the F drive? If you are using Outlook, there is a “Data File Management” function. Here’s an extract. > [@Outlook Help topic](#): > > To see where default store and additional data files are kept in different versions of Microsoft Windows, see the “Outlook file locations” topic. Keep these points in mind: > > You can save, copy, and move a data file (other than the file used as your default information store) to another location on your hard disk, to a floppy disk, or to a share on the network. You must have read/write permissions to open Personal Folders files (.pst) from a network share. > If you need to access a data file that is stored on a network share or on another computer, close any program that might be using that file. A data file can be accessed by only one user or program at a time. > The .pst data file does not support read-only media. > Only data files that you created will appear in the Outlook Data Files dialog box (File menu, Data File Management command). Your default data file, Outlook.pst, does not appear in the list. If you want to move the file you MUST shut down Outlook first. Cheers, KF