How do I restore MS Outlook to the defaults?

Question

I haven't used Outlook in 2 years and it has a bunch of junk I want to get rid of. I'd like to just delete the database and start over - eliminating all my old contacts, e-mails, calendar appointments, etc. Everything is outdated. Also, I can't just uninstall and reinstall because I lost my installation CD.

Answer 1

You want to delete the outlook.pst file that contains all the data you mention.

Once you delete it, the next time you start Outlook you will have a brand new clean setup since Outlook will create a new empty outlook.pst file.

You will probably have to set up your email accounts again, but this is easy to do.

Microsoft keeps changing where this file is, in Outlook 2003 with Win XP here is where it is:

C:\Documents and Settings\YourUserName\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook

That should do it.

Answer 2

Delete your profile and start over

Control Panel > Mail
Select Email Accounts - View or Change Existing
Remove the Account

Restart Outlook and create new account