i’ve used outlook for my emails since outlook 97, however if there has been one thing i’ve never really been able to conquer in outlook is the ability to use a centralized PST mailbox file that all of my pc’s and user accounts on pcs can use. i know that this would not be a problem if i were to run my own Exchange server but to me that is overkill for a simple task that should have been made easier. however, i finally sat down this last weekend and did some thinking and tinkering and think i finally got it work. i also realized that i could have done this prob w/XP and 2000 but had given up for awhile on it (since i had to learn more about networking stuff and sharing ; man, i know a ton about sharing media files in Vista and Media Center).
so here’s my situation:
i have two computers that i want to share my Outlook PST file to, however on each of those pc’s (my main htpc and tablet) i am also dual booting XP and Vista (so my htpc has vista and xp sp2, while my tablet has xp tablet ed 2005 and vista). I have all OS’s running Office 2007 and in turn Outlook 2007. My current pst mailbox files is about 300mb in size and is located on my main PC. My tablet connects via 802.11g to my network.
finally, what i want to be able to do is to use my Outlook pst file on both my tablet and main pc and the most recently updated copy would then be sync. also, i would want to be able to have access to it on my tablet before i leave in the mornings and use it offline and then sync back so at night i could read my emails on my main pc in front of the 24″ beauty.. (i have NO regrets on my Dell 24″ monitor purchse 1 1/2 ago; the most rewarding upgrade of mine ever besides my si and lcd hdtv). oh yea, there must be security so that only authorized accounts on my main pc can access the files (since it is my personal emails!). so, lets explain how i did this using just basic Network shared folder and the Sync center / offline files option in Windows.