If this has happened to you, as it has to me, then you know that there is literally no information on the Web about how to fix this thorny and aggravating issue – mail is stuck in your out box that cannot be deleted.
It appears that when this happens that actually Outlook has sent the mail, but has forgotten to move it to the sent folder. When you try to delete the mail or move it to another folder, you get the message that “this action cannot be completed as Outlook is in the process of transmitting this message”. ARGH!
For me, this is how I fixed it. First I renamed my .pst file to Outlook-old.pst and change the Personal Folder name to Old Personal Folders. Then I closed Outlook. On reopening Outlook, the application made a new Outlook.pst file. I went into File – Data File Management, and set my new .pst file as the default. My old PST appeared in the folder tree under the file name I had previously given it of Old Personal Folders. From there I copied or dragged and dropped in the mail that I wanted to save from the old Personal Folder files. That so far is pretty straight forward, but the next step is new.
When I opened my address book and calender there were no entries. In Vista you do not have access to these files so how do you migrate your calendar and address book? This is what I did.
Go to contacts – view – current view – Outlook Data Files. Highlight all the entries, using control key + A, then while they are highlighted drag them from the window to the top left to the Contact File that represents your new Outlook.pst file. You will know which one it is as when you click it, it is empty.
Do the same with calendar, go to calendar – view – current view – Outlook Data Files. Highlight all the entries, using control key + A, then while they are highlighted drag them from the window to the top left to the Calendar File that represents your new Outlook.pst file. You will know which one it is as when you click it, it is empty.
Now you can get rid of your old Outlook.pst file. Go to File – Data File Management. Find your old .pst file and delete it. Now you have all your information, a new out box and all your contacts and calendar.