How do E-Rkive archives compare to PST Files (Personal Folders)?

  Archive Type
Function Description Personal Folders E-Rkive
Messages retain full functionality (Reply, Forward etc) Yes Yes
Archive can be accessed by multiples users at the same time No Yes
Archive can be made READ ONLY No Yes
Messages can be deleted from the Archive Yes Yes/No
Messages/Attachments can be edited Yes No
Auto-Archiving available Yes Yes
Set a size warning on Archive No Yes
Set maximum size on Archive No Yes
Run the Archive direct from CD Rom* No Yes
Messages can be compressed No Yes
Messages can be moved from one folder to another Yes No
Messages can be restored back into MS Outlook Yes Yes
Archive can be accessed directly from MS Outlook Yes Yes
Number of Steps to load an archive from CD Rom* 6 3
Maximum Archives linked at one time Many Many
Maximum Archive size 2 GB** 1 GB**
Filter or search for messages Yes Yes
Messages are archived with attachments Yes Yes
Transcript files of multiple messages can be created No Yes
Obtain details of when messages were archived No Yes

* To access a Personal Folders files stored on a CD Rom, you need to:

  1. Insert CD Rom containing Personal Folders file

  2. Copy the Personal Folders file to your hard drive or network drive (this may take several minutes depending on the size of the archive and the location you need to copy it to.)

  3. Locate the Personal Folders file and change the Read Only status of the file (right click on file and select properties then remove tick from Read Only box)

  4. Open MS Outlook

  5. Click File > Open > Data File

  6. Select the Personal Folders file from the hard drive or network drive location and click Open.

     

To access an E-Rkive archive from CD Rom, you need to:

  1. Insert CD Rom containing E-Rkive archive

  2. Open E-Rkive

  3. Click Open Secondary Archive, select the EmailArchive.dat file on the CD Rom and click Open.

** Outlook PST files are limited to 2GB but this does not stop you from adding messages to take it past the limit. If this happens the PST file becomes corrupt and you cannot user the PST file until it is repaired with a special tool (see KB296088 - Oversized PST and OST crop tool). E-Rkive is capped at a maximum archive size of 1 Gigabyte. However, compression is available to squeeze approximately 2 GB of messages into a 1 GB archive. You can also configure E-Rkive to prompt you with a warning when your archive nears its size limit.

This means that a 1GB E-Rkive archive can hold as much as a 2GB Personal Folders file (.pst file)

NOTE: While E-Rkive minimises your risk of losing all your messages by saving them as singular files, there is no substitute for implementing a rigorous backup regime of all your archive data.