Outlook keeps most of your essential data in your PST — personal folders — file. The auto-complete list Outlook pops up when you start typing somebody’s name or address in a new message is just as essential, though, is it not?

This list, which you can really edit only with a dedicated tool, is , as it were, stored in a separate file (called NK2 file). If you want to take the auto-complete list with you to a new computer or want to make sure it is backed up regularly, you have to dig it up from within Windows’ profile directories.

To transfer your Outlook address auto-complete list or create a backup copy:

* Close Outlook.
* Type “%appdata%\Microsoft\Outlook” (not including the quotation marks).
* Click with the right mouse button on the Outlook.nk2 file.
o The file can also be named after your Outlook profile, e.g. Ina Cognita.nk2. Make sure the extension is nk2.
* Select Copy from the menu.
* Go to folder or medium where you want to keep the backup copy, or open the “%appdata%\Microsoft\Outlook” folder on the destination computer directly.
* Make sure the copied NK2 file replaces the original default NK2 file. Either rename to match the profile name or overwrite at pasting.

To repair your PST file, you’ll have to open the Scanpst.exe utility that’s included by default with Outlook. The only problem is that there’s no shortcut to it, so you’ll have to find it in the Outlook folder.

Open up explorer and then browse down to the following folder for Outlook 2007:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12

Or one of these folders for Outlook 2003 and earlier:

C:\Program Files\Common Files\System\Mapi\1033
C:\Program Files\Common Files\System\MSMAPI\1033

Once you open up the utility, you’ll have to find the location of your PST file by clicking the Browse button.
It will take a while to scan the file, and you’ll get a report at the end telling you whether you have errors in the file.

Click on the Repair button, and after a while you’ll finally get the “Repair complete” message.
If you are curious what was actually repaired during the process, you’ll find a text file in the same directory as your PST file with the same name as the PST file.

1. Make sure you have a recent backup
Make sure you have a recent Time Machine backup on the machine you wish to transfer your information from. To check, go to System Preferences (Apple menu) > Time Machine. If you see a recent backup, then you’re set; if not, click “show Time Machine status in the menu bar.” In the resulting menu bar item, click “Back up now.” Time Machine will make a new backup.

2. Make sure you’re not leaving anything behind
In the Time Machine System Preference pane, click the Options button. In the dialog box, you can see all the folders you have chosen not to backup — check these to make sure you really don’t want them. If you do, click the folder and chose the “-” (minus button) at the bottom. Click OK and backtrack to step 1 to create a current backup.

3. Getting the new machine ready
From this point, you can deviate into two directions:

* If your Mac is new: Boot up the new Mac and go through the setup screens. When the setup assistant asks if you want to migrate information from your old Mac, choose “From Time Machine backup or other disk.”
* If your Mac has an existing account, don’t fret. Just open “Migration Assistant” located in /Applications/Utilities.

4. Connecting your Time Machine drive to the new machine
Once you have completed the above step, click continue. Migration Assistant will ask you to specify the backup you would like to transfer to the new machine.

5. Select the account you wish to transfer
You will now be presented with a dialog showing all the accounts that were on the old machine. Select one, two, or all of them, and click continue. If you want more options (such as what to transfer), click the gray disclosure triangle next to the account name. The resulting view will allow you to opt-out of transferring certain folders (i.e. Pictures, Documents, etc.).

6. And you’re done … almost
In the next few dialog boxes, you can opt to transfer Applications or Network Settings. Once you click transfer, your account will be copied in its entirety to your new Mac.

An important note: If you already have an account on the Mac you’re transferring to, the account name cannot be the same as the one you’re transferring. In other words, you can’t copy an account if one exists on the new computer with the same name.