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.

Although Intel Macs can run Windows 7 in Boot Camp, for most users, the easiest and most hassle-free method will be to use virtualization. This way, you can test out all the features of Windows 7, without having to dual-boot. The big pitfall for virtualization: gaming and HD-video playback, are less an issue in Windows 7 because those areas are still being tweaked and aren’t ready for prime time anyway.

The three big players out there for virtualization on the Mac are:

* VMWare Fusion
* Parallels Desktop
* Sun’s VirtualBox

I’ve installed Windows 7 in the latest version of each program and tweaked the settings to get the best results.

Here are some overall settings to keep in mind:

* You’ll want to dedicate at least 1 GB of RAM to Windows 7 Beta
* For best performance on your Mac, it helps to have at least 2 GB of RAM dedicated to OS X, so that puts total RAM in the 3 GB and up range.
* Reserve about 40 GB of HD space for your virtual machine installation. If you don’t have the space on an internal drive, you can use an external drive without a problem (that’s what I do)
* Disable 3-D graphics support, as it really isn’t working in any of the virtualization programs right now and can be buggy

VMWare Fusion 2.0

VMWare Fusion doesn’t officially support Windows 7. But it installs just fine — even in Unity mode! Note, I used VMWare Fusion 2.0.1, but I’ve read reports that VMWare Fusion 1.1.3 works with Windows 7 as well. Unity might not work correctly, but everything else should be OK. Upgrading to 2.0 is free for 1.0 customers, so if you haven’t already upgraded, you might want to take the plunge. Fusion 2.0 has some great features and it really is worth the upgrade.

Tips and Tricks:

* Remember to use Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 64-bit as the OS of choice. Easy Install works just fine as long as Windows Server 2008 is what you pick.
* Disable shared folders. There is currently a permissions issue so it’s just best to disable it. This means mirrored folders won’t work and shared applications might be buggy.
* Again, disable 3D graphics because this causes some conflicts with certain DirectX appications

Additional thoughts:

* VMWare Fusion 2.0 was the only program that performed a true “auto-install.” This means you insert the activation code in a dialog box before the installation begins and everything is pre-configured, so you can actually just step away for a few minutes and come back to a Windows 7 virtual machine.
* This also means it automatically installs VMWare Tools, which while not specifically designed for Windows 7, do stuff like enable audio and video drivers so you can resize the screen at ease, use Unity and listen to music.
* Performance was solid, but more akin to running Vista rather than running XP.
* Unity mode works, but can slow down the system. If you don’t have at least 4 GB of RAM, use Windowed mode instead.

Parallels 4.0

The latest 4.0.3810 (released today) will automatically recognize and configure Windows 7. Previous Paralells 4 builds do work with Windows 7, but the new version supports Coherence Mode and performed better in my tests.

Additional Thoughts:

* Remember to install your Parallels Tools. Both in the previous 4.0 release and in 4.0.3810, the Parallels Tools installation hung and needed to be aborted. However, in both cases, after restarting the virtual machine (which coincided with the installation of the latest Windows 7 updates), the Tools were installed and working properly.
* The latest version supports Coherence and was pretty zippy.
* The auto-configuration of the VM was also a nice touch, though you still need to manually go through the entire Windows 7 installation. In my tests, the latest build of Parallels 4 had the best performance with Windows 7 on my machine.
* All forum accounts say that Windows 7 will NOT run well under Parallels 3.0

VirtualBox 2.1.2

VirtualBox is favorite for several of my fellow-Download Squad bloggers because it is free and is becoming fairly robust. The latest build, 2.1.2, even supports Windows 7 as a guest OS out of the gate.

Tips and Tricks:

* Remember to allocate 1 GB of memory to Windows 7. VirtualBox defaults to 512, but that really isn’t enough.
* Additionally, VirtualBox recommends 20 GB of space for the virtual machine but 40 is really better. You can create an expanding drive, so only what you use now is taken up, but let the system have some room to breathe.

Additional thoughts:

* The virtual machine creation process isn’t as streamlined as Fusion or Parallels. I’m not saying it is hard to figure out, it’s just clunky.
* By default, audio and USB support are disabled. After you install Windows 7, you’ll need to manually enable them in VirtualBox’s settings.
* Despite support for guest tools (VirtualBox’s version of Parallels or VMWare Tools), resizing Windows 7’s window is still a bit slower than the other two programs.
* Overall performance was a bit lower in VirtualBox than the other two programs, at least in my tests.

VirtualBox does have a Seamless mode, I just checked it and it works. Not as slick as the other two programs, but it exists! Thanks!

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.