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Microsoft Outlook 2000 limits the size of Personal Folders .pst files and offline folders .ost files to 2GB. If a new or changed item increases the size over than limit, you will not be able to use the .pst or .ost file. Even if you delete items from the server mailbox, the .ost file will not synchronize. Beginning with Outlook 2003, larger PST files are supported.

Solution:

Shrinking a file that's over the limit
Outlook has no built-in way to reduce a PST or OST file that has gone over the limit. However, Microsoft provides a tool, PST2GB which you can download to restore the file to operability. Note, however, that the utility truncates the data from between 25 and 50mb and the truncated data is not recoverable. The remaining data under 2GB should be restored. See OL: Oversized PST and OST Crop Tool for more information.

If you want to attempt repairs yourself, use a tool called a hex editor to edit the data in the file directly. Every Windows shareware site has a selection of hex editors. Eugene McCarthy of FAO Headquarters in Rome recommends the free iHex editor, which loads only 64kb of the file at a time, making it ideal for tinkering with extremely large PST files.

Make a backup of your PST or OST, then open the original file with the hex editor (available for download from any Windows shareware site). You'll want to remove a few characters from the middle of the file, then save it and try to run the Inbox Repair Tool (Scanpst.exe) to repair the damage you did with the hex editor. If Scanpst can repair the file, you should be able to open it Outlook again. If not, try removing some additional characters from the file.

If this process works, with any luck, you'll lose only one or two items. You may be able to recover 100% of the data by repeating the process with a new copy of the file, but removing the data from a different area.

Preventing PST files from growing too large
Microsoft Office XP Service Pack 1 provides better protection against Personal Folders .pst and offline folders .ost file growing past the 2GB size limit. Once an PST or OST file reaches 1.82GB, users with SP1 will not be able to add new items. See:

OFFXP Mail Delivery to Inbox Stops When the Personal Folder or Offline Folder Is Full
OL2002 Error Message Copying File to PST That Exceeds 1.82 GB

Office 2000 Service Release 1/1a updates Outlook 2000 so that you cannot add more data as the PST or OST size approaches 2GB; this prevents corruption, but the user gets no warning.

URLs:
PST2GB:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=B33B1DFF-6F50-411D-BBDF-82019DDA602E&displaylang=en

E-mail delivery stops when the personal folder or the offline folder is full:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=304863

OL2002: Error Message When You Copy a File to a PST That Exceeds 1.82 GB:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=305108

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