Its *NOT* better to shut down Windows before shutting down Outlook!
I wrote this little blog piece recently, based on a recommendation on a MSDN blog. Here’s the original link…
http://blogs.msdn.com/deva/archive/2008/06/04/outlook-performance-outlook-data-file-pst-or-ost-file-issues.aspx
and, the original quote:
If you see this issue frequently, and you have to exit Outlook shortly before you shut down your computer, it may be better to shut down Windows while Outlook is still running. Also it's recommended that you do this instead of exiting Outlook and then shutting down Windows shortly after that.
Well, I’ve tested this little *ahem* nugget, and it doesn’t work for me. I’ve also (since the post) heard from others who have heard this stated by Microsoft before, who have also tried it. It didn’t work for them, either. In fact, this little “nugget-of-a-tip” may cause your Outlook PST and OST to corrupt quicker and more often. So, it’s a nugget of something, possibly, just not a nugget of a tip. <==Think about that phrase. You’ll get the meaning eventually.
Also, a commenter to my original post said this:
“I have to disagree with this one. I heard this with 2003 and with 2007. We tried with 2007 and it created more corruptions than solutions with our users. We retracted this statement from our users a little while ago.”
Let’s see if we can get the original poster to add a disclaimer to that post, or at least explain it a little more. A nice “do not try this at home” would be great.