[Technology] Microsoft Outlook Hotmail storage

[mile oak]

I thought I would reach out to the experts if you don't mind. Outlook Hotmail account (the free version) was filling up. Looked genuine as stuff not cleared out for years. Cleared old stiff out mostly photos and videos that consumed a lot of storage and got the storage down under 100% so email flowed in and out. Purchased more storage and yet despite a culling of stacks of email (and deleting junk and the bin folders) the percentage and storage amount is creeping up. Now I'm aware Microsoft have you over a barrel because the cloud interacts and I believe other Microsoft applications but not to the extent it keeps increasing storage use. Any ideas please folks? Password altered, Norton not reporting any issues. I know Microsoft is trying to get people to buy the add-ons but it surely shouldn't be at the extent stuff is deleted but the usage still creeps up a little bit. THANKS

 

[nicko31]

They want you on Microsoft 365.

 

[beorhthelm]

check deleted items really are deleted, not just sitting in the delete folder.

 

[mile oak]

check deleted items really are deleted, not just sitting in the delete folder.

Yes thanks some need 30 days I believe until fully deleted as you can recall them.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

I thought you could delete items in the delete box manually and permanently, and not have to wait for the auto destruct after 30 days

 

[Blinkers]

Don’t forget the ‘Sent’ folder. Get rid of anything that you no longer need from there too. The emails there, plus any attachments, use up your storage quota. Originals of attachments will be unaffected, you won’t lose those. Ignore me if you have already tied up the Sent folder.

 

[Wozza]

Got auto backup on photos (from mobile)?

 

[AZ Gull]

Don’t forget the ‘Sent’ folder. Get rid of anything that you no longer need from there too. The emails there, plus any attachments, use up your storage quota. Originals of attachments will be unaffected, you won’t lose those. Ignore me if you have already tied up the Sent folder.

I wholeheartedly second this.

I had the same warnings about a month or so ago about running out of storage space - emptied my sent folder and my storage usage is now only about 5%.

 

[GT49er]

I thought I would reach out to the experts if you don't mind. Outlook Hotmail account (the free version) was filling up. Looked genuine as stuff not cleared out for years. Cleared old stiff out mostly photos and videos that consumed a lot of storage and got the storage down under 100% so email flowed in and out. Purchased more storage and yet despite a culling of stacks of email (and deleting junk and the bin folders) the percentage and storage amount is creeping up. Now I'm aware Microsoft have you over a barrel because the cloud interacts and I believe other Microsoft applications but not to the extent it keeps increasing storage use. Any ideas please folks? Password altered, Norton not reporting any issues. I know Microsoft is trying to get people to buy the add-ons but it surely shouldn't be at the extent stuff is deleted but the usage still creeps up a little bit. THANKS

Same problem here. Microsoft hotmail eventually decided to stop allowing to send or receive emails just while I was trying to sort my brother's funeral and affairs. Paid the £60 quid they demanded. Not at all sure that's any more than a temporary solution - they still seem to be sending messages that my memory is getting near to full.

 

[mile oak]

I may have solved my own issue here but I'm making a note in case it helps others too. I went from 20.6GB storage used to 1.9Gb by stopping one drive syncing (or what I call sinking my storage!) you can do this for periods of time up to 24 hours. Not sure if it can be done permanently but at least 24 hours buys me time for now.

 

[Blinkers]

I may have solved my own issue here but I'm making a note in case it helps others too. I went from 20.6GB storage used to 1.9Gb by stopping one drive syncing (or what I call sinking my storage!) you can do this for periods of time up to 24 hours. Not sure if it can be done permanently but at least 24 hours buys me time for now.

Ah, now, this is different from Outlook. This is the syncing of your profile folders (‘My document’, ‘My Photos’, ‘My Videos’, etc.) to OneDrive. I can’t remember off the top of my head where the settings for which folders to sync are. Have a look at this link. Choose what you want to sync.

How to access OneDrive settings - Microsoft Support

Learn how to access OneDrive settings and pause features with the OneDrive Activity Center.

support.microsoft.com

 

[HeaviestTed]

I wholeheartedly second this.

I had the same warnings about a month or so ago about running out of storage space - emptied my sent folder and my storage usage is now only about 5%.

Were all those sent messages sent from your iphon?

 

[Shropshire Seagull]

Use data (.pst) files to move messages out of your mailbox that you want/need to keep. These are like a folder you create and then just drag n drop messages out of your mailbox.
Inbox should only really hold messages you need to do something with (awaiting action).

Some of my pst files are 5+GB in size but my outlook mailbox is always less than 2 GB.

I don't like using cloud storage, I have a 5TB portable USB drive for all my backups and use synchredible to manage auto backing up.

Try to adopt the 4 "D"s approach with ALL inbox and sent messages: deal (reply or file), delegate (forward and delete), delete (read and noted), defer (do one of the other 3 in the very near future). Sent items should really only be messages you are actively awaiting a response to (a reminder to chase), otherwise file or delete.

 

[Official Old Man]

Can I hijack this for some advice please.
1000's of pictures and videos stored on my laptop and other storage devices plus Amazon and Dropbox. I know many are duplicated.
Is there a free software that grabs all these files, compares them so I keep just one of everything, and can save to my backup drive?

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Never

Don’t forget the ‘Sent’ folder. Get rid of anything that you no longer need from there too. The emails there, plus any attachments, use up your storage quota. Originals of attachments will be unaffected, you won’t lose those. Ignore me if you have already tied up the Sent folder.

Anything of any possible future value move to the 'Saved' folder. Everything else can go

 

[mile oak]

Use data (.pst) files to move messages out of your mailbox that you want/need to keep. These are like a folder you create and then just drag n drop messages out of your mailbox.
Inbox should only really hold messages you need to do something with (awaiting action).

Some of my pst files are 5+GB in size but my outlook mailbox is always less than 2 GB.

I don't like using cloud storage, I have a 5TB portable USB drive for all my backups and use synchredible to manage auto backing up.

Try to adopt the 4 "D"s approach with ALL inbox and sent messages: deal (reply or file), delegate (forward and delete), delete (read and noted), defer (do one of the other 3 in the very near future). Sent items should really only be messages you are actively awaiting a response to (a reminder to chase), otherwise file or delete.

YE

Ah, now, this is different from Outlook. This is the syncing of your profile folders (‘My document’, ‘My Photos’, ‘My Videos’, etc.) to OneDrive. I can’t remember off the top of my head where the settings for which folders to sync are. Have a look at this link. Choose what you want to sync.

How to access OneDrive settings - Microsoft Support

Learn how to access OneDrive settings and pause features with the OneDrive Activity Center.

support.microsoft.com

Greatly appreciate this thanks. I have unlinked OneDrive from my Computer. I back important stuff up onto a hard drive and can send myself an email too if its required to be saved, important stuff etc. It's the world we live in I think where everything is automatic and thought of for you. I prefer to have control over what I'm doing hence I will never drive an automatic car even though I can see at times advantages there.

This is what Microsoft says:

"What happens when you unlink OneDrive from your computer?

Unlinking OneDrive from your computer , this action will not lose your data, your local folders are just disconnected from the cloud. But if your data is particularly important, it is worth backing it up from local OneDrive folder (C:\Users<user name>\OneDrive) before unlinking, just in case.9"

 

[AZ Gull]

Were all those sent messages sent from your iphon?

Very few.