[redleader74]

I've encountered a strange phenomenon on my Windows 7 computer that I can't figure out.  I'm posting it here because it appears to be Windows 7 related.  I also have Microsoft Outlook 2010 installed.  The problem can be described as follows:

 

I recently used Outlook 2010 to read e-mails off of .pst files that reside on an external USB hard drive.  After finishing I disconnected the external drive.  However, I later went to use the Windows search feature (i.e., the search window that you access from the Start button) to look up some unrelated files (word documents, pdf's, etc.), and I see all the e-mails I've read off of that external drive show up in the search results (those that were related to the search terms I was entering).  Of course, I can't open them (because the physical e-mail file does not exist on the local machine), but I can see the title and preview of e-mail. 

 

How is this possible?  Did Windows 7 make a "temp" copy of those e-mails somewhere on the local machine? If so, where is it?  I've already used CC cleaner to delete all temp files but these e-mails keep showing up in the search return.  This is a bit disconcerting because I don't want those e-mails nor any trace of those e-mails to appear on the local machine.  See attached graphic for what I'm talking about.

 

Any help is much appreciated.  Thanks!

Attached Thumbnails

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Hi redleader74,

You can stop Windows from indexing your Outlook emails in the Indexing Options.

 

Click on Start then type Indexing Options and press enter

From there click on Modify and that will open up the Indexed Locations box

 

In that box you can uncheck Outlook, then click Ok and then finally click on Close.

 

I think you have to reboot, but it probably wouldn't hurt to do so.

 

 

[Crowbar]

Hi redleader74,

You can stop Windows from indexing your Outlook emails in the Indexing Options.

 

Click on Start then type Indexing Options and press enter

From there click on Modify and that will open up the Indexed Locations box

 

In that box you can uncheck Outlook, then click Ok and then finally click on Close.

 

I think you have to reboot, but it probably wouldn't hurt to do so.

 

 

[redleader74]

_{Thanks Crowbar,}

 

Is that to say that whenever Outlook (or Windows) "indexes" something, be it files, e-mails, etc., that it stores some part of it (perhaps not the entire file) on the local machine?

 

Thanks.

[Crowbar]

Yes, I believe it's database sort of.

Maybe cached is a better term.  I am not sure exactly how the mechanism works, but I do know how to stop the indexing