How can I sync Outlook on a locked down computer?

August 30, 2008 8:21 PM

How can I sync home and work Outlook 2003 when I don't have admin rights on the computer at work and even my Outlook profile is hidden from the portable syncing apps I've tried?

I'm using XP Home on the home machine, XP Pro on the work computer, Outlook 2003 on both. I've got a Lexar Lightning Jump Drive on which I keep software that I can use at work, but that I can't install on my work computer. I've tried Easy2Sync, EZOutlookSync, and Dmailer but have had no luck. Dmailer did work for a while until some new patch was installed from the IT department and then the program stopped working. Dmailer's tech support was unable to help me and just said that the program wouldn't work in my situation. None of the above programs can find my Outlook data file at work and I can't find it either when I go digging in hidden folders. The IT department at work will most assuredly not help. Does anyone out there have any ideas to help me sync my calendars, contacts, and notes?

posted by angiep to computers & internet (5 comments total)

Do you have a home computer with outlook? Perhaps you company has rpc over http or webdav enabled. Then you can install your sync toys on your home pc.
posted by damn dirty ape at 8:40 PM on August 30

@ddape: I'm using Outlook 2003 on both my home and work computers. I doubt the company has RPC over HTTP or WebDAV since no remote access at all is allowed. There is no web-based Outlook available, which I've had at other companies. Our IT department is really paranoid.
posted by angiep at 8:57 PM on August 30

You might not actually have an Outlook data file on your workstation.

In any case, this is really a political problem, not a technical one. You really do need to talk to IT, and ask them the right way to do what you want to do (i.e. get to your work mails from home). If they blow you off, talk to your manager.
posted by flabdablet at 9:23 PM on August 30

Thanks, flabdablet. IT has already blown me off. My manager is similarly affected, as is hers, and changing the situation would require intervention from at least company VP level. No one at that level has the time or inclination to take an interest. But you've saved me wasting time continuing to search for some sort of solution.
posted by angiep at 12:13 PM on August 31

If I were working in a corporation with an obstructive and hostile IT department and indifferent upper management, I'd be looking for a new job, and I say that as a professional sysadmin. But if your VPs don't care that workers at your level plus two levels of management above you can't get to their work emails from home, then I guess you don't need to care about looking after their interests outside office hours.

If what you're actually looking for is a personal email facility that you can also access during working hours, there are assorted technical methods to achieve that even without the cooperation of IT. But this, again, is mainly a political problem. If company policy says you're not to use personal email during work hours, and you use technical means to work around any technical enforcement of that policy, you may be risking your employment.

If that's what you want to do, post back and we can start trying out some recipes.
posted by flabdablet at 1:19 AM on September 3