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Microsoft Outlook is one of the preferred email clients due to its accessibility, shareability, enhanced security, and productivity features. When Outlook is configured using a POP account, it creates a PST file. This PST(Personal Storage Table) file stores all user mailbox information like emails, contacts, notes, journals, attachments, calendars, etc.
The Outlook PST file sometimes gets inaccessible due to corruption, and communication comes to a halt. There could be any reason for corruption, repairing the Outlook PST file must be the first task to perform to get back access to emails. Let us discuss why the PST file gets damaged and how to repair Outlook PST file in detail.
Common Reasons for Outlook PST File Corruption
There can be any reason for PST file corruption, like the large size of the PST file or incompatible Add-Ins. Here in this section, we have listed a few common reasons that lead to a corrupt Outlook PST file.
- File Size Restrictions: The maximum file size for a PST file is 50GB in newer versions of MS Outlook. When the PST file size reaches near that limit user may notice frequent Outlook crashes and the PST file getting corrupt.
- Improper Shutdown: The Outlook PST file gets corrupted when the system shuts down abruptly while the Outlook application is still open.
- Hardware Problems: If the hard drive where the Outlook PST file is saved has some bad sectors, it will damage the PST file as well.
- Virus Attacks: Virus and malware attacks are the most common reasons for damaging the healthy and running PST file.
- Network Problems: If the PST file is saved on a network drive and the connection fails, the file might get corrupted.
How to Repair PST file in Outlook?
To repair the PST file, Outlook provides an inbuilt tool called Scanpst.exe(Inbox Repair Tool) that can repair the PST file. It works fine when there are minor issues with a PST file, but for a severely corrupted PST file use of a professional solution is suggested. Let us learn both methods to repair the Outlook data file.
Step 1: Use the Inbox Repair tool (Scanpst.exe)
Scanpst.exe is a built-in tool from Microsoft that can scan and fix corrupted Outlook data files. The purpose of this Outlook PST repair tool is to solve basic issues in your (.pst) file. Inbox Repair Tool is located on the user’s system; the location depends on the version of Windows and MS Outlook installed. The common location to look for Inbox Repair Tool is
Outlook 2016/2019/Office 365 :
- For 64 Bit Windows: C:\Program Files(x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Office16
- For 32 Bit Windows: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Office16
Outlook 2013
- For 64 Bit Windows: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office 15\root\office15
- For 32 Bit Windows: C:\Program Files(x86)\Microsoft Office 15\root\office15
Steps to Repair PST File in Outlook
- Open the Scanpst.exe utility.
- Locate the PST file, click Start.
- The next window will show the report. Click on the Repair button.
- Click Ok when the process completes.
Step 2. Create a New PST File and Import Old Data
After repairing the damaged PST file with Scanpst if some folders are empty, they might be available in Outlook’s Lost & Found folder. In such a scenario, the user has to create a new PST file and drag folders to the newly created PST file.
- Open Outlook, click File.
- Under File > Open & Export, choose Import/Export.
- Choose PST after selecting “Import from another program or file”.
- Examine the corrupted file and import information into the new one.
Automated Tool to Repair PST File
The manual methods to repair a corrupt PST file help to recover PST file from minor damage. Also, you need to run Scanpst.exe three to four times before removing every error from it. However, even after following the manual methods with utmost care, there is no guarantee of full data recovery. A severely damaged PST file requires a more powerful tool like BLR PST Repair Tool to scan the PST file and restore it to a healthy PST file. This pst repair tool can instantly recover emails, contacts, calendars, notes etc. from a damaged Outlook PST file.
Prominent Features of BLR PST Repair Tool
The features that make a professional tool a better choice than manual solutions are:
- Supports repairing large PST files with any degree of corruption.
- Repair a password-protected PST file.
- Get back the original folder structure and email properties.
- After repairing the PST file, it supports saving PST to Office 365, Gmail, etc.
- The user can use filter options to save only the desired items from PST file.
Conclusion
Outlook PST files can get damaged or inaccessible due to several reasons, as stated in the article above. But with the right approach, we can repair PST file in Outlook and get back access to emails and other user data. The manual methods shared help to repair PST file with little damage. For a severely corrupted PST file, it is suggested to take the help of a professional tool to avoid data loss.
