If you are someone who has encountered the frustrating experience of lost mailbox data due to PST file corruption, you know how inconvenient and frustrating this can be. It can disrupt your workflow and cause unnecessary stress and anxiety. Fortunately, there are solutions available to help you recover your valuable data and restore your Outlook mailbox.
Microsoft Outlook relies on a PST file, also known as a Personal Storage Table, to securely store all of your email-related information. This encompasses not only your emails but also your calendars, contacts, and other vital data. When these files become corrupted, it can lead to problems in your mailbox
To assist you in navigating such situations, this comprehensive guide has been designed to provide you with all the necessary information, tools, and strategies required to restore your mailbox to full functionality. By following the steps and recommendations outlined in this guide, you can efficiently address the underlying issues and get your mailbox up and running once more.
There are a number of ways that PST files can become corrupted, this may be due to a hardware failure, software problems, or when your device does not shut down properly and the files are being used. This is something that has happened to me a number of times over the years, luckily there are different things you can try to resolve the issue. Depending on how severe the corruption is, you may need to use specialized recovery software, repair the file using the Inbox Repair Tool (scanpst.exe), or restore a backup copy of the file.
Try and repair your PST file with the inbox repair tool
Microsoft offers an inbox repair tool that can be used to try and repair your PST file and your Outlook mailbox, this is called scanpst.exe and the file is already built into your computer, so you can easily use it to try and repair your PST file.
To use the repair tool on your computer you will need to shut down the Microsoft Outlook application on your device so that the PST file is no longer being used, once this has been done you can try the scanpst.exe file to try and repair the file.
The PST file is located in slightly different locations depending on which version of Microsoft Office you are running, you will need to browse the file locations to find your PST file.
- Outlook 2007: C:Program Files (x86)Microsoft OfficeOffice12
- Outlook 2010: C:Program Files (x86)Microsoft OfficeOffice14
- Outlook 2013: C:Program Files (x86)Microsoft OfficeOffice15
- Outlook 2016: C:Program Files (x86)Microsoft OfficerootOffice16
- Outlook 2019: C:Program Files (x86)Microsoft OfficerootOffice16
Now open the scanpst.exe file on your computer and select browse, you can now select the location of your PST file, once it has been selected choose Start and the scan will start on your device.
It may take some time for the scan of the PST files to complete, it will then alert you of any errors it has found, You will now need to choose Repair and the tool will attempt to repair the OST file. Once it has been completed you can open outlook again and see if it has fixed the issue.
Unfortunately the scanpst.exe tool, despite being a valuable resource, does not always succeed in resolving every error or issue encountered with a corrupted PST file, and it cannot be considered a comprehensive, one-stop solution for all PST file-related problems. This is where more sophisticated tools, such as Stellar Repair for Outlook, prove to be incredibly beneficial.
These advanced utilities possess a higher capacity for addressing and rectifying the majority of PST file issues, ensuring that users can recover their essential data and regain their Outlook inbox and more. By employing such powerful tools, you can effectively tackle a wide range of PST file corruption issues and restore your email communications with greater confidence.
Use an Advanced Inbox repair tool
Having had this issue with PST files multiple times over the years, I have found that one of the best and most comprehensive solutions to use to repair a corrupted PST file is the Stellar Repair For Outlook tool.
The Stellar Repair for Outlook tool has been specifically designed to help you fix any errors and corruption on PST files and help you easily and quickly recover your important data. The tool is designed to help you fix any corrupt PST files, it also works with inaccessible PST files, encrypted PST files, and large PST files.
This is a faster and safer option to use to fix a corrupted PST file than the built-in Microsoft PST repair tool, it is designed to be more comprehensive and comes with a range of features that will help you recover your important emails, contacts, and more.
As well as repairing your PST file it can also be used to export your mail items to a range of formats that include PDF, PST MSG, EML, RTF, HTML, and more. The tool can also be used to export PST to Office 365 or Live Exchange.
The good news is that the Stellar Repair tool for Outlook is available as a free download and this includes a free trial that allows you to scan and preview your recoverable mail items. You can download this great PST recovery tool over at the Stellar website.
Here are the key features of Stellar Repair for Outlook tool:
- Recovers Mailbox from Large PST.
- Recovers Deleted Outlook Mailbox Items.
- Enhanced Preview of the Recoverable Data.
- Fast & Easy Recovery of Outlook PST.
- PST Recovery at Your Pace & Convenience.
- Recover Mailbox Data in Multiple File Formats.
- Save Mailbox Data at a Location of Your Choice.
- Apply Advanced Filters.
- Export PST to Live Exchange. [Technician Edition]
- Export PST to Office 365. [Technician Edition]
- Manage PST files with Outlook Toolkit. [Toolkit Edition]
There are three different versions of the Stellar Repair for Outlook tool, these include Professional, TEchnician and the Toolkit version, price start at $79 for the Professional, $149 for the Technician, and $199 for the Toolkit version.
As we can see from the picture above, the Technician and the Toolkit versions of the Stellar Repair Tool for Outlook come with some extra features over the professional version.
Steps to recover Outlook PST using Stellar Repair
If you are experiencing issues trying to recover data from a corrupted Microsoft Outlook PST file the Stellar Repair for Outlook software offers an easy-to-use user interface and provides a preview of recoverable mail items and can repair encrypted PST files and more. If you are receiving the error message “PST file is not an Outlook Data File” when trying to load data into Outlook, follow the instructions below to recover the PST file using Stellar Repair.
– Technical Requirements to Install the Software
– Supported Operating System: Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, XP
– RAM Required: 2GB Minimum (4 GB recommended)
– Hard Disk: 250 MB of free space
– Supported Outlook Version: MS Outlook 2021, 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, 2003, and earlier versions
1. First browse to the Outlook PST file you would like to recover and the application will identify and list all the available Outlook profiles or allow you to choose manually depending on your preference.
2. Select the PST or OST profile you would like Stellar Repair to recover.
3. Confirm that the selected file is the file and profile that you would like to repair and start the repair process by clicking the “Repair” button.
4. During the repair process, the Stellar Repair software will provide an overview of progress depending on how large your PST file and severity of .pst file corruption. Be patient as the application works through the repair process, as this may take some time.
5. Once scanning is complete, Stellar Repair provides a preview of the repaired folders and items in the left-hand-side panel. Browse and select any repaired messages you would like to preview. Once you have a preview, you can save the scanned Outlook data file information by clicking “Save Scan” located on the icon menu at the top of the screen. You can then use this saved scan to perform recovery at a later date if desired.
6. If you would like to save the repaired PST file, simply choose “Save Repaired File” from the file menu. Select the format you would like to save the PST file options include: PST, MSG, EML, RTF, HTML and PDF.
7. Then select the location where you would like the saved file to be placed on your computer by using the “Browse” button.
8. Stellar Repair will provide a confirmation once it has successfully saved your recovered data in your chosen format.
Conclusion
Should you encounter a problem with your Outlook PST file that prevents you from accessing your email, don’t worry – the selection of helpful tools we’ve compiled in this article can significantly improve your chances of resolving the issue. These utilities are designed to tackle PST file-related problems, allowing you to not only recover your vital emails but also restore important contacts, calendar events, and additional data that may have been compromised due to the file issue. By utilizing these reliable and efficient tools, you can regain access to your crucial email communications and other Outlook data with relative ease. As I mentioned above, having dealt with this issue multiple times, the best solution I have found to get the job done is the Stellar Repair Tool for Outlook.
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