Contents
There are several ways you can repair and recover Outlook PST files. The PST files are prone to corruption. You need to perform operations to prevent these files from damaging. Before performing any repairing procedure, you need to know about the basic features of Outlook.
MS Outlook is an advanced email provider that manages multiple email accounts. It offers several features like a calendar, notes, contacts, etc. It also stores the email data in a computer hard drive as pst files. These files help in restoring the complete mailbox data in case of file corruption or unintentional data loss.
However, what if the PST files get damaged? You will not be able to open any mail in the Outlook mailbox. Therefore, you need to repair them first. Before jumping on how to repair and recover Outlook PST files, we need to know its reasons.
Why Outlook PST Files Get Corrupted?
Most Outlook users have encountered damage to PST files. These files are quite vulnerable and get damaged easily. There are several reasons for their corruption, but some issues are common in most cases. They are listed below:
- The PST files are corrupted due to a virus attack. Viruses damage the content and corrupt the files. So, they make the file unfit to read, and Outlook becomes unable to open it. The best possible solution to get rid of viruses is using suitable anti-virus software.
- If the PST file gets stored in a damaged partition of the hard disk, it will most likely get corrupted. Here, the PST files get damaged due to hardware failure. Another hardware issue is network device failure that makes the system unable to retrieve data from the server.
- The PST files also get corrupted due to software-related issues. These issues include inappropriate data recovery, software lagging, improper windows shut down, etc. Sometimes the data recovery tool also damages the file during Outlook PST recovery.
- If Outlook is closed improperly, the PST files get corrupted because the changes are not saved in these files. So, it is mandatory to shut down the Outlook Window properly for healthy PST files.
You can prevent PST file corruption by eliminating the above causes. However, if the PST files have already got corrupted, you can implement several methods to repair and recover Outlook PST files.
Methods to Repair PST Files
MS Outlook is an advanced email client that offers various features. However, its PST files get damaged easily. There are two ways to fix this issue. One way is using the manual method. And, the other way is by using software to repair files.
Repair and Recover Outlook PST Files using the Inbox Repair Tool
Outlook comes with an inbuilt tool to repair and recover Outlook PST files named the Inbox repair tool. This tool is a PST repair tool that can repair minor corruption. It is in the root directory of MS Outlook. It is also known as the SCANPST file.
Follow the steps below to repair the corrupted PST files using the Inbox Repair Tool:
- Close the Outlook and find the exe. Its location depends upon the version of the Outlook software you are using.
- Outlook 2019: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Office16
- Outlook 2016: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Office16
- Outlook 2013: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office15
- Outlook 2010: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14
- Outlook 2007: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office12
- Open scanpst.exe and search the PST files you want to repair.
- Click on the Start button to begin the scanning process.
- If files get corrupted, click on the Repair button to fix the issue.
The above method is suitable to fix corrupt PST files. It can not repair PST files corrupted heavily. So, in such a case, the best solution is to use third-party software. Outlook PST Repair Tool is an advanced PST recovery software to recover PST files corrupted heavily. It is more effective than the inbuilt Inbox Repair Tool.
Conclusion
MS Outlook stores the mailbox data in the system as PST files. These files are prone to corruption. So, Outlook provides a PST repair tool known as the Inbox Repair Tool. It is inbuilt software that comes with every version of Outlook and can repair corrupted PST files. But, it can only fix minor issues. So, software specially designed to repair and recover Outlook PST files will be an ideal solution. It is an easy and effective alternative to the Inbox Repair Tool.
