How to Fix the “Outlook Folders Disappeared” Issue?

Microsoft Outlook stores incoming emails in the Inbox folder and outgoing emails in the Sent Items folder. Similarly, there are other folders that user may create to manage their emails. For instance, Outlook users often create folders by the name of the email sender. So, any email sent by a particular email address is moved to a particular folder. These mail folders and mail items are stored in a local Outlook data file, such as a Personal Storage Table (PST) or Personal Folder file on the local storage. However, if you can’t find an important mail folder in your Outlook or have no idea where the mail folder disappeared, you can follow the troubleshooting methods and solutions discussed below.

Reasons for Outlook Folders Disappeared Issue

The mail folders in Outlook may disappear due to several reasons, such as:

• Accidental deletion
• Faulty or incompatible add-ins
• Corrupt Outlook profile
• Corrupt or damaged Outlook data file (PST)
• Folders are hidden

Solutions to Troubleshoot and Fix Outlook Folders Disappeared Issue

Follow the below solutions in the given sequence to effectively troubleshoot the missing or disappearing folders issue in Outlook 2021, 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, and 2007.

1. Reset the View Settings

Sometimes, the folders may disappear or appear empty even though all mail folders and mail items are intact. This happens when there is an issue with the view settings. You can reset the view settings by following these steps:

1. Close Outlook.
2. Press the Windows + R keys, type outlook.exe /cleanviews, and click OK or Enter.

3. This will reset the views in Outlook.

Alternatively, you can follow the below steps to reset the view settings:

1. In Outlook, go to the View tab.
2. In the Current View section, click Reset View.

3. If a prompt appears, click Yes.

After this, check the folder pane. If the folder pane is not visible,

1. Go to the View tab.
2. Click Folder Pane and select Normal.

If you still can’t find the disappeared folder in Outlook, follow the next solution.

2. Check Hidden Items

It might happen that the folder that disappeared from Outlook is hidden. To make the hidden folders visible, follow these steps:

1. Open Outlook and click View.
2. Then, click the Folder Pane.

3. Choose Normal.
4. Then, click Folder Pane > Options.

5. Arrange the view by moving Folders to the top using the Move Up button and click OK to save the changes.

3. Subscribe or Re-sync the Folders

If you are not seeing some mail folders in Outlook, there are chances that you have unsubscribed or the subscription to a specific folder has been reset or removed. In such a case, you can check and subscribe to the folder again. Then, go to the Send/Receive tab in Outlook and click Update Folder.

4. Check the Deleted Items Folder

Deleted mail items and folders are first moved into the Deleted Items or Trash folder. So, if you can’t find a specific mail folder in Outlook, you should look into the Deleted Items or Trash folder in your Outlook.

1. Click on the Deleted Items or Trash folder.
2. If the folder is located or found, right-click on the folder, choose Move, and then click Other Folder.
3. From the list of folders, choose the main folder where the folder was earlier located and click OK.

4. This should restore the disappeared folder in Outlook.

5. Restore from the Server

If the disappeared mail folder is not found in the Deleted Items or Trash folder, then it may be permanently deleted or removed from the Deleted Items or Trash after the retention period (30 days by default). Follow these steps to recover the disappeared mail folder in Outlook from the mail server:

1. Open Outlook.
2. Click Folder and then click Recover Deleted Items.

3. If not found, click Home and then click Recover Deleted Items from Server.

4. From the available deleted items, find and choose the disappeared mail folder.

5. Click the Restore Selected Items radio button and then click OK.

This should restore the missing or disappeared folder in Outlook.

6. Repair Corrupt Outlook Data File (PST)

In case the issue is still not resolved, then you can try to repair the PST file using the Inbox Repair Tool. The tool helps fix errors and inconsistencies in the PST file which could be the reason why you are not able to access or view the folder(s) in the Outlook client.

The steps are as follows:

Note: The Inbox Repair tool or SCANPST.EXE is located in the Microsoft Office installation directory.

• Find and double-click on the SCANPST.EXE to launch it.
• Click Browse and select the PST file, which is located in the %localappdata%/Microsoft/Outlook folder.
• Then, click Start. The tool will scan the PST for errors and inconsistencies and display a message if found.
• Click Repair.

• The tool will start repairing the PST file. During the process, the tool may remove bad email items. This can lead to some data loss (loss of mail items that are deemed bad by the tool). However, the tool creates a backup of the original PST file with the .bak extension.
• The tool may take a while to finish the repair process based on the level of damage.
• After the repair, start Outlook.

In case the SCANPST.EXE crashes, stops responding, or fails to fix the PST file, you can use an advanced Outlook repair tool, such as Stellar Repair for Outlook. The tool scans the PST file and then lists all the mail items. You can use the search feature to find the disappeared folder and then save the folder to a new PST file. Later, you can import this PST file into your Outlook profile and restore the disappeared mail folder. Unlike SCANPST, this tool is capable of repairing severely corrupt, large (50 GB), encrypted, or inaccessible PST files with complete integrity and precision.

Conclusion

If you can’t find a folder in Outlook, then follow the solutions given in this guide to troubleshoot the issue and restore the missing mail folder. When manual solutions do not help and SCANPST fails to fix the PST file damage or corruption, you can rely on an advanced Outlook repair software, i.e., Stellar Repair for Outlook. With the help of this software, you can effectively repair any PST file irrespective of level of damage, corruption, or size and restore deleted emails and mail folders to a new PST, which you can import into any Outlook account.