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Tired of incessant PST corruptions in your Outlook program? This piece’s for you! In this tutorial, we’ll be showing you the best ways to resolve the challenges with corrupt or inaccessible Outlook PST file.
Outlook remains one of the most efficient mailing platforms around. In fact, it’s the primary mailing platform for Windows PC users. One obvious blemish on Outlook’s reputation is the issue of corruption of PST corruption. This constitutes one of the main challenges faced by an average Outlook user. And while there is a simple solution to resolve these challenges in-app, it’s often times inefficient. Hence, in most cases, the service of an advanced third-party solution is required – to resolve these challenges.
Anyway, this tutorial will show you the best ways to resolve issues of corrupt and inaccessible PST file in Outlook 2019, 2016, 2013 and 2010. Read on!
| Solution: To fix the challenges related to corrupt and inaccessible PST file, try free demo of the experts’ recommended Outlook PST File Repair Tool to Recover for an instant result. |
What makes a PST file corrupt or inaccessible?
Outlook PST files are relatively fragile and highly prone to corruption, compared to other mailing platforms. In fact, a minor system glitch can corrupt PST files and render them inaccessible. This explains the reason for the “first line” repair – ScanPST – on offer.
Interestingly, these issues are encountered across all Outlook versions, from the old Outlook 2000 to the latest Outlook 2019. And the causes of these corruptions are also uniform, barring one or two version-specific exceptions.
Anyway, below are the most notorious causes of corruption in Outlook:
- Malicious attacks; corruption is imminent in the event of a virus or malware attack.
- System error; especially those associated with storage (hard disk).
- Overstretched (oversized) PST.
- Outlook upgrade (from an older version to the latest version)
- And more.
Typically, a corrupt PST file is rendered inaccessible, as its contents become blanked out from view. Hence, to facilitate recovery, the file first needs to be repaired. And there is an “Inbox Repair Tool” designed just for that.
How to repair corrupt or inaccessible Outlook PST file using the Inbox Repair Tool
The “first line of action”, to repair corruptions in Outlook is via the Inbox Repair Tool (ScanPST.exe). However, while the procedure to deploy this tool is uniform across board, the tool’s location in each version differs. Hence, due references would be made to certain versions in this section.
Repair in Outlook 2019 / 2016
To repair corrupt PST file in Outlook 2019 and Outlook 2016, follow the guidelines below:
- Locate “ScanPST.exe”
- Navigate to “C:\Program Files(x86)Microsoft OfficerootOffice16” (Outlook 2016) or “C:\Program Files (x86) ?Microsoft OfficerootOffice19” (Outlook 2019).
- Once you’ve located the tool, double-click on it – to open it.
- “Browse” through, to find and select the corrupt PST file.
- Afterwards, click the “Start” icon in the next window. The repair process will start running.
- After the repair, launch your Outlook program.
- Sign in with the appropriate account.
- Create another PST and move the recovered file from “Lost and Found” to the newly created PST.
Repair in Outlook 2013 / 2010
The “PST repair procedure” in Outlook 2013 and 2010 is very much the same as that of Outlook 2016/2019. However, as pointed out earlier, the location (file path) of the repair tool differs.
To locate ScanPST.exe and repair corrupt files in Outlook 2013/2010, follow the steps below:
- Locate the Inbox Repair Tool in the “C:” directory: go to “”C:\Program Files(x86)\Microsoft Office15\rootoffice15” (Outlook 2013) or “C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office(x86)\Office14” (Outlook 2010).
- Launch the tool.
- Find the PST file to repair.
- And finish up – as described in the last four steps above.
Repair in Outlook 2007
To repair a corrupt or inaccessible Outlook PST file in Outlook 2007, follow the guidelines below:
- Find the repair tool (ScanPST.exe) in your local drive: go to “C:\Program Files(x86)\Microsoft Office\Office12”.
- Open the repair tool and repair the corrupt PST file as described above.
The best way to resolve the challenges with corrupt or inaccessible Outlook PST file
The best method to repair corrupt or inaccessible Outlook PST file, irrespective of the version, is by using a standard repair program like Stellar Repair for Outlook.
Stellar Repair for Outlook is a popular repair tool, widely used for fixing various forms and degrees of corruptions in Outlook. And its wide applicability, across all Outlook versions (from Outlook 2019 to Outlook 2000), makes it stand out.
Furthermore, the tool hosts a standard decryption module; for repairing and recovering encrypted (and inaccessible) PST files. The tool is also quite easy to deploy, and the procedure is the same across all Outlook versions.
To repair corrupt or inaccessible Outlook PST file using Stellar Repair for Outlook, follow the guidelines below:
- Get the PST repair program from the Stellar’s official webpage.
- After installation, open it on your device.
- In the home window, go to Select PST File for Repair tab.
- Click on Browse and select the corrupt PST file you wish to repair. You can also search for the PST file using the Find option.
- Proceed to repair the file, by clicking on the Repair option.
- After a few seconds, when the repair is complete, go back to the Home menu.
- Click on the Save Repaired File option.
- Choose a format option in the Save options prompt; select one of “PST, EML, PDF, MSG, HTML or RTF”.
- Click on the Browse icon to proceed.
- Go to the location where you wish to save the repaired file, and save the file there.
- Now, go back and open your Outlook program.
- Sign in with the account/profile associated with the newly repaired PST file.
- Recover the repaired file.
Note: Stellar Repair for Outlook is available on free trial. Hence, you can easily use it for free, few times before expiration of the trial period. Subsequently, after the trial period, you’d have to purchase a licensed edition, which starts at $99.
Conclusion
The issue of PST corruption is one that has become a universal problem in all Outlook versions. Hence, as a typical Outlook user, it’d be proactive to have Stellar Repair for Outlook installed on your device; you’d be needing it sooner or later, when (not if) the Inbox Repair Tool fails.
Essentially, the tool stands out as the best solution to resolve the challenges with corrupt or inaccessible Outlook PST file.
