We use cookies on this website. By using this site, you agree that we may store and access cookies on your device Read More Got it!
Outlook PST File 6 minute read

3 Steps to Run Best Free PST Repair Software in MS Outlook

Eric Simson
Written By
Eric Simson
Kuljeet Singh
Approved By
Kuljeet Singh
Updated on
February 2nd, 2021

Summary: This guide helps you repair PST file by using best free PST repair software that is MSOutlook’s own utility Inbox Repair tool (ScanPST.exe) from Microsoft. It also discusses an alternative to ScanPST.exe tool to repair PST file when it fails to fix an encrypted, corrupt or large Outlook PST file. Download the free demo version of Stellar Repair for Outlook software to repair your corrupt Outlook PST file and preview the recoverable file data.

free Download stellar repair for outlook

ScanPST.exe is a free PST repair tool that helps you repair a corrupt or inaccessible PST file in Windows. Also known as Outlook Inbox Repair Tool, Microsoft’s ScanPST.exe tool is installed by default during the installation of MS Office with Outlook 2010 or later.

How to Repair your PST file for Free?

Outlook inbox repair tool is used as a first-aid to fix problems with the Outlook data files (.ost or .pst). And in this guide, we will show you how to find and run the free PST repair tool (ScanPST.exe) to repair Outlook PST file in three simple steps:

  • Locate and launch the PST file repair tool
  • Find and repair the corrupt PST file  
  • Save repaired PST file data to a new PST file

Steps to Run Free PST Repair Tool (ScanPST.exe)

Outlook repair tool can help you fix following errors in Outlook 2019, 2016, 2013, and 2010, which might appear while accessing the Outlook account or importing the corrupt PST file to Outlook

  1. Cannot start Microsoft Outlook. Cannot open the Outlook Window
Outlook Error: Cannot start Microsoft Outlook. Cannot open the Outlook Window

2. The file c:\….\xxx.pst is not an Outlook data file (.pst)

Outlook Error: The file c:\....\xxx.pst is not an Outlook data file (.pst)

3. Something is wrong with one of your data files and Outlook needs to close

Outlook Error: Something is wrong with one of your data files and Outlook needs to close

These errors are usually a result of corrupt or damaged PST file.

To run and use Inbox Repair tool (ScanPST.exe) for PST file Repair, follow these steps,

Step 1:  Launch the Outlook Inbox Repair Tool

To start the Inbox Repair Tool, you need to locate it first. The location of PST repair tool, i.e. ScanPST.exe, varies based on the Outlook and Windows version installed on the system. Following are the default locations, based on Outlook version, where you can find and launch the PST repair tool.

  • In Outlook 2019,
    • 32-bit Windows: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office19\
    • 64-bit Outlook: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office19\
  • In Outlook 2016,
    • 32-bit Windows: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office16\
    • 64-bit Outlook: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\
  • In Outlook 2013,
    • 32-bit Windows: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office15\
    • 64-bit Outlook: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office15\
  • In Outlook 2010,
    • 32-bit Windows: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\
    • 64-bit Outlook: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\

Once you have located the SCANPST.EXE file, right-click on it and choose ‘Run as administrator’.

location of scanpst.exe

Read Stellar Repair for Outlook Review on IBTimes.com by Administrators. 

Step 2: Repair the PST File

After launching the Inbox Repair Tool, click ‘Browse’ to select the corrupt Personal Folder file, i.e. PST file.

Browse PST File

The default location of PST file in Outlook 2010 is

C:\users\YourUserName\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\

If you are using Outlook 2013 or later, the location is

C:\users\YourUserName\Documents\Outlook Files\

Alternatively, you may go to,

  • File>Info>Account Settings and click ‘Account Settings’
Go to File>Info>Account Settings and click Account Settings

Click ‘Data Files’, select the PST file you want to locate and then click ‘Open File Location…’

click ‘Open File Location

After selecting the damaged PST file, click Start to scan the PST file for errors.

click Start to scan the PST file for errors

Step 3: Repair Damaged PST File

After the scan is finished, if the PST repair tool displays errors found,

  • Click the ‘Make a backup of scanned file before repairing’ and then click ‘Repair’ to begin the repair process
Click the ‘Make a backup of scanned file before repairing’ and then click ‘Repair’ to begin the repair process

NOTE: In case tool displays ‘Outlook Not responding’, do not close it. The tool is trying to repair the PST file and thus, taking the time. Leave your system for a while and let this Inbox Repair tool to finish the PST file repair process.

If you get a success message, try opening the Outlook and check if the errors are resolved and PST is accessible.

PST Repair Completed

However, if the repair was unsuccessful or tool fails to repair PST file corruption, to repair Outlook Data Files, you can refer to this Manual guide.

free Download stellar repair for outlook

Why Use Stellar Repair for Outlook?

ScanPST.exe tool has its limitations. It may fail to repair severely corrupt or damaged PST file. Also, this free PST repair tool doesn’t work if you try to repair an encrypted or Repair large Outlook PST file.

Stellar Repair for Outlook is an advanced PST repair software that overcomes all the limitations of ScanPST.exe. This powerful software can repair severely corrupt and encrypted PST files of any file size with a few clicks.

After the repair, you can save the repaired PST file to a new PST file or any other desired format such as HTML, RTF, EML, MSG, and PDF.

The steps to repair PST file by using the software are as follows,

  1. Close MS Outlook and launch the software
  2. Click ‘Browse’ to choose the corrupt PST file for repair
browse corrupt pst file

3. Click ‘Repair’

Start pst file repair process

4. After repair, you can view and preview email items within the software. To save repaired PST file to a new PST file, click ‘Save Repaired File’ under ‘Home’ tab at the top.

save repaired PST file

5. From the options, choose ‘PST’ and click ‘Browse’ to select a save location

Export the Repaired PST file in Multiple file formats

6. Click ‘OK’ to save the repaired PST file. If you want, you can also save your mailbox items to other formats

Now browse to the original PST file location and replace the corrupt PST file with this new repaired PST file. Don’t forget to rename the file with the same as the old one.

Then start Outlook. If you have multiple profiles on Outlook, choose the profile to which PST belongs.

Conclusion

By following the three-step process to run and use Best Free PST repair Tool or Outlook Inbox Repair tool (ScanPST.exe), explained in this post, you can restore corrupt PST file and get access to all your email items. By repairing the corrupt PST file, you may also resolve common Outlook errors as discussed in this post.  

In case Microsoft’s inbuilt ScanPST.exe fails to fix the problems with the PST file, use a more advanced PST repair tool such as Stellar Repair for Outlook.

Unlike ScanPST.exe, the software can repair severely corrupt, encrypted, and large PST files with a few clicks. You can free download and use Stellar Repair for Outlook on your system to repair and preview the damaged PST files. However, to save the repaired PST to a new PST file, you need to activate the software by using a valid license key.

Also Read:

Download Inbox Repair Tool

Inbox Repair Tool Crashes

Inbox Repair Too Not Responding

Download Free Scanpst.exe

About The Author

Eric Simson

Eric Simson is an Email Platform Consultant and is associated with Stellar Data Recovery from last 6 years. He writes about the latest technology tips and provides custom solutions related to MS Outlook, MS Exchange Server, Office 365, and many other Email Clients & Servers.

Best Selling Products

Stellar Outlook PST Recovery Tool

Stellar Outlook PST Recovery Tool

Stellar Outlook PST recovery software is

Read More
Stellar Advanced Repair Tool for Outlook

Stellar Advanced Repair Tool for Outlook

Advanced software, trusted and recommend

Read More
Stellar Toolkit to Manage Outlook Data Files (OST/PST)

Stellar Toolkit to Manage Outlook Data Files (OST/PST)

Advanced “8-in-1” software package f

Read More
Stellar Convert, Compact and Split OST File & Save as PST

Stellar Convert, Compact and Split OST File & Save as PST

Advanced tool, recommended by Microsoft

Read More

25 comments

  1. Mason says:
    November 20, 2019 at 10:31 am

    Everything is very open with a really clear clarification of the challenges. I was looking for this information for too long. It was really informative.
    Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
    1. Eric Simson says:
      November 20, 2019 at 3:46 am

      Hi Mason, Thank you so much for your Feedback. Keep reading and also share it with your friends and colleagues.

      Reply
  2. Lily says:
    April 22, 2019 at 1:28 am

    In my case, Stellar Repair for Outlook is doing a better job than ScanPST.exe in Outlook 2019.

    Reply
    1. Eric Simson says:
      April 24, 2019 at 6:28 am

      Thanks for your wonderful & depth observation.

      Reply
  3. Victor says:
    September 18, 2018 at 1:27 pm

    Hi Eric

    Firstly congrats on your excellent work.

    I seem to have inadvertently deleted some Outlook 2007 files that render the dreaded
    ‘your .pst file is corrupt, etc’

    My emails remain intact in all folders and are available to view BUT:
    I can’t forward, reply or compose / send or delete any of them.
    Not only that, the server [AOL] is unable to push them through…so I have to use AOL’s rotten homepage before it deletes them.
    I have carefully followed all instructions and my of scanpst.exe was no use.

    However – Stellar has correctly identified everything in the free d/l.

    I’m happy to pay to have my Outlook 2007 working again [it’s a great app and has 11 years’ important information on it!] but I would like to know that Stellar will repair it to a workable condition: I don’t just want the emails dumped as text in a document file. I want to be up and running. I’m also concerned that I might not UNDERSTAND how to get back up and running!

    Please can you reassure and advise me – It’s for my own personal use but very critical to my life: resumes, address books…pdf.

    thanks!!

    Reply
    1. Eric Simson says:
      September 19, 2018 at 6:24 am

      The software recovers all items from damaged PST file, then saves into a new PST file. Later, you can import PST file in MS Outlook application.

      Reply
  4. Charlie says:
    September 12, 2018 at 2:53 am

    I never trust on free stuff. Of course, a premium tool puts a financial burden but it gives assurance for safe & error-free execution.

    Reply
  5. Cedric Singleton says:
    March 23, 2018 at 10:51 am

    Free ScanPST.exe is working but doesn’t show all emails. I need all emails at any cost. Please guide!

    Reply
  6. Karl Watts says:
    October 20, 2017 at 10:32 am

    Outlook client is down since 2 days. Its giving “Unknown Error: 0x800cce05” thus halting all my work. I’ve even tried repairing my PST file using SCANPST.EXE but still, it is giving this error when I try to send an email.

    Are you sure that this tool would be able to get my Outlook client up and working again?

    Reply
    1. Eric Simson says:
      October 23, 2017 at 4:11 am

      Don’t panic about the error!

      At this moment, I can suggest for the free demo of Stellar Outlook Repair.

      Reply

Comments navigation

Older comments Page 1 Page 2

Leave a comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Image Captcha
Refresh Image Captcha

Enter Captcha Here :

Table of Contents    arrow

Categories

offer banner

Related Posts

related post
Outlook PST File

12 Tips to Fix Outlook Send and Receive Error

Stellar Author Eric Simson January 6, 2023 Read More
related post
Outlook PST File

How To Fix the ‘Unable to display the folder’ error in Outlook

Stellar Author Eric Simson January 2, 2023 Read More
related post
Outlook PST File

How to Fix Error Code 0x80070021 in Microsoft Outlook?

Stellar Author Ravi Singh November 28, 2022 Read More

Free Trial for 60 Days

Stellar Official Website

Stellar Data Recovery Inc.
48 Bridge Street Metuchen,
New Jersey 08840,
United States

ALSO AVAILABLE AT

Partner Logo

About

  • About us
  • Career
  • ISMS Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • License Policy
  • Refund Policy
  • End User License Agreement

RESOURCES

  • Blog
  • Articles
  • Product Videos
  • Knowledge Base
  • Case Studies
  • Whitepapers
  • Software Catalog

NEWS & EVENTS

  • News
  • Events

PARTNERS

  • Affiliates
  • Resellers
  • Distributors

Useful Links

  • Contact Us
  • Support
  • Special Offers
  • Student Discounts
  • Awards & Reviews
  • Downloads
  • Store
  • Sitemap
Follow Us

tw in yt

Stellar & Stellar Data Recovery are Registered Trademarks of Stellar Information Technology Pvt. Ltd. © Copyright 2023 Stellar Information Technology Pvt. Ltd. All Trademarks Acknowledged.

Hippa Logo tuv footer partner logo DMCA.com Protection Status