Ever encountered a crisis situation where your Microsoft Outlook Inbox doesn't show the e-mails when you need them the most? Inbox failures can take place any day and at anytime...!!
To overcome such situations, Microsoft Outlook provides an inbuilt utility known as scanpst.exe that repairs your corrupted or damaged PST (Personal Storage Table) files. The utility is also used to repair Offline STore (OST files) used for offline access to Exchange Server folders. The main factors that cause PST file corruption are:
- PST file size (larger than 2GB)
- Header corruption
- Saving PST files on the network
- PST Compaction process
- MS Outlook malfunctioning
- Software bugs
- Unexpected System shutdown
When you run scanpst.exe on the PST file, it analyzes the PST file directory and performs a number of tests. If it finds that the PST file is corrupted, it asks whether you want to create a backup copy of the original PST file (always say Yes), then tries to repair the file. The most common error messages that you might encounter after PST file corruption are:
- Errors have been detected in the file. Quit all mail-enabled applications, and then use the Inbox Repair Tool
- Outlook.pst is not a personal folders file
- Unable to display the folder
- Outlook.pst can not be accessed - 0x80040116
- Cannot display the folder. There is not enough free memory to run this
program. Quit one or more programs and then try again.
- The file xxxx.pst could not be found
- DDE server window outlook.exe-no disk
Scanpst.exe can repair your PST files after the above error messages. For seriously corrupted PST files, try running scandisk or chkdsk first and then scanpst.exe. While scanpst.exe is a powerful utility to repair the corrupted PST files in most cases, it might fall short to repair the affected data files (PSTs) in scenarios where the degree of corruption is high or PST file is greater than 2 GB. In such situations, you can use Stellar Phoenix Outlook PST Repair software tool for efficient, safe and easy repair of the affected PST files.
Stellar Phoenix Outlook PST Repair is an advanced and user-friendly application that can easily repair corrupted PST files. The software can recover corrupted PST files of 2GB or above size. Designed for Microsoft Outlook 2007, 2003, 2002 (XP) and 2000, this software can recover all PST components as e-mails, notes, contacts, calendar entries, journals and more. The software supports Windows Vista, XP, 2003, 2000 and NT4 (SP6).
Note:- It is advisable not to use scanpst.exe on a corrupted PST file because the failure of repairing the PST file through this tool might result in further PST file damage, which can not be repaired even by PST Repair software.
