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To repair a damaged Personal Folders PST file

Microsoft provides the Inbox Repair Tool for correcting most problems with damaged Personal Folders .pst files. If you do not see the Inbox Repair Tool on the Start menu, under Programs | Accessories | System Tools, use Start | Find or Start | Search (depending on your operating system) to search your system for Scanpst.exe.

You will need to know the location of the .pst file that you want to repair. See Outlook & Exchange/Windows Messaging Backup and Dual-Boot for information on file locations and ways to determine the location of a .pst file that you can see in Outlook.

 
 

Usage | Notes | Tools | More Information

Usage

When you run Scanpst.exe, it performs a number of tests. If it finds errors, it asks whether you want to make a backup copy of the original file (always say Yes), then tries to correct the errors. 

If you run Scanpst.exe against a .pst file that Outlook 2003 created for a local copy of Windows SharePoint Services events and contacts lists, you will get an error message that you can ignore. See You Receive an Error Message When You Use the Inbox Repair Tool to Scan a .pst File

For seriously corrupted PST files, try running Scandisk.exe (look under Programs | Accessories | System Tools) first, then Scanpst.exe, repeating 3-4 times until neither program returns an error. We've know this technique to restore data that the user though was lost forever. 

And if that doesn't do it, you can try our tips to repair a 2gb Personal Folders file or Offline Folders in Microsoft Outlook.

If the file is on an NTFS volume, you can't use Scandisk.exe so easily. One approach, for Windows 2000, is to open the drive in My Computer and use the Tools menu commands to scan the disk. You may need to restart Windows for the scan to run. 
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Notes

 You can use Scanpst.exe not only on PST files, but also on offline folder .ost files used for offline access to Exchange Server folders. If an OST file is corrupted beyond the ability of Scanpst.exe to repair it, you will need to change the settings for the Exchange Server service (Tools | Services) to use a new OST file, then synchronize it with the server. 

There may be cases where you need to run both ScanPST and PST2GB. See OL2000 Error Message When You Start Outlook 2000 or Try to Open a Personal Folders File.

Another approach is to use a hex editor remove a single byte from the middle of the PST file, then run Scanpst. A hex editor is a tool for editing raw files; every Windows shareware site has several to choose from. Eugene McCarthy of FAO Headquarters in Rome recommends the free iHex editor, which loads only 64kb of the file at a time, making it ideal for tinkering with extremely large PST files. For simple Scanpst repairs, Eugene recommends changing the first byte of the PST file from hex 21 to 00.

There is no comparable program for cleaning up corrupted Personal Address Book (.pab) files. You may be able to view and recover PAB data by opening the file with a hex editor. 

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Tools
Advanced Outlook Repair
   		Advanced Outlook Repair (AOR) is a powerful tool to repair and recover corrupted Outlook PST files. Main features: support Outlook 97, 98, 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2007; support to recover mail messages, folders, posts, appointments, meeting requests, contacts, distribution lists, tasks, task requests, journals and notes in PST files; support to recover attachments; support to recover deleted Outlook items; support to recover oversized 2GB PST files; support to split the output PST file into several small ones; support to recover password protected PST files; support to convert PST file from Outlook 97-2002 format into Outlook 2003/2007 format.
CopyPST   CopyPST repairs Outlook data files by exporting it to a new file, ignoring any error. It requires that the data file can still be opened in Outlook. Exporting a file breaks links, which can be repairs using our OLfix program. Free
EasyRecovery EmailRepair   Repair corrupted .pst and .ost files and those exceeding the 2gb limit. Retrieve deleted items from Outlook folders. Can access password-protected .pst files. Can also repair and restore Outlook Express data.
Kernel for Outlook PST Repair Tool   Kernel for Outlook PST Repair Tool recovers and restores emails and other items from damaged, corrupted or broken PST files. A demo version is available and shows you exactly that how many emails and other items will be recovered using the full Kernel Repair PST Software. Kernel for Outlook PST Repair supported versions are Outlook 97, 2000, XP, 2003. It successfully recovers all items from the PST file including emails, drafts, calendars, journal, notes, tasks, contacts etc. OST repair tool also available.
Recovery for Outlook   Recovery for Outlook repairs corrupted Outlook mailboxes (.pst). The program also supports Exchange Offline Storage Files (.ost). Supported Outlook versions: 2007, 2003, 2002, 2000, 98 and 97
Recovery Toolbox for Outlook   Recover data from Outlook pst files. Recover Exchange ost files and/or convert them into Microsoft Outlook pst files. Export data from pst files into eml and vcf files.
Search and Recover   Email and file recovery tool can restore data deleted from Outlook Personal Folders .pst files.
Stellar Phoenix Outlook PST Repair   Stellar Phoenix Outlook PST Recovery Software is designed to repair and restore data from damaged or corrupted Microsoft outlook file. This Outlook recovery software scans the damaged .pst file and extracts and saves information in a new usable .pst file, enabling PST Recovery. In addition, Phoenix-Outlook mail recovery software allows you to recover accidentally deleted messages that have been emptied from the "Deleted Items" folder in Outlook.
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More Information
  • To repair a 2gb Personal Folders file or Offline Folders
  • Convet an OST to PST
  • Housekeeping and Message Management Tools
  • OL2000: How to Find and Run the Inbox Repair Tool
  • OL2000 (IMO) How to Use the Inbox Repair Tool to Recover Messages -- The article says it's for IMO mode only, but it's actually relevant for Corporate/Workgroup mode, too.
  • Recovering data from offline folders -- The key to recovering an .ost file is not to connect to the Exchange Server.
  • Common .pst File Questions
  • OL2002 0x80040119 and Unknown Error Error Messages When You Try to Read, Send, Receive, or Delete E-mail
  • Why .pst Files Are Unsupported Over a LAN or WAN Link
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    Updated Sep 30 2008
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