How to repair your Outlook personal folder file (.pst)

• Item
• 02/18/2022
• 11 minutes of reading

• Applies to:

  Outlook 2016, Outlook 2013, Microsoft Outlook 2010, Microsoft Office Outlook 2007, Microsoft Office Outlook 2003

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In this article

Original Knowledge Base article number: 272227

To repair your Outlook Personal Folders file (.pst) using the Inbox Repair utility, follow these steps:

Step 1: Exit Outlook and start the Inbox Repair Tool

Automatically start the Inbox Repair Tool

Start the Inbox Repair Tool (Scanpst.exe). Next, select Open or Run in the File Download dialog box, then follow the steps given by the Quick Fix Wizard (Easy Fix).

Once the Inbox Repair Tool is launched, proceed to Step 2. (Unable to start the Inbox Repair utility?)

Manually start the Inbox Repair Tool

To start this utility manually, locate one of the folders using Microsoft Windows Explorer, then double-click the Scanpst.exe file.

Notes

The file or folders may be hidden. For instructions on showing hidden files and folders, see your operating system documentation.

Default location
Ratings

<disk drive>\Program Files(x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Office16
For a Click-to-Run installation of Outlook 2016 on a 32-bit version of Windows

<disk drive>\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Office16
For a Click-to-Run installation of Outlook 2016 on a 64-bit version of Windows

<disk drive>\Program Files(x86)\Microsoft Office\Office16
For installation with the Outlook 2016 installer on a 32-bit version of Windows

<disk drive>\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16
For installation with the Outlook 2016 installer on a 64-bit version of Windows

<disk drive>\Program Files\Microsoft Office 15\root\office15
For a Click-to-Run installation of Outlook 2013 on a 64-bit version of Windows

<disk drive>\Program Files(x86)\Microsoft Office 15\root\office15
For a Click-to-Run installation of Outlook 2013 on a 32-bit version of Windows

<disk drive>\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office15
For installation with the Outlook 2013 installer on a 64-bit version of Windows

<disk drive>\Program Files(x86)\Microsoft Office\Office15
For installation with the Outlook 2013 installer on a 32-bit version of Windows

<disk drive>:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14
For Outlook 2010 on a 64-bit version of Windows

<disk drive>:\Program Files\Microsoft Office(x86)\Office14
For Outlook 2010 on a 32-bit version of Windows

<disk drive>:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12
For Outlook 2007 on a 64-bit version of Windows

<disk drive>:\Program Files(x86)\Microsoft Office\Office12
For Outlook 2007 on a 32-bit version of Windows

<disk drive>:\Program Files\Common Files\System\Mapi\1033| Alternate default location

<disk drive>:\Program Files\Common Files\System\MSMAPI\1033
Alternate default location

<disk drive>:\Program Files\Common Files\System\Mapi\1033\NT
Alternate Default Location (for Windows NT and Windows 2000)

<disk drive>:\Program Files\Common Files\System\Mapi\1033\95
Alternate Default Location (for Windows 95 and Windows 98)

(Can’t find the Inbox Repair utility?)

Step 2 – Repair the .pst file

In the Inbox Repair utility, type the path and file name of your personal folders (.pst) or select Browse to find the file using from the Windows file system, then select Start.

Notes

If you don’t know the location of the .pst file, follow the procedure How to locate, move or back up your .pst file.

Notes

• You may need to run Inbox Repair several times to fully repair the personal folder (.pst) file.
• Inbox Repair cannot repair every problem detected. In some cases, items may not be recoverable if they have been permanently deleted or damaged beyond repair.

Step 3 – Recover repaired items to a new .pst file

After running the Inbox Repair Tool, you can start Outlook and recover the repaired items. Optionally, you can recover additional repaired items from the backup home folder.

To get started, create a personal folders (.pst) file entry in your profile. Then move the recovered items to your new personal folders (.pst) file.

1. Start Outlook. If you are using multiple profiles in Outlook, be sure to select the profile that contains the Personal Folders (.pst) file you attempted to repair.

2. Press Ctrl + 6 to activate Folder List view mode.

3. The folder list normally contains the following recovered folders:

   Recovered Personal Folders
   
   Calendar
   contacts
   Deleted Items
   Inbox
   Newspaper
   Ratings
   Outbox
   Sent Items
   Tasks
   

   Notes

   These recovered folders are usually empty, as it is a regenerated .pst file. A “Lost and Found” folder also appears. This folder contains folders and items recovered by Inbox Repair. Unfortunately, items missing from the Lost and Found folder may not be repairable.

4. Create a new Home Folder (.pst) file in your profile. The steps may be different, depending on the version of Outlook you are running.

   Outlook 2010 and later

   1. Select the File tab from the ribbon, then the Information tab from the menu.
   2. Select the Account Settings tab, then Account Settings again.
   3. Select the Data Files tab.
   4. Select Add to open the Create or Open Outlook Data File dialog box.
   5. Enter a file name for your new Outlook Data File (.pst), then select OK.
   6. Your profile normally includes a new Outlook Data File (.pst).

   Outlook 2007

   1. From the File menu, select Data File Management.
   2. Select Add to open the New Outlook Data File dialog box.
   3. In the Storage Types dialog box, select Office Outlook Personal Folders File (.pst), then OK.
   4. In the Create or Open Outlook Data File dialog box, select a location and file name for your new personal folders file (.pst), then select OK .
   5. Select OK.
   6. Your profile normally includes a new personal folders (.pst) file.

   Outlook 2003

   1. On the File menu, point to New, then click Outlook Data File.
   2. Select OK to open the Create or Open Outlook Data File dialog.
   3. Enter a filename for your new personal folders file (.pst), then select OK to open the Create Microsoft Personal Folders dialog box.< /li>
   4. Enter a file name for your new personal folders file (.pst), then select OK.
   5. Your profile normally includes a new personal folders (.pst) file.

   Outlook 2002

   1. From the File menu, point to New, then select Personal Folders File (.pst).
   2. Select Create to open the Create Microsoft Personal Folders dialog box.
   3. Enter a file name for your new personal folders file (.pst), then select OK.
   4. Your profile normally includes a new personal folders (.pst) file.

5. Drag the recovered items from the “Lost and Found” folder to your new Personal Folders (.pst) file.

6. Once you’ve moved all the items, you can delete the recovered personal folders (.pst) file from your profile. This includes the “Lost and Found” folder.

7. If you are satisfied with the information you have retrieved, you have nothing more to do. However, if you want to attempt to recover additional information, proceed to the Recover Repaired Items from Backup File (Optional) section.

Inbox Repair Overview

The Inbox Repair Tool (Scanpst.exe) is a tool designed to fix problems with Personal Folders (.pst) files.

It is installed automatically with all the English-language Microsoft Outlook installation options, depending on your operating system.

Could not find or start the Inbox Repair Tool

If you are unable to start the Inbox Repair utility automatically or manually, try repairing your Office application.

Recover repaired items from the backup file (optional)

Notes

If you were unable to open your original Personal Folders (.pst) file before running the Inbox Repair Tool, the steps below may not work. If it doesn’t work, unfortunately you won’t be able to retrieve any additional information. If you were able to open the file, the following procedure may help you recover additional items from your corrupt Personal Folders (.pst) file.

When you run Inbox Repair, the option to create a backup of the original Personal Folders (.pst) file is automatically selected. This option creates a file on your hard disk, named file_name.bak. This file is a copy of the original filename.pst file, with a different extension. If you think you are still missing items after performing the steps in the previous section, you can attempt to recover additional information from this backup file by doing the following:

Look for the .bak file. It is located in the folder of your original Personal Folders (.pst) file.

1. Look for the .bak file. It is located in the folder of your original Personal Folders (.pst) file.

2. Make a copy of the .bak file and rename the file with a .pst extension. For example, name the file New_name.pst.

3. Import the new_name.pst file you created in the previous step using the Import and Export Wizard in Outlook. To do this, follow these steps:

   1. From the File menu, select Import and Export.

      Notes

      In Outlook 2010 or later, select the Ribbon’s File tab, Open, then Import.

   2. Select Import from another program or file, then click Next.
   3. Select Personal Folders File (.pst), then click Next.
   4. Under File to import, select Browse, then double-click your New_name.pst file.
   5. Under Options, select Do not import duplicates, then Next.
   6. Under Select folder to import from, select the personal folders file (.pst), then Include subfolders.
   7. Select Import items in the same folder in, then your new personal folders (.pst).
   8. Select Finish.

Notes

Keep in mind that the backup file was the original damaged file. You may not be able to recover anything other than what was recovered from the Lost and Found folder. If you cannot import the new_name.pst file into Outlook, you have unfortunately lost all information that is not in the Lost and Found folder.

ScanPST generally validates and corrects errors in the internal data structures of the .pst file. The .pst file is a database file. Therefore, structures, such as BTrees and reference counts, are checked and repaired as needed. These low-level objects are unaware of the higher-level structures such as messages, calendar items, etc., which are based on them.

If ScanPST determines that a specific block in the structure or table is unreadable or corrupt, ScanPST deletes it. If this block was part of a specific item in Outlook, that item is removed when validated.

You can’t predict this behavior, but deleting the element is appropriate under the circumstances. Also, this specific type of situation is rare and will always be inserted into the ScanPST log file.

At a higher level, the user will be able to observe folder and message level changes.

Folders

ScanPST examines each folder in the .pst file and does the following:

1. ScanPST verifies that the correct tables are associated with the folder.
2. ScanPST checks each row of each table to ensure that the message or subfolder exists in the system.
3. If ScanPST does not find the message or subfolder, it deletes the row from the table.
4. If ScanPST finds the message or subfolder, it validates it.
5. If this validation fails, the message or record is considered corrupted and is deleted from the table and the database.
6. If the validation succeeds, ScanPST performs another analysis to ensure that the values ​​in the retrieved message are consistent with those in the table. Damaged files are recreated from scratch if necessary. These folders do not contain user data.

Posts

Most users are concerned with message operations because a damaged item may cause a deletion in the .pst file. ScanPST performs the following operations on messages:

1. ScanPST performs basic validation of attachment and recipient tables. This operation resembles the operation of a folder with its messages.

2. As soon as the recipient table is validated to ensure correct recipient formatting, ScanPST makes the necessary changes to synchronize this valid contents of the recipient table with the message recipient properties. ScanPST also verifies that the message’s parent folder refers to a valid folder. The following message properties are checked to ensure that they use valid data formats:

   • PR_MESSAGE_CLASS

     ScanPST checks that this property exists. Otherwise, it is set to IPM.Note.

   • PR_MESSAGE_FLAGS

     Each indicator is validated separately.

   • PR_SUBMIT_FLAGS

     This validation is similar to the operation performed on message flags.

   • PR_CLIENT_SUBMIT_TIME

     If the send flags indicate that the message is marked as sent, this property must exist. If the send flags indicate that the message is marked as sent, the time is set to Now.

   • PR_SEARCH_KEY

     This property must exist. If not present, a random GUID is generated for the property.

   • PR_CREATION_TIME

     This property must exist. Otherwise, the time is set to Now.

   • PR_LAST_MODIFICATION_TIME

     This property must exist. Otherwise, the time is set to Now.

   • PR_MESSAGE_SIZE

     The sizes are recalculated and compared to the stored values. If the sizes differ by a delta value, the calculated value is written.

No validation is performed explicitly on properties bound to the message body or subject, except for the implicit low-level validation described earlier in this article. The recipient display properties are changed to match the retrieved recipient table. As soon as this is complete, other algorithms are run to collect all orphaned messages and place them in an orphaned messages folder.

For more information on binary trees, see the article An Extensive Examination of Data Structures (English only).