Outlook PST File errors fixed by download of scanpst.exe
Awoke this morning to find my Outlook email not working because Outlook2007 was reporting that my PST file was damaged... much scratching of head ensued and vaguely worried faces were pulled while I drank a cup of coffee and wondered what to do next.
Outlook says there is problem with ..\appdata\local\microsoft\outlook\outlook.pst and to run scanpst.exe to fix it.
I've recently upgraded to Vista and after searching through the computer still cannot find this file... Google 'DOWNLOAD SCANPST.EXE' and the solution is still no easier to find. I eventually (trust me it took a while) found the correct downloads... ran the 'scan pst' tool and HURRAH it fixed things for me. So, I've attached it to this post in case it's useful for anybody else.
Unzip the attached SCANPST archive and run the scanpst.exe file. You will get this window:
it asks you for the location of your damaged PST file and then takes ages scanning through it and fixing the problems.
When it's finished you breathe a little sigh of relief as it pops up a window saying
I left the backup option as default and then sat for a few minutes while it clonked away fixing things.
Then when the REPAIR COMPLETED message appears you can open Outlook and shout HURRAH! as you open your recovered PST file.
Next stage - Backup and kick yourself for not doing one before ;)
OK - so this worked PERFECTLY for me BUT if it doesnt work then there are quite a few off-the-shelf software packages out there.
What if the Inbox Repair Tool doesn't recover emails from my damaged PST file?
If the Inbox Repair Tool is giving you an error message while trying to recover your Outlook PST file(s) or if you are still unable to start Outlook, then you can try the following solutions:
- If you are using Microsoft Outlook 9x, 2000 or 2002 and if the Inbox Repair Tool returns the following error: "Fatal Error: 80040900", then this may be because your PST/OUTLOOK file has exceeded the maximum file size of 2Gb. A Microsoft article explains how to try something else using a PST/OST cropping tool.
- If you are using Microsoft Outlook in a Corporate, Networked or Workgroup environment, then use the Inbox Repair Tool with Corporate or Workgroup option.
Hope this helps!!!!!
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Outlook PST Repair Utility [ScanPST].rar | 175.1 KB |
| Outlook 2GB Size repair Utility [PST2GB].rar | 653.34 KB |
Thanks Nick. The ScanPST.exe with my Vista installation failed badly. However, your attachment worked just fine.
I'm having the worse time finding a solution to this. I would love to read the article when you get it. I feel like a complete idiot.
Pamela
I was attempting to open the file that was attached for the scanpst and learned a new methot of finding originally installed version. If you right click the .PST file, then click "open with" you will get a dialog box. Click the down pointing arrow to the right of "other programs" and then click on browse. Now double click microsoft office, double click office 12, then scroll down the list to scanpst and double click it. Scanost is right above it and has the same icon....a ripped envelope.
luck to all,
scotty
.
Hi Nick, I have to thank you for the attachment.
I've looked for it for some hours without results.
Now i'm trying to recover my PST......
Hopefully....
Best regards
Nyckee
a friendly note to all!
a lot of the help and tutorials online regarding scanpst.exe as helpful as they are, refer to the location of scanpst.exe in all office versions previous to 2007.
scanpst.exe in office 2007 is actually located at C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12>scanpst.exe
so if you cant find it under common files then this is why!
thanks for the help everyone!
Thank you THANK YOU! your post was SO useful!
I have been working to fix this problem for two week or more..this really helped and fixed the problem.
Thank you so much..!!
Raleigh NC
I spent several hours yesterday researching the email problem and then trying to find the exe file. i'm not a real techie, but I'm not a novice either. I couldn't imagine that I didn't have this exe file and I couldn't find it anywhere on Microsoft's page to download. Can't wait until I get home and try your attached files.
Thanks Nick. My problem was an inability to permanently delete mail from the "deleted item" folder (i.e. I could not empty this folder).
I downloaded scanpst.exe, but it would not run, even when placed in the correct subfile for Office 2007 noted in another comment. I got error messages saying a certain DLL was missing.
After many head scratches, I decided to try re-installing Office 2007. One of the initial options is to "repair" Office (vs. reinstalling, etc). This ran for quite a while (15-20 minutes) but successfully restored scanpst.exe and all of the necessary DLLs.
Scanpst.exe then ran flawlessly and I was able to repair 3 pst's and delete mail.
Seattle, WA
Dear Nick,
I have downloaded the SCANPST.EXE and scanned my data and repaired it. But After this also Outlook is not taking the data. I am only getting Recovered Data and not my old data. Please help on this. It was urgent. My E-mail ID is dinesh@devrajcomputers.com.
I am having the same problem recovering my data, did anyone find a fix for that too?
What exactly do you mean by recovering your data? deleted emails? files?
/me scratches head
I am having the same problem recovering my data, did anyone find a fix for that too?
I recommend that you test OutlookFIX sold by www.Cimaware.com
I used it a few months ago and it worked like a charm.I tried the free demo before buying and was able to preview all of my emails and contacts. Hopefully it will be useful for you too!
I heard about not bad application-rar fix tool,
it possible allows you to recover information from corrupt archives and corrupt rar files stored on removable media or on remote computers (tool can fix rar file via the local area network), extract information even from those compressed files that are protected with a password, also scanning and analyzing the selected corrupted file and you can see a special progress bar on the screen showing you the progress of this process.
Have gone through several weeks of Outlook 2007 reporting that the PST file is damaged, for no apparent reason.
Have tried letting Outlook repair itself with no success and also leaving Outlook open so that the program shuts down in a more controlled manner with Vista SP1 on closing down the PC for that session, again with no success.
Running SCANPST has provided patchy success (50/50) and slows things down whilst running.
What seems to have worked is setting Outlook to Send/Recieve on Exit (via 'Tools', 'Options', 'Mail Setup', 'Send/Receive', tick 'Perform an automatic send/receive when exiting').