How Can You Repair Corrupted or Damaged Outlook PST File

The complications with the Personal Folders File or PST of Microsoft Outlook have been some of the major problems for years. Microsoft is well aware of this situation. This is why MS Outlook comes with an in-built tool known as Inbox repair that will let you repair corrupted PST files. 

In most cases, using the inbox repair tool and running the damaged or corrupted PST file should be enough to solve the problem. But sometimes, you need to take extra precautions to recover the lost data files. 

How Does MS Outlook PST File Repair Work?

The Inbox Repair tool of MS Outlook is situated within the installation folder of Microsoft Office. Therefore, you need to dig to find its location the location of the PST Repair Tool varies from the versions of Outlook. Once you’re done locating the Inbox Repair, you need to launch it. After that, you need to choose the damaged PST file so that you can repair it without any problem. 

Keep in mind that the Inbox Repair Tool comes with an option that will allow you to create a backup of the damaged or corrupted PST file. Make sure you select this option as you might need to retrieve the missing data and files later. Here are some steps you need to follow:

• Exit the MS Outlook completely. 
• Open File Explorer on your computer. Depending on the OS version of your computer, go through the following folders. 

Windows 64-bit: Local Disk (C:)> Program Files> Microsoft Office> root> Office16

Windows 32-bit: Local Disk (C:)> Program Files (x86)> Microsoft Office> root> Office16

Keep in mind that the folder paths apply to the Outlook versions of 2016, 2019, and 365. If you happen to use older outlook versions, you need to select Office15 for Outlook 2013, Office14 for Outlook 2010, and Office12 for Outlook 2011. 

• After that, you need to locate the SCANPST and sun the application as administrator. 
• Click on the Browse button and choose the Outlook PST file you need to repair. 

If you don’t know the location of the PST files, you need to Windows Search option through Windows+S. After that, search by the name of the files. Make sure you include .PST extension at the end of the name. You will see the location of the file within the search results. As per Slipstick, scan pst is important. 

On the other hand, you can also open Outlook and go to the File> Account Settings> Data files to know the location of the PST files. Don’t forget to close the application after finishing the steps. 

• Choose the option Start. The Inbox Repair Tool will scan the PST files for corruption. Locating the corrupted pst will take some time. 
• After that, click on the radio button next to Make a backup before repairing and choose Repair. 
• Choose OK and finish repairing the corrupted PST file. 

After that, open MS Outlook software again and you will be able to access the PST files without any problem. 

Recover Lost and Found Files 

Sometimes, the Inbox Repair Tool of MS Outlook repairs a severely damaged PST file. This is because sometimes the Tool fails to place the repaired items in their original locations or folders. In such situations, the data files will be accumulated in other types of folders under the Recovered Personal Folders Label or the Lost and Found folder. 

You can easily recover the damaged or lost items by developing a new PST data file in MS Outlook. 

• Open the MS Outlook Home tab. After that, open the menu that will be visible next to New Email. Search for an option named More Items and choose the Outlook Data File. 
• Choose the Outlook Data File option and select OK. 
• You need to specify a particular location on your computer where you can enter the name of the PST file. Then select OK. 
• Select the More icon in Outlook and choose the option Folders to see the Folder List view. 
• Drag the contents within the recovered Personal Folders or Lost and Found into the new data file. 

Recover Additional Items from PST 

Suppose you saw some missing items from the repaired data file. If you’re unable to find them from the Lost and Found folder or under Recovered Personal Folders, you should try to retrieve them utilizing the backup copy of the original file. You need to import the contents of the file without interfering with any items that the Inbox repair tool has already recovered. 

• Copy the backup of the corrupted PST file to your computer. 
• Change the extension from .BAK to .PST. 

If you cannot see the file extension at the end of the name, you need to change the folder and search options. 

Conclusion 

This is how you can repair corrupted or damaged Outlook PST files. If you have any other questions, make sure you comment below.