Microsoft Outlook is a fantastic application and most of us use it. But when things break , it can be one of the most frustrating programs to operate . First we will look at how Outlook PST files work, and then how you can take measures to fix them.
In Outlook , all data is stored in Personal Storage Table files. PST is a filename extension associated with Personal Folders files used with certain Microsoft products . Personal Folders (.pst) files are used to store local copies of messages, calendar events, and other items within Microsoft Microsoft Exchange Client, Windows Messaging, Microsoft Outlook, and Microsoft Outlook Express.
You will find that errors can occur within your .pst files, there are many .pst error codes that are associated with these problems. Here is an example of some of the .pst errors you might have seen :
- OL2000: Unable to Open a Shared .pst File Without a Password
- OL2000: Unable to Use Your Personal Folder File if it Exceeds the 2 GB Size Limit
- OL2000: Error Opening a Shortcut to an Item in a PST
Steps to Recover Outlook PST
With any error code, always shutdown and then re-open Outlook. If problems still persist , reboot your computer. If this fails, more drastic action is required .
In Windows, there is a built-in repair tool, called scanpst.exe. You can try running this over your PST file. In many instances , it should repair the trouble and allow you to open Outlook again.
Steps to use Scanpst.exe
- On the Start menu, click Run
- In the Open box, type: drive:\Program Files\Common Files\System\Mapi\LocaleID\scanpst.exe
- Click OK
- In the Enter the name of the file you want to scan box, type the path and file name given in the error message above
- Click Start
- Click Repair
If Scanpst.exe was successful it will alert you with a message, but if that fails, you will need a more advanced third party repair tool . There are only a few PST repair tools around , probably the best is Stellar PST Recovery. This is powerful software that can fix PST errors, split oversize files, recover passwords and plenty more. Fortunately you can recover PST data in almost every situation with Stellar PST Recovery.
Your Outlook data is extremely important , so be careful when trying to repair PST files. Always create a backup of your PST before taking any action.
