PST Recovery Tool for Microsoft Outook

The PST Archiving feature allows you to divide your email messages between two or more PSTs, each manageable and accessible through Outlook. An archive PST is prone to similar reasons, due to which a default PST can get corrupt. To repair the damaged archive PST, you should use the Outlook built-in Inbox Repair Tool. If this fails, you should opt restoring from a good backup or using a PST Recovery application.

For instance, consider a practical situation, described below:

1. You archive the Outlook PST file and store the resultant file on a network drive

2. You transfer the archive.pst on your computer

3. When you try to open this archive.pst file in MS Outlook as File | Open | Outlook Data File , it fails to open and displays the following error message:

“The file drive_letter:\archive.pst is not a personal folders file.”

Cause

The above behavior indicates that Outlook is unable to read the archive.pst file because it is corrupt. The file doesn’t have valid personal storage folder structure.

Outlook PST is not supported over any network link. The PSTs are designed for local message store. The network links use network-access-driven methods, which is contrary to file-access-driven methods used by PST. When the network traffic is not apt, chances are that the file may catch errors. For this reason, an archive.pst can get corrupt if saved on a network drive.

Solution

Outlook Inbox Repair Tool (Scanpst.exe) is a utility that you can use in this case to repair your damaged archive.pst. It is highly recommended that you backup the damaged PST first as running the tool can bring irrecoverable damages to the file. To run the tool, follow these steps:

1. Quit from the application

2. Scanpst.exe is a hidden file. So, make sure that the ‘Show hidden files and folders’ setting is enabled in the folder options.

3. Click Start | Search or Find and type ‘Scanpst.exe’ in the Search box.

4. Double-click to open the file and browse to the location of your damaged archive.pst

5. Click ‘Start’, which starts the recovery process

6. Try to open the file in question again. The corruption problem should not exist.

If Scanpst.exe cannot repair the file, you should restore it from backup. When no valid PST backup is available, you need to use a Microsoft Outlook Recovery tool. These are powerful PST Repair Tool that can repair a corrupted PST, irrespective of file size, nature of corruption (should be logical though), and extent of damage.

Stellar Phoenix Outlook PST Repair is a safe and advanced tool that repairs a corrupted PST created with Outlook 2007, 2003, 2002, and 2000. The comprehensive PST Recovery Software is designed to run powerful scanning algorithms. The software can recover all emails, notes, contacts, journal, calendar etc.

Backup is the best solution to prevent data loss and file corruption like situations. Whenever you come across data loss situations, due to any reason, you can easily restore data from backup and get your system working again. In Microsoft Windows Vista, you can use Backup Status and Configuration utility to create backup of your valuable data. This is an automated tool, using which you can schedule your backup at desired time. But, this utility may prove troublesome for Microsoft Outlook. When you restore a PST file from backup, the file can not be opened and accessed. This behavior renders all your critical data of PST file inaccessible and cause data loss. In such serious circumstances, you need PST Recovery to resolve the issue.

In a practical scenario, when you attempt to open your Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 PST file, you might come across below error message:

“<FileName>.pst file could not be opened. The file may not be compatible with this version of Outlook or it may be corrupted.”

This error message indicates PST corruption. To retrieve data in these situations, you need to carry out PST File Recovery by fixing it.

Grounds of the issue

You might come across this problem when all of the below given conditions are true:

1. You have created backup of the Outlook PST file using Backup Status and Configuration utility on Microsoft Windows Vista computer.
2. You have recently restored the Outlook PST file from backup with the help of Backup Status and Configuration tool in Windows Vista.
3. The Outlook PST file is stored in an encrypted folder on your Vista hard drive.
4. The file is severely corrupted and Microsoft Office Outlook could not recognize it.

How to fix this problem?

1. In order to resolve this problem, use Scanpst.exe (Inbox Repair Tool) to repair and restore damaged PST file. To do so, go through underwritten steps:
2. Exit MS Outlook and Click Start button and then select Control Panel.
3. Click User Accounts or User Accounts and Family Safetyand then click Mail.
4. Click Data Files, select Personal Folders and click Settings.
5. Note the name in Filename box.
6. Click OK button and then click Close button two times.
7. Click Start button, type %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Office\Office12\ in Start Search box and press Enter key.
8. Double-click Scanpst.exe.
9. Type file name and path in Enter the name of the file you want to scan box.
10. Click Start and when Scanpst.exe finishes, click OK button.

This method works in most of the cases, but it also has some limitations. It can not scan large PST files and could not repair PST file, which is damaged due to external reasons. In such critical situations, PST Repair applications come for your rescue.

The PST Recovery software are effective and advanced third-party applications, which work in most of the cases of PST file corruption and retrieve all inaccessible emails, notes, contacts, tasks and other objects. The PST Repair software are pretty safe and easy to use.

Stellar Phoenix Outlook PST Repair is the most effective and reliable PST Recovery Tool for all your PST corruption problems. It works well with Microsoft Outlook 2007, 2003, 2002 and 2000. The software is compatible with Microsoft Windows Vista, 2003, XP, 2000 and NT4 (SP6).

Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 and 2007 are advanced versions of MS Outlook. The have different file structure and provide Unicode support and thus do not have file size limitation for PST. For this reason, a number of Outlook users might plan to upgrade for these later versions. But in some situations, version incompatibility issues might occur that result into serious inconsistencies. These problems might cause PST file corruption and critical data loss. At this point, you are required to PST Recovery to gain access of your mission critical data.

In a practical scenario, when you attempt to import the PST file (Personal Folders file) into Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 or 2007 from earlier version, the PST file could not be imported and it become inaccessible or unusable. Furthermore, you might come across that might be similar to the following one:

“Personal Folders Properties for this information service must be defined prior to use.”

After this error message, when you click OK button on the error message dialog box, further error message errors, which states:

“Microsoft Outlook The file path\filename.pst is not compatible with this version of Personal Folders information service. Contact your administrator.”

At this point, all of your significant emails, notes, contacts and other PST file objects become inaccessible. In order to gain access of these items, you need to find out the cause of this behavior and carry out Outlook PST Repair by sorting it out.

Root of the problem

This behavior of Microsoft Outlook might take place when you try to import the PST file of an earlier version into Microsoft Office Outlook 2003. The Outlook 2003 supports multilingual data and the PST files are in Unicode format. The PST files of earlier version, such as Outlook 2002, 2000 and 98, do not support multilingual data and are not in Unicode format.

How to resolve version incompatibility problem in Outlook?

In order to sort out this problem and import Outlook PST file into earlier or later versions first save the PST file as the PST file of Outlook version in which you are trying to import. After that, export the Outlook PST file, which is compatible to earlier or later versions of Outlook. Then import the new PST file into particular version of Microsoft Outlook.
In order to save your Outlook PST file and export or import it, follow underwritten steps:

- In Microsoft Outlook, point new in File menu and then select the Outlook Data File.
- In New Outlook Data File dialog box, select appropriate version of the PST file and then click OK button.
- In Create or Open Outlook Data File dialog box, name the new PST file and then save the file to desired location such as Windows Desktop.
- Click OK button for closing Create Microsoft Personal Folders dialog box.
- You will see a new PST file in Navigation Pane in Outlook. Select it and then click Import and Export in File menu.
- Select Import from another program or file and click Next.
- Select Personal Folder File (PST) and click Next.
- Select Browse to choose PST file, which you want to export and click Open and then Next.
- In Select the folder to import from window, click Personal Folders.
- Select Include Subfolders check box.
- In Import items into same folder in box and then click PST file that you saved earlier on your drive and click Finish.
- Click OK when you get below message: “You are importing data to a location that does not fully support Unicode. To avoid loss of multilingual data, it is recommended that you choose a location that supports Unicode, such as a Microsoft Office Outlook Personal Folders File.”

Although, the above method might help you to successfully import or export the PST file, but in some situations the version incompatibility might cause serious PST corruption and data loss situations. In such situations, you need to repair and restore damaged PST file using PST Recovery Tool to get your valuable data back.

This is best possible with the help of powerful and advanced third party applications. They are particularly designed to effectively scan damaged PST file and successfully recover PST file. These tools are completely easy and safe to use.

Stellar Phoenix Outlook PST Repair is the most effective and advanced PST file Recovery tool to handle all sorts of PST corruption situations. It works well with Microsoft Outlook 2007, 2003, 2002 and 2000. This software is compatible with Microsoft Windows Vista, 2003, XP, 2000 and NT4 (SP6).