Repair Outlook Data Files (.pst and .ost)

If your Microsoft Outlook Data File (.pst and .ost files) won’t open or you suspect that the data file is damaged, use the Inbox Repair tool (Scanpst.exe) to diagnose and repair errors in the file. The Inbox Repair tool scans Outlook Data Files on your computer and analyzes the file structure integrity.

 Important    Exit Outlook before you use the Inbox Repair tool.

Repair a .pst file

1. Start Windows Explorer and then do one of the following:

• If you're using a Click-to-run version of Office 2013, browse to the <drive>:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office 15\root\Office15 folder. If you're using a 64-bit version of Microsoft Office or a 32-bit version of Windows, substitute "Program Files" for "Program Files (x86)" in the file path.
• If you're using a version of Office 2013 that's not a Click-to-run version, browse to the <drive>:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office15 folder. If you're using a 64-bit version of Microsoft Office or a 32-bit version of Windows, substitute "Program Files" for "Program Files (x86)" in the file path.

2. Double-click Scanpst.exe.
3. In the Enter the name of the file you want to scan box, enter the name of the .pst file that you want to check, or click Browse to select the file.
4. To specify the scan log options, click Options, and then click the option that you want.
5. Click Start.
6. If the scan finds errors, it prompts you to start the repair process to fix them.

The scan creates a backup file during the repair process. To change the default name or location of this backup file, in the Enter name of backup file box, enter a new name, or click Browse to select the file that you want to use.

7. Click Repair.

A copy of the log file is saved to the same folder as the .pst file.

8. Start Outlook with the profile that contains the Outlook Data File that you repaired.
9. Switch to the Folder List view in the Folder Pane (Folder Pane: The column on the left side of the Outlook window that contains folders for each view, such as Mail or Calendar. Click a folder to show the items in the folder. Formerly the Navigation Pane in earlier releases.) by pressing Ctrl+6.

In the Folder Pane, you might see a folder named Recovered Personal Folders that contains your default Outlook folders or a Lost and Found folder. The recovered folders are usually empty, because this is a rebuilt .pst file. The Lost and Found folder contains the folders and items recovered by the Inbox Repair tool.

You can create a new Outlook Data File, and drag the items in the Lost and Found folder into the new data file. After you've moved all the items, you can remove the Recovered Personal Folders (.pst) file. This includes the Lost and Found folder.

If you can open the original Outlook Data File, you may be able to recover additional items from it. The Inbox Repair tool creates a backup file with the same name as the original, but with a .bak file name extension, and saves it in the same folder. You may be able to recover items from the backup file that the Inbox Repair tool couldn’t recover from the original data file.

To recover items from the backup (.bak) file, make a copy of it and give the copy a new name with a .pst extension, such as bak.pst. Import the bak.pst file into Outlook, and then use the Import and Export Wizard to import any additional recovered items to the new .pst file that you created.

Follow these steps to import items from the backup .pst file:

1. Click File > Open & Export.
2. Click Import/Export.

The Import and Export Wizard starts.

3. Click Import from another program or file, and click Next.
4. Click Outlook Data File (.pst), and then click Next.
5. Under File To Import, click the name of the .pst file.
6. Under Options, click Do not import duplicates, and then click Next.
7. Select the folder you want to import from and the folder in your current profile you want to.
8. Optionally:

• Choose whether to import the contents of subfolders.
• Click Filter to find only the specific items you want to import.

9. Click Finish.

Re-create an offline Outlook Data File (.ost)

Some account types, such as Microsoft Exchange Server, use an offline Outlook Data File (.ost) (offline Outlook Data File (.ost): The file on your hard disk that contains a copy of mail messages and Outlook items. The file is synchronized with the information saved on a mail or Exchange server. The offline Outlook Data File has an .ost extension.). This type of data file is a copy of information saved on your mail server. If you encounter problems with an offline Outlook Data File (.ost), the file can be re-created by downloading a copy of your items again. Repairing an offline Outlook Data File isn’t recommended.

1. Exit Outlook.
2. In Control Panel, click or double-click Mail.

Where is Mail in Control Panel?

The title bar of the Mail Setup dialog box contains the name of the current profile. To select a different existing profile, click Show Profiles, select the profile name, and then click Properties.

3. On the Data Files tab, select the Exchange account, and then click Open File Location. A file explorer window opens to the location of the data file for the Exchange account.
4. Close the Account Settings and Mail Setup dialogs.
5. In the file explorer window, right-click the Exchange data file and then click Delete.

 Note    If you get an error, exit any open Office programs and try again.

Here’s more information about the Inbox Repair tool:

Some account types, such as Microsoft Exchange Server, use an offline Outlook Data File (.ost) (offline Outlook Data File (.ost): The file on your hard disk that contains a copy of mail messages and Outlook items. The file is synchronized with the information saved on a mail or Exchange server. The offline Outlook Data File has an .ost extension.). This type of data file is a copy of information saved on your mail server. If you encounter problems with an offline Outlook Data File (.ost), the file can be re-created by downloading a copy of your items again. Repairing an offline Outlook Data File isn’t recommended.

Scanpst.exe is installed on your computer when you install Microsoft Outlook 2013. The Inbox Repair tool tries to correct any problems by resetting the data file structure and rebuilding the headers for Outlook items. The tool doesn’t connect to or analyze any data saved on a mail server.