Run Inbox Repair Tool

1. Quit Outlook 2000.
2. On the Windows® taskbar, click Start, point to Find, and then click Files or Folders.
3. In the Named box, type Scanpst.exe, and then click Find Now.
4. Double-click Scanpst.exe.
5. In the Enter the name of the file you want to scan box, type the name of the .pst file, or click Browse to select from a list, and then click Open.
6. Click Start.
7. To review the report created by Inbox Repair Tool, click Details.
   To have Outlook make a backup copy of your .pst file before repairing it, select the Make backup of scanned file before repairing check box. Click Repair.

Verify repaired items

1. Start Outlook using the profile that contains the .pst file that you repaired.
2. If the Folder List is not visible, on the View menu, click Folder List.
   In the Folder List, find your .pst file. Double-click the file to open it and the name will change to Recovered Personal Folders. Because this is a rebuilt .pst file, most of the folders will be empty. Find the folder called Lost And Found. It contains folders and items that Inbox Repair Tool recovered. If the Lost and Found folder is missing or if folders within it are missing items, it means the .pst file couldn't be repaired. However, you may be able to recover items from the backup copy of your .pst file. (To do this, skip to Recover items from the backup .pst file, below.)

Next, create a new .pst file and move repaired items into it

Create a new .pst file

1. On the File menu, point to New, and then click Personal Folders File (.pst).
2. In the Save in list, click the folder you want to save the file in.
3. In the File name box, type a name for the file, and then click Create.
4. In the Name box, type the name that you want to appear in your Folder List.
5. Select any other options you want, and then click OK.

Move repaired items

Drag repaired items from the Lost And Found folder to your new .pst file. When you've finished moving all the items, you can remove the Recovered Personal Folders file, including the Lost And Found folder, from your profile.
For more information about removing a .pst file from your profile, type remove information service in the Office Assistant or on the Answer Wizard tab in the Outlook Help window, and then click Search.

Recover items from the backup .pst file

If you created a backup copy of your .pst file before repairing it, you'll find the backup copy in the same directory as your original .pst file, with the name of the original .pst file and the file extension .bak.
Make a copy of the .bak file by right-clicking it, clicking Rename on the shortcut menu and then giving the file a new name with a .pst extension, such as Newname.pst.

Add this new .pst file to your profile

1. On the Tools menu, click Services.
2. Click Add.
3. In the list, click Personal Folders, and then click OK.
4. Specify the file name (such as Newname.pst) and location for your new .pst file, and then click Open.
5. In the Name box, type the name that you want to display in the Folder List.
6. Select any other options you want, and then click OK.

Now, import information from the backup .pst file

1. On the File menu, click Import and Export.
2. In the list, click Import from another program or file, and then click Next.
3. Click Personal Folder File (.pst), and then click Next.
4. In the File to import box, type the name of your new .pst file, such as Newname.pst.
5. Under Options, click Do not import duplicates, and then click Next.
6. Select the Include subfolders check box.
7. Click Import items into the same folder in, select your new .pst file, and then click Finish.

The backup file is a copy of the original corrupted or damaged file, and you may find that you can't recover everything. If you're unable to import the new .pst file into Outlook, then you've lost any information that isn't in the Lost And Found folder.

 Note    The procedure above refers to a .pst file. You can also use Inbox Repair Tool to repair an .ost file.