Outlook Error
Inbox repair tool and using the scanpst.exe function when getting an Outlook Error. How to repair a corrupt pst file in outlook.
Symptoms
Occasionally when opening your email you receive the outlook error “Outlook cannot open the file “c:/…./outlook.pst” run the inbox repair tool to resolve..
Cause
When this happens for some reason you have a corrupt PST (Mail File). This can be caused by many things.
- Sometimes virus infections within your mail file will cause corruption and you will receive an outlook error.
- Later when cleaned by an antivirus this too can leave gaps in the database causing unreadable file data.
- A failing Hard Drive could be causing data loss and once again leave you with and outlook error.
- If a mail file gets too big Outlook often tends to cause its own corruption as it doesn’t quite know how to deal with files this large and may run out of memory while trying to read data etc. When an outlook pst file gets to a point of 4gb it is good practice to start archiving and backing up your mail to make files more manageable and easy for outlook to deal with.
- Finally, faulty plugins within outlook can cause issue’s within your data file and it is good practice to disable plugins that are not in use and may be causing issues or slowing things down.
Resolution
In order to resolve this corruption and repair your mail file try these steps.
- Browse to my computer and open the following file location to find the scanpst location. This may differ slightly depending on which version of outlook you may have.
- Browse to and open the following file C:\program files\Microsoft Office\Office12\Scanpst.exe (may be in folder offce11 or office 13 for later versions of Office).
- Once the scanpst application is open you will see a browse button. Click here to locate your pst\mail file. This too differs depending on your version of windows.
- Windows XP: Browse to and select c:\documents and settings\”username”\application data\local settings\Microsoft\Outlook\outlook.pst
- Vista/Windows 7/Windows 8: Browse to and select C:\users\”username”\AppData\local\Microsoft\Outlook\Outlook.pst
- Once you have selected the file merely click start. This will scan your pst file for the relevant outlook error or corruption and attempt to repair the file for you.
Scanpst Applicaction
If this doesn’t resolve your issue call us and we’ll try to assist.
