4 Ways to Repair Outlook PST File

Last Updated on February 27, 2021 by Rick Darlinton

If you have been using Microsoft Outlook, then you must be familiar with PST files that are used to store messages and other app-related data. Though, if the PST (Personal Storage Table) file in MS Outlook has been corrupted, then you might find it hard to extract your emails. Thankfully, with the PST repair tool, you can easily repair Outlook PST file and use Outlook without any hassle. In this post, I will let you know how to repair Outlook PST files in 4 different ways.

Inbox Repair Tool (Scanpst.exe) to Fix Corrupt PST File

A lot of people don’t know this, but Microsoft Outlook has an inbuilt Inbox Repair Tool, which is known as Scanpst.exe. If there is only a minor issue with your PST file, then the Inbox outlook PST Repair Tool would be able to fix it.

In most cases, Scanpst.exe can fix an issue with the metadata, missing segments, infected files, or other common problems. To use the Outlook Inbox Repair Tool, you first need to locate the Scanpst.exe file and then manually load the PST file that has been corrupted. Here’s a stepwise tutorial on how to repair Outlook PST file with the Inbox Repair tool.

Step 1: Locate the Scanpst.exe file

At first, you need to locate the Scanpst.exe file so that you can launch the Inbox Repair Tool. Assuming you have installed Windows on the C: drive, the location of the Scanpst.exe file can be as follows (according to different Outlook versions):

Office 365, Outlook 2016 or a new version: C > Program Files > Microsoft Office > Root > Office16/Office19

Outlook 2016 MSI volume (32-bit Windows): C > Program Files > Microsoft Office > Office16

Outlook 2016 MSI volume (64-bit Windows): C > Program Files (x86) > Microsoft Office > Office16

Outlook 2013(32-bit Windows): C > Program Files > Microsoft Office > Office15

Outlook 2013(64-bit Windows): C > Program Files (x86) > Microsoft Office > Office15

Outlook 2013 (click-to-run): C > Program Files > Microsoft Office > Root > Office15

Outlook 2010(32-bit Windows): C > Program Files > Microsoft Office > Office14

Outlook 2010(64-bit Windows): C > Program Files (x86) > Microsoft Office > Office14

Outlook 2007(32-bit Windows): C > Program Files > Microsoft Office > Office12

Outlook 2007(64-bit Windows): C > Program Files (x86) > Microsoft Office > Office12

64-bit MS Outlook: C > Program Files > Microsoft Office > Office12\14 \15\16

Step 2: Load the Corrupt PST file to Repair

Great! Once you have located the Scanpst.exe file, simply open it as an administrator to launch the application. Now, on the application, you can click on the “Browse” button to locate the PST file that has been corrupted.

Step 3: Scan and Repair the Corrupt PST File

That’s it! Once the corrupt PST file has been loaded on the application, you can click on the “Start” button. The repairing tool would now scan the corrupt PST file and will try to identify the problem with it.

If the Inbox Repair Tool would find any issue with the PST file, then it will notify you the same. In case it has detected that the PST file is being corrupted, then you can just click on the “Repair” button.

Now, you can just wait for a while as the application would try to repair the corrupt PST file. Since it might take a while, it is recommended to simply wait for a while and then let the tool complete the process.

In the end, you will be notified that the repairing process has been completed. You can now launch MS Outlook on your system and access your emails from the repaired PST file.

3 outlook pst repair tools to Repair Corrupt PST Files

Apart from Outlook’s inbuilt Inbox Repair Tool, you can also try the following third-party pst repair tools

Stellar Phoenix PST Repair Tool

Developed by Stellar, this is a popular outook PST repair tool that can fix corrupt Outlook files of almost every version.

  • It supports the repairing of PST files of all the major versions like Outlook 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, and more.
  • The application can repair and extract your emails, calendar, messages, contacts, attachments, and other saved data.
  • The interface will split and let you compare your PST files by providing a preview of your data.
  • Users can even export their PST file’s data to other formats like EML, RTF, HTML, PDF, etc.
Kernel for Outlook PST Recovery Tool

Kerner has also come up with a dedicated PST repairing tool that is easy to use

  • It supports the repairing of large-sized PST files as well from numerous Outlook versions.
  • The application can recover your messages, contacts, attachments, calendar, tasks, and more.
  • The recovered emails and data would be available for preview and will be highlighted by the application.
  • You can readily search your emails and export them to different formats (like HTML, PDF, RTF, TXT, and more).
SysTools Outlook PST Repair Solution

Lastly, you can also take the assistance of the PST repair tool developed by SysTools. It is a user-friendly application that can repair your PST data and export it in different formats.

  • It can fix corrupt PST files in many possible scenarios and would let you preview the results.
  • Supports the repair of PST files from the popular Outlook versions with a satisfactory success rate.
  • Users can export the repaired files to Office 365 directly or save them in different data formats.
  • The application can also remove the protected OpenPGP encryption from the PST files.

There you go! Now when you know how to repair corrupt Outlook PST files in four different ways, you can easily recover and extract your Outlook data without any hassle.