How do I repair a corrupt .pst file?

In the businees world a .pst file is perhaps the most important file for a person contrary to your statement that since it is a single file it is trivial if you loose data. That single file can contain all the email & data from many projects. Of all the files to backup that one should be #1 on the list.

@Larry G, Leo did not say it was trivial if you lose the pst file, he said it was a trivial job to back it up. Completely different!
Try reading the article properly before you comment (as Leo suggests).

I am running Windows 7 and MS Outlook 2007.
I cannot find scanpst.exe anywhere.
Your comments, please.

Your article showed my outlook.pst was in a directory called C:\users\roger\appdata\local...
but I could not find an appdata directory in "My computer" even when I set it to show system files.
So I could not back it up. Nor could I find it when I used "search all files."
However, an option reached by right-clicking personal folders, is "open outlook data file". But this too has a hidden address,(local) and produces an error message if you try to copy it or send it elsewhere.
You blithely state that one should make a backup before using scanpst. But how?

You may need to have Windows Explorer configured to show system and hidden files. Those are two confusingly similar yet actually very different things.

06-Oct-2011

Microsoft has for year "hidden" like Larry G says, maybe the most important data file of all times.

I ALWAYS move that file to a location where I can easily track it, and where I easily can include it in regular backups (in my case, it is in a subfolder of "Documents").

Microsoft also has a nifty plug-in for Outlook that automatically prompts you - and does the work - of backing up your pst files when you shut down Outlook. Highly recommended add-on.

Leo, in this article and at least one other, you have recommended against the most reliable e-mail program available, Outlook Express. I am writing this from a fairly speedy laptop with an i5-450 processor and 8 gigs of ram using Windows 7 Professional Edition. In order to download my e-mail quickly, I have to switch into Microsoft's Virtual XP. Virtual XP is slow, clunky, and an extra step I'd rather not take, but even so, by using Outlook Express in the virtual machine, I can still download my e-mail much quicker than I can using Thunderbird with Windows 7 in the non-virtual mode, and I'm pretty sure you could too. I have saved e-mail messages going back over ten years in Outlook Express, with never a lost message or any other glitch. Dropping Outlook Express was, in my opinion, one of the most user-unfriendly things Microsoft has done. I've tried at least seven other e-mail client programs that would run in Windows 7, and for ease of use, simplicity of interface, and just plain no-nonsense speed, none of them can touch Outlook Express. I don't have much hope that Microsoft will revive it with Windows 8, but it would sure be helpful if some smart developer would come up with a decent clone for it that would run under the newer operating systems.

You don't see what I see - based on questions to Ask Leo! more people lose email because of Outlook Express than any other email program I hear of. There are many reasons why I strongly advise moving away from it: Why Outlook Express Must Die

10-Oct-2011

I ran scanpst.exe as suggested. It reported no errors. Then I booted Outlook in safe mode and continue to get a "Databinding..." message at the bottom of the screen. Then a box opens that says the file is being checked for problems. Eventually, that box closes, but the program continues to be locked up (not responding) indefinitely. This loop is repeated endlessly.
I use Outlook for several email accounts including a hotmail POP file. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

IT WORKED!!!!! Thank goodness it worked!!!!! 2.3G of information almost lost. It took awhile to scan and repair but it was worth the wait. Your instructions here were easy to follow. Thank You!!

Hi Leo,

I might have a similar problem after my organisation moved from Office 2007 to 2010. Now suddenly I'm repairing pst's all over the place. This keeps coming back though as soon as users put\file any new emails into the pst's, as they go bust again. Maybe i had dodged a bullet since the pst's were created in Office 2003 and the pst's sizes has grown exponentialy as user's tend to use them as "dumping sites" as soon as they get the message that their mailboxes are full. Hope you can assist. God Speed.

Make sure that the PSTs are *created* using Office 2007 or later. Upgrading Office Outlook does not automatically upgrade the file format and older PSTs will break when the cross the 2 gigabyte size threshold.

02-May-2012

Leo, you are my hero. I was messing around trying to open Outlook 2007 all day; even uninstalled it and installed a trial version of 2010, and nothing. Then, I followed your instructions and my pst file was cured! Thanks! :)