Summary: Outlook XP and earlier have a limit of 2gigabytes on the size of its PST file. However there's no warning, only problems, if you exceed that limit.
My PST has grown over 2gig, and now I can't repair it. What do I do?
In an earlier article, What can I do about Outlook's huge PST? I discussed how to use multiple PSTs and other techniques to manage the size of Outlook's email personal storage files, known as PST files. That article was mostly about the inconvenience of managing large files, and mentioned in passing that there's a 2 gigabyte limit to Outlook's PST.
As it turns out it is possible to create a PST that's larger than 2 gigabytes. Unfortunately that's where the trouble starts.
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The problem manifests when you start Outlook and it complains about the PST, typically instructing you to use the Inbox Repair Tool.
Step one is to do exactly that. You can read more about the Inbox Repair Tool, called scanpst in this Microsoft Knowledgebase Article. If that tool completes successfully and the problem does not reoccur, you should examine the size of your PST and determine if some of the steps in the earlier article are called for.
If scanpst fails and the PST file is at or over 2 gigabytes (2,147,483,648 bytes) in size then you have a problem; you are going to lose some email.
Microsoft has made available an Oversized PST and OST Crop Tool. The crop tool does just that: it crops, or cuts, the size of the PST file by a specified amount to make it smaller. It makes it small enough to run scanpst on which can recover the contents of the PST. Any messages in the portion of the PST that was cut is lost.
The lesson here is to keep an eye on the size of your PST. While it would be nice if Outlook actually prevented PSTs from growing beyond the limits Outlook can handle it may not, and obviously it can result in lost messages. Make sure to have a decent backup strategy and keep an eye on your PST size.
Related:
Ask Leo! - Where is my Outlook PST file located?
Ask Leo! - What can I do about Outlook's huge PST?
Ask Leo! - How do I upgrade my Outlook PST to 2003?
Article C1921 - April 9, 2004
Hi Leo, in the meatime, I used the repair and I requested to restore the default configuration. So, I needed to create a new profile. So, after it, I think that it worked, because I don't have more the folder (over 2gb). Now, I can add and close this folder. Note: This folder is created as PST 97 and 2002. Do you think that I need to convert it to 2003 pst? Do you know why I don't have the same problem than the other people that is using folder over 2gb? thanks.
Posted by: John at December 23, 2006 1:23 AMTo recover your emails from oversized pst file try using Repair PST software from http://www.repairpst.net
Posted by: Felina at January 3, 2007 9:00 PMYou can try best pst file recovery tool at http://www.recoveryfix.com/repair-pst-file.html
Posted by: Naveen at September 10, 2007 2:00 AMI recently had to reformat my PC. I exported my emails from Outlook 2003. Now I am trying to import and although the file is not empty it makes no attempt to import to Outlook. I have tried the recovery sofware mentioned but it says the file is empty! I NEED the folders back with my email. Can anyone help please?
Posted by: Shirley Parry at February 26, 2008 12:15 AMI have also face the similar situation . I have used Inbox repair tool but unable to solve the problem.I have used Stellar Phoenix Pst repair software.This software helps me to recover my pst file.This software has GUI interface so easy to use.
Posted by: Jakson at December 17, 2008 2:13 AMhttp://www.repair-outlook-pst.com/
I would try to import the data into a office 2003 / 2007 pst file.
Perhaps everthing will go into place and the repair will not be needed, or it will let you repair in the new unicode Format.
Posted by: Carlos at January 28, 2009 7:42 AMYou can repair your 2gb grown pst file by splitting the pst file. Find the process of doing this
http://www.repairpst.info/qd.php?questionid=12&pg=2gb_outlook_.pst_problem
Posted by: Piyush at February 19, 2009 2:36 AMHi, I am facing a problem regarding Outllok pst possibly becuase of its size. The problem is that my outlook is very very slow and it hangs by computer.
My pst file property shows that its size is 4GB but when i open my outllok and check the all folder sizes, it comes to 1.3 GB (including calander, contacts). Can anyboy help me how to improve it.
regards
Posted by: Aftab at April 26, 2009 5:45 AMRepair 2GB oversized pst file... click on http://www.perfectemailrecovery.com/outlook-recovery-software.html
Posted by: maclon at September 9, 2009 4:08 AMYou can also try the tool from http://www.pstrecovery.net/
Posted by: rdata at September 12, 2009 1:13 PM