Problems like system crashes, sudden shutdowns, or profile issues can corrupt the OST file, causing Outlook to display sync errors or lose access to your data. Although Outlook lets you recreate the file, doing so may result in the loss of any unsynced changes. You can usually repair a damaged .pst file using file repair software, but you might even be able to fix it using MS Outlook’s built-in capabilities. Like any type of data file, it’s possible for a .pst file to get corrupted. This might happen with a large .pst file that exceeds the size limit due to third-party add-ins or apps.

Repair your .pst file quickly with our proven tool

The folders might just be empty and redundant, or they might contain recovered data that Outlook couldn’t place in its original locations. The Inbox Repair Tool is an in-built utility from Microsoft to overcome the Outlook PST file corruption issues. Users can inquiry fix Outlook PST files using this utility, but firstly you need to locate the Inbox Repair Tool (ScanPST.exe) in their system. We are going to share a table below with the default location of this utility for different Outlook versions, like Outlook 2010, 2013, or 2019. In addition, it turns into leading Outlook errors, which might affect overall productivity and efficiency and can increase downtime. Therefore, users should put some effective solutions into action to deal with inaccessible or damaged PST files as soon as they encounter Outlook issues.

Step 1 - Exit Outlook and start the Inbox Repair tool

However, deleting the PST file isn’t ideal as you may lose some mailbox items. Here are some methods inbox repair tool alternative you can follow to rebuild the Outlook PST file. If you can't start the Inbox Repair tool automatically or manually, you may try to repair your Office application.

Situations When You Need to Repair Outlook Data File Without SCANPST

To avoid data loss, EdbMails OST to PST converter provides a reliable way to recover mailbox content from damaged or orphaned files. It converts the data into PST format, which can be easily opened in Outlook without inbox repair tool alternative needing access to the original account. The Inbox Repair Tool can’t always recover a heavily corrupted .pst file.

Locating the Outlook Data Files

• In the Folder Pane, you might see a folder named Recovered Personal Folders that contains your default Outlook folders or a Lost and Found folder.
• In addition, this software has a straightforward GUI, so every user will be able to fix PST files without hassle.
• You can try any of the methods listed above to rebuild the PST file.
• Whether you are a Microsoft Outlook, Exchange or Office 365 user, you may come across or encounter the PST files.
• For instructions about how to unhide files and folders, see your operating system documentation.
• Each user can have particular reasons for corrupting their PST files.
• Yevgeniy Reznik is Laboratory Operations Manager at Secure Data Recovery Services in Cleveland, Ohio, and has more than a decade of experience as a data recovery engineer.
• No validation is explicitly done on body-related properties or on subject-related properties, except the implicit low-level validation that this article discusses earlier.
• Then, you can move the recovered items to your new Personal Folders (.pst) file.

We have shared everything on the manual and professional ways to fix Outlook data files or Personal Storage Table (PST) in this blog. Also, we go over the stepwise working procedure of both solutions and the reasons behind PST file corruption issues. The Inbox Repair tool or ScanPST.exe is not a convenient way because of multiple restrictions. Moreover, this tool can quickly recover email messages, calendars, tasks and other data from corrupted PST files.

Shortcomings of the Inbox Repair Tool

If you’re tried using it with no luck, the best fix might be a third-party tool. The Inbox Repair tool is built to diagnose and repair many potential errors with Outlook data files, but it isn’t always the best solution. For example, it can’t help if your file was permanently deleted or corrupted beyond its repair abilities. After running SCANPST.EXE, you might find a folder called Recovered Personal Folders in your files that contains your default Outlook folders or a Lost and Found folder.