Repair corrupt Outlook PST files with two Microsoft utilities

Outlook PST file corruption is a quite common occurrence. In order to deal with PST failures, Microsoft offers two handy utilities which are Inbox Repair Tool and Oversized OST and PST Crop Utility. Creating a backup of all important files is always helpful as your PST can become corrupt after an upgrade. Another option is to rename the PST files to something other Filename.pst and then rename them back to their original names after the upgrade. Of course, this solution only prevents future corruption and it doesn’t correct the corruption that has already taken place. Use the following solutions for this issue:

Using the Inbox Repair Tool

To fix corrupt PST files, you can use the Inbox Repair Tool. This tool isn’t always able to repair every PST file. It repairs the PST file’s header and then deletes anything in the file that it doesn’t understand. So, if a PST file’s header is damaged, as may be the case for corruption that occurs during a version upgrade, the tool should have no trouble making the repair. But when the data within the file is corrupt, the Inbox Repair Tool will destroy what’s left of the file. That’s why it’s always good to make a backup of the PST file before running the Inbox Repair Tool.

Inbox Repair Tool is located in the C:\Program Files\Common Files\System\Mapi\1033\NT directory of any system that’s running Windows. The tool’s filename is Scanpst.exe. (Location of Inbox Repair Tool might vary in earlier versions).

Using the Oversized PST and OST Crop Utility

Another possible cause of corruption is that a PST file has a 2 GB size limit. Once this limit is exceeded, corruption occurs instantly. You can’t initially fix this problem with the Inbox Repair Tool, you’ll have to use the Oversized PST and OST Crop Utility first and then follow up with the Inbox Repair Tool. The crop utility works by deleting about 25 MB of data from the file to bring the file back within specification.

However, the best and easiest way to repair Outlook is to use Kernel for Outlook Repair. This software is known for repair Outlook files in a matter of couple of minutes without losing on vital data.

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