Last updated on May 17th, 2023 at 05:59 pm
This article is related to Outlook PST file corruption. Here you will get to know about a few manual methods to repair PST files for free. Besides this, I have also mentioned a professional Outlook PST Repair tool; you can go with it if the manual methods don’t work for you. At first, I’ll describe few reasons, which can make your PST file corrupted. So, let’s elaborate:
Why do PST files get corrupted?
Many reasons make the .pst file inaccessible, and the need for an Outlook PST repair tool arises. Some of them are the following:
- Create the new PST file: When Outlook users upgrade/update to the latest version, it automatically creates a new PST file. In this case, the old PST file might corrupt, and you have to find an efficient way for Outlook PST repair.
- Oversized PST: In Outlook, a PST file can be a maximum of 50 GB. Over-sized PST files are more susceptible to corruption. So it is necessary to maintain the size of the PST file to keep the PST file error-free.
- Malware Issue: There is no doubt that when you install software or anything from the web, your web service may provide you the required thing with a virus. This virus can affect your system and PST file too. This unknown virus can make your PST file corrupted, or it also can delete some of your PST files’ data.
These are the few reasons for PST file corruption. If your PST file gets corrupted, then you can’t access the PST file. To access the Outlook file/data in your local machine, you need to find an efficient way for Outlook PST repair.
Ways to Repair Outlook PST file
There are many reasons for corruption, and there are also many ways and utilities for Outlook PST repair. Users can use manual methods and professional third-party tools for this task.
Manual Methods for PST Outlook Repair:
Microsoft provides an inbuilt utility to repair Outlook PST, called Scanpst.exe. This utility scans and repairs corrupt and inaccessible PST, but there are few drawbacks of the Scanpst.exe (free PST repair tool) utility. Scanpst.exe is a hidden file. So firstly, you have to find the Scanpst.exe location.
Before moving towards the Scanpst.exe, let us tell you something about PST size. In case your PST file tends to be corrupted due to an Oversize issue, then you can use the Shoviv PST Compress and Compact Tool. This tool works at a super-fine level and can compress the large size PST file without any hassle. This software comes with a free version that allows compressing and compacting the first 50 items per folder.
Steps to use Scanpst.exe (free PST repair tool) for Outlook PST Repair
- Type Scanpst.exe in the search box.
- Now, make a click on the Scanpst.exe utility.
- Click on the browse button and choose the PST file that you want to repair.
- Then click on the start button, now the scan process will start.
- Click on the repair button if the scan finds some error.
- When the repairing process gets completed, open Outlook to ensure the issue has been resolved or not.
Limitations of Scanpst.exe
- This utility only repairs minor corruption.
- It doesn’t recover the hardly deleted data, but it can delete some of your data.
- There is no guarantee of a successful repair.
- It only repairs the file, which is less than 2 GB in size.
Recover deleted items folder of PST files for free
There is a free Outlook PST recovery tool named Hex editor. It is a free utility that can be used to modify the content of PST files and by one who is familiar with the hexadecimal.
HEX concept to free PST repair/recovery
In Hex editor, users have to delete some of the PST file header information to make the PST file corrupted and recover deleted items folder of the PST file. Sound weird, but it works. You have to take care of PST files while corrupting them in Hex editor. Otherwise, you may lose your PST file.
I am going to acquaint you with the simple procedure to repair PST file free using Hex editor. But before doing anything, back up your PST file (never mess around with original PST files). For the screenshots below, I’ve used HxD editor. It is free and comes in many languages.
The process to free PST repair using Hex editor and Scanpst.exe
- Open your Hex editor.
- Import PST file for recovery.
- Now overwrite the value from position 7 to 13. In the hexadecimal system, this process actually deletes 13 characters, not 6.
- By doing this, all values will change into 00, and your PST file will get corrupted.
Now run the ScanPST.exe to repair PST file free and also recovers deleted item folder.
Due to the limitations and risk of data loss in manual methods, maximum people prefer a professional utility to repair Outlook PST files.
Shoviv Outlook PST Repair Tool
Shoviv Software is a well-known name in the field of data recovery and migration. For users whose PST file gets corrupted or somehow their PST file data gets deleted, Shoviv Software comes up with a solution called Shoviv Outlook PST Repair Tool. It is a mastered utility in its field. This tool is for everyone, and it keeps many user-centric features:
- This PST Outlook repair tool keeps a simple GUI, which makes it accessible and easy to use for everyone. Even a non-technocrat and first-time user can use this tool without any technical knowledge and assistance.
- If some of your .pst files data get deleted, then this repair tool by Shoviv will recover the hardly deleted data of the.pst file in a hassle-free manner.
- This Outlook PST repair utility allows users to add multiple oversized files without any glitches. The users can add multiple PST files to repair in a single go.
- Shoviv Software provides a PST repair tool-free version to evaluate software’s working efficiency. The free version allows processing the first 50 items per folder.
Wrapping Up:
By reading the blog, you got the best solution to repair PST file-free. PST file corruption can happen due to many reasons. So, you can choose any method according to your requirements. In the end, whatever you will choose, choose wisely.
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