Repair Outlook 2003 PST File
If you have worked with Microsoft Office products such as Outlook on a regular basis, then you may have some passing familiarity with PST files. “PST” stands for “Personal Storage Table”, a file format used by Outlook and other Microsoft Office products in order to store important data information. Not only does this include e-mail messages from Microsoft Exchange mail boxes, but also calendar items and other task items. Most people tend to keep the Outlook PST file in the default location under the C Drive but it cna be stored over a network or even an external drive.
The only issue most people have with PST files is that they become corrpt. It is possible to do a PST file repair using a variety of methods, depending on the severity of the damage. The first task is to find out where your PST files are stored. By default, they can be found in “C:Documents and SettingsUSER Local SettingsApplication DataMicrosoftOutlook”. Be sure to substitute your Windows login screen name for USER when typing in this directory. The default filename for your PST file that is hosting your current mail box is Outlook.pst. There is also an archive file available, known as Archive.pst. There is no way of telling if a PST file is corrupt based on visual inspection. When Outlook is opened, the program will inform you of any corrupt data that needs to be repaired.
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Microsoft Outlook comes with an automatic repair method and an external repair kit for fixing Outlook PST files. When Outlook is opened, the program will notify you of this problem, and then attempt to fix the PST file automatically. Before trying to use the external PST file repair tool that comes with office you should allow Outlook to attempt an automatic repair. In the event that the automatic repair fails to fix the Outlook PST file, you will have to open the Inbox Repair Tool located in “C:Program FilesCommon FilesSystemMSMAPI1033” and search for the Inbox Repair Tool, under the filename Scanpst.exe.
This sweet little to is an external program that comes with office and is used to often times repair a corrupt PST file. To start this program, double click on the Scanpst.exe executable. You will then see window that will ask you to locate the name of the PST file you wish to repair. After this task is done then it's on to starting the Inbox repair tool to scan and repair the PST file. If the PST file is too corrupted or damaged, the Inbox Repair Tool may not be able to fix the Outlook PST file, requiring other third-party solutions. If the Inbox Repair Tool cannot be found in the specified location, find and run CNFNOT32.exe, which should be in the same location that Scanpst.exe should be located. This will restore the executable back to the proper location.
This guide is sure to help out if your pst file is corrupt. If you are having other issues with office in general then you can always uninstall the program and do a re-install.This will often times remedy the problem. In case you are having trouble uninstalling office then check out this cannot uninstall site for software to help out.