Use the Inbox Repair tool

If you can't open your Personal Folders file (.pst) or your Offline Folder file (.ost), or you
suspect that your .pst or .ost data file is corrupt, you can use the Inbox Repair tool
(Scanpst.exe), to diagnose and repair errors in the file.

1. Quit Microsoft Outlook if it's running.

2. Double-click Scanpst.exe, located at drive:\Program Files\Common
Files\System\MSMAPI\LocaleID folder (e.g C:\Program Files\Common
Files\System\MSMAPI\1033) - where LocaleID is the locale identifier (LCID) for
the installation of Microsoft Office. The LCID for English - United States is 1033.
3. In the Enter the name of the file you want to scan box, enter the name of the
.pst or .ost file that you want to check, or click Browse to look for the file.
4. To specify scan log options, click Options, and then click the option you want.
5. Click Start.
6. When the scanning is completed, and if errors were found, you will be prompted
to start the repair process.

To change the name or location of the backup file created during the repair
process, in the Enter name of backup file box, enter a new name, or click
Browse to look for the file.

7. Click Repair.
8. Start Outlook using the profile that contains the .pst file that you tried to repair.
9. On the Go menu, click Folder List.

In the Folder List, you may see a Recovered Personal Folders folder containing
default Outlook folders or a Lost and Found folder. The recovered folders are
usually empty, because this is a rebuilt .pst file. The Lost and Found folder
contains folders and items that the Inbox Repair tool recovered. Items that are
missing from the Lost and Found folder cannot be repaired.

10. If you see a Recovered Personal Folders folder, you can create a new .pst file,
and then drag the items in the Lost and Found folder into the new .pst file. When
you have finished moving all items, you can remove the Recovered Personal
Folders (.pst) file, including the Lost and Found folder, from your profile.

Notes

• If you are able to open the original .pst file, you may be able to recover additional
items from your damaged .pst file. By default, the Inbox Repair tool creates a file
called file name .bak, which is a copy of the original .pst file with a different
extension. The .bak file is located in the same folder as your original .pst file. You
may be able to recover items from the .bak file that the Inbox Repair tool could
not recover. Make a copy of the .bak file, giving the file a new name with a .pst
 extension. Import the "bak.pst" file, and then move any additional recovered items
to the new .pst file that you created.
• A copy of the log file is written to the same location as the .pst file.

If you are keeping Outlook data on your computer, you are using a Personal Folders file (.pst) or an Offline

Folder file (.ost). To prevent data loss, you need to know how to repair these files.

If your .pst file becomes damaged, Outlook includes a tool that may be able to correct the problem without

your switching to a backup copy. This tool, the Inbox Repair Tool, is installed on your hard disk when you

install Outlook.

If your .ost file becomes damaged, Outlook includes a tool that may be able to correct the problem. This tool,

the OST Integrity Tool, can scan and repair .ost files. If that doesn't completely solve the problem, you can

disable the .ost file and create a new one.

Repairing a Personal Folders file (.pst)

You may need to use the Inbox Repair Tool if you open your Outlook .pst file and receive this message:

Unable to expand the folder. The set of folders could not be opened. Errors could have been

detected in the file drive:\Documents and Settings\user\Local Settings\Application

Data\Microsoft\Outlook\Outlook.pst. Quit all mail-enabled applications, and then use the Inbox

Repair Tool.

Note The path to the file specified in the message may vary depending upon the operating system you are

using on your computer.

To repair the .pst file

1. On the Start menu, click Run.

2. In the Open box, type

drive:\Program Files\Common Files\System\Mapi\LocaleID\scanpst.exe

 where LocaleID is the locale identifier (LCID) for your installation of Microsoft Office. For example, the

LCID for English (United States) is 1033. For a list of LCIDs, see Microsoft Office Help.

3. Click OK.

4. In the Enter the name of the file you want to scan box, type the path and file name given in the

error message above.

Note You may not be able to use the Browse button to locate this file because it is located in a

hidden folder.

5. To change the options for logging errors during the scan, click Options. If you choose Replace log or

Append to log, the log file is saved to the same directory as the .pst file.

6. Click Start.

7. When the file scan is completed, select the Make a backup of scanned file before repairing check

box.

8. Click Repair.

If the file is successfully repaired, you will see a Repair complete message. If the Inbox Repair Tool was

unable to repair the file, you will need to use a backup of your file.

To begin using your backup file as your new primary file

1. Start Outlook.

2. On the File menu, click Data File Management.

3. Select the .pst that is damaged, and then click Remove.

4. Click Add, select Personal Folders File (.pst), click OK, and then select the .pst file you want to use

as the new primary file.

5. Click OK.

Important You should not rely solely on the Inbox Repair Tool for disaster recovery. A system of regular

backups of your .pst file is an important part of preventing data loss. You can back up the file in several

ways, including copying it to another location, backing up all of the files on your computer, or by using the

Personal Folders Backup utility, available on the Microsoft Office Online site.
 Repairing an Offline Folder file (.ost)

You may want to scan and repair your .ost if you:

 Encounter a large numbers of conflict items.

 Cannot open particular Outlook items when offline.

 Receive unexpected synchronization error messages (as shown in the synchronization log in the

Deleted Items folder).

 Receive the message:

Unable to expand the folder. The set of folders could not be opened. Errors could have been

detected in the file drive:\Documents and Settings\user\Local Settings\Application

Data\Microsoft\Outlook\Outlook.ost. Quit all mail-enabled applications, and then use the Inbox

Repair Tool.

Note The file path specified in the message may vary depending upon the operating system you are

using on your computer.

In addition, you might be able to open folders in the .ost but get synchronization error messages that do not

go away. This happens when a single e-mail message is damaged and the synchronization process cannot

correct it. You can use the OST Integrity Tool to fix damaged messages or to move them so you can

synchronize successfully.

Important You may need to run scanpst.exe (see the first procedure above) first if the OST Integrity Tool

cannot open the .ost file.

To scan and repair the .ost file

1. Close Outlook.

2. On the Start menu, click Run.

3. In the Open box, type

drive:\Program Files\Common Files\System\Mapi\LocaleID\scanost.exe

 where LocaleID is the locale identifier (LCID) for your installation of Microsoft Office. For example, the

LCID for English (United States) is 1033. For a list of LCIDs, see Microsoft Office Help.

4. Click OK.

5. Click either Scan all folders or Choose folder to scan. If you click Scan all folders, this may take

several minutes.

6. Select the Repair errors check box.

7. Click Begin Scan.

Details of actions performed during the scan and repair are saved as a message in your Outlook Deleted

Items folder with the subject "OST Integrity Check."

If the Offline Folder file cannot be repaired, you can disable it and create a new one.

To disable the .ost file and create a new one

1. On the Tools menu, click E-mail Accounts, click View or change existing e-mail accounts, and

then click Next.

2. In the list, click Microsoft Exchange Server, and then click Change.

3. Click More Settings.

4. Click the Advanced tab, and then click Offline Folder File Settings.

5. Click Disable Offline Use.

6. In the File box, type the path to the file you want to use as the new .ost file. The default file name is

outlook.ost. If this file name already exists, you are