Outlook backup and repair

Would you believe discovering I have a corrupt Outlook .pst file would be more disconcerting than experiencing a Windows Blue Screen of Death?

This is why I have downloaded and installed Microsoft’s “free” Outlook backup. An absolute must have for all Outlook users!

But there’s an additional Outlook utility Outlook users should be aware of.

If you cannot open your Personal Folders file (.pst) or you suspect your .pst file is corrupted, before you attempt to restore from a backup consider using your “Inbox Repair tool” (Scanpst.exe) to diagnose and repair errors in the file.

The Inbox Repair tool scans your .pst file and determines whether the file structure is intact. If it’s not intact, the Inbox Repair tool resets your file structure and rebuilds the headers.

The Inbox Repair tool works on both the Microsoft Outlook 97-2002 Personal Folders File (.pst) and the Office Outlook Personal Folders File (.pst) data files in Microsoft Office Outlook 2003, 2007, and 2010.

Scanpst.exe is installed when you install Outlook. It’s located at: drive:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office (your version number of Office).

To repair errors using Scanpst.exe:
1. Exit Outlook.
2. Double-click Scanpst.exe.
3. In the “Enter the name of the file you want to scan” box, enter the name of the .pst you want to check or click Browse to search for the file.
4. To specify the scan log options, click Options and then click the option that you want.
5. Click Start.
6. If errors are found, when the scan is complete you’ll be prompted to start the repair process to fix the errors.

Note: A backup file is created during the repair process.

7. Click Repair.
8. Start Outlook.
9. On the Go menu, click Folder List.

Note: In the Folder List, you may see a folder named “Recovered Personal Folders” that contains your 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 the folders and items recovered by the Inbox Repair tool.

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

And a by- the -way. I also recommend you consider Outback Plus (www.ajsystems.com) as a just in case Outlook backup program.