Free Methods to Rebuild a PST File

Written By Rohan Wiese
Updated on December 14th, 2023

Are you wondering over the errors displayed while you try to access the MS Outlook PST file? It mainly happens due to PST file corruption. The only solution to fix it is to rebuild PST file. In this script, we’ll ponder over all the points related to this.

Well, there is not any particular reason for the corruption of the PST file as such. But, it might happen due to some reasons such as oversized or heavy PST file, incompatibility between Windows and PST file, improper Outlook termination, virus infections in PST file and many more. However, it can be fixed only if you rebuild a PST file.

Now, the question comes “how to rebuild PST file?” It can simply be done using Microsoft inbuilt inbox repair tool also known as ScanPST.exe. Using this tool, you can easily rebuild the damaged or corrupted Outlook PST file and fix the issues and errors in the PST file.

Manual method to rebuild PST file

In the manual method, we use the scanpst.exe tool to fix the corruptions in the PST file. Just go through these simple steps for doing this.

At first, you need to close MS Outlook. But, before doing that, ensure that no PST attributes or other emails are opened. If there is any, Close them and then close the Outlook.
Now, locate the ScanPST.exe i.e. Inbox Repair Tool on your system and run it. You can navigate this by going through different paths for different versions. After locating it, double-click on it for execution.
Select the PST file you wish to scan using the Inbox Repair Tool. If you are not able to locate the PST file, use the search feature to browse it.
After that, hit a click on the “Start” button. The scanning process will be initiated and will last in a short span of time depending upon the PST file size.
If certain errors are encountered in the scanning process, it will be displayed along with the scanning result. It will create a backup during the repair. Name this backup file and click on Repair. Wait until the process gets completed.
This process will rebuild PST file after the completion. Now, open the Outlook and select the Folder list option under the Go menu…
In the consecutive window Now, search for either “Lost and Found” or “Recovered Personal Folder” in a consecutive window.

NOTE: A rebuilt PST file will be created and as a result of which the “Recovered Personal Folder” will be empty while the “Lost and Found” folder must contain all the file items that were recovered by execution of ScanPST.exe or inbox repair tool. But, somehow, using this you have to rebuild a PST file.

An automated method to rebuild PST file

Although, using the ScanPST.exe provides satisfactory results. But, there are high chances of furthermore corruption in the PST file as it can fix only minor corruptions in PST. If there are severe corruptions in PST file, Scanpst can’t help you much. Also, it is a tedious and lengthy process.

So, in such a case, you can take the help of an Outlook PST Recovery tool. It is one of the reliable and efficient software to rebuild PST file. This utility can scan and resolve the errors in a few minutes.

Conclusion

In the above technical script, it has been explained how to rebuild a PST file, need to rebuild PST file, reasons behind PST file corruption and the possible manual as well as an automated method to fix these issues.

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About The Author:

Rohan Wiese

Rohan Wiese is a Technical Content Writer at Aryson Technologies, specializing in databases, e-mail recovery, and e-mail migration solutions. He enjoys conducting research and generating information that assists database administrators, businesses, and novices in resolving issues with MS SQL Server, MySQL databases, Cloud Computing, and Microsoft Exchange.

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