For Outlook 2007 and earlier versions, Microsoft provides the free Inbox repair tool, also called scanpst, that can fix some minor errors in corrupt Outlook PST files.
It is installed with Microsoft Outlook and you can find it by searching for “scanpst.exe” in your local computer. Or looking for the file under the following directories:
| Windows | Outlook version | Path of the scanpst.exe |
| 32bit | Outlook 2003 | drive:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11 |
| 32bit | Outlook 2007 | drive:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE12 |
| 32bit | Outlook 2010(32bit) | drive:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE14 |
| 64bit | Outlook 2010(32bit) | drive:\Program Files(x86)\Microsoft Office\OFFICE14 |
| 64bit | Outlook 2010(64bit) | drive:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE14 |
| 32bit | Outlook 2013(32bit) | drive:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE15 |
| 64bit | Outlook 2013(32bit) | drive:\Program Files(x86)\Microsoft Office\OFFICE15 |
| 64bit | Outlook 2013(64bit) | drive:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE15 |
where drive: is the drive where you install your copy of Outlook.
If you install the “Click to Run” version of Outlook 2010 and 2013, you need to follow the instructions in https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/repair-outlook-data-files-pst-and-ost-25663bc3-11ec-4412-86c4-60458afc5253 to find scanpst.exe.
More detailed information about using this free tool can be found at:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/272227/how-to-repair-your-outlook-personal-folder-file-pst (For Outlook 2002/2003/2007/2010)
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/272227/how-to-repair-your-outlook-personal-folder-file-pst (For Outlook 2000/2002/2003/2007/2010/2013)
DataNumen Outlook Repair is Much More Better Than Scanpst:
Though scanpst can be of some help in recovering corrupt Outlook PST files, DataNumen Outlook Repair is much more better, because:
- Scanpst rebuilds the file based on the structure of the original Outlook PST file. Whenever there are any errors that make the file structure unrecognizable, for example, Outlook encounters “The file xxxx.pst is not a personal folders file.” error, scanpst will fail. While DataNumen Outlook Repair have a better understanding of the Microsoft Outlook PST file specification and it performs recovery independent on the original file’s structure. Therefore, any errors in the structure will not prevent DataNumen Outlook Repair from working successfully. Even if the whole structure is completely destroyed, DataNumen Outlook Repair can still recover from the file.
- Scanpst only verifies the integrality of PST file. It doesn’t perform any other checks on the PST file. Therefore, it cannot solve the inherent deficiencies in the Outlook PST files. For example, it cannot fix the oversized 2GB PST files. While DataNumen Outlook Repair is designed to check and correct everything in the PST file to make sure it is always usable to the end customers.
- Scanpst is only designed to correct errors in the PST file. It cannot solve the other problems with Outlook, for example, you forget the PST file password, you delete some emails mistakenly and want to undelete them, etc. While DataNumen Outlook Repair is designed to solve all Outlook related problems, so it can solve these problem like a breeze!
In a word, DataNumen Outlook Repair is superior to scanpst in all aspects. Whenever you encounter a problem in Outlook, we suggest you to use DataNumen Outlook Repair.