Learn about the possible causes of the ‘Outlook PST is not a personal folders file’ error and discover simple ways to fix it quickly and get your application back to its normal function.
One of the errors associated with corrupt PST files is ‘Outlook PST is not a personal folders file’. By the time you are getting this error, your powerful client email software is already unresponsive. What can you do to restore its functioning? The following are some simple tips that will come in handy when trying to resolve this error.
What causes the error?
If a user encounters this error, it signifies that the PST file is corrupt and the Outlook application cannot read it. There are diverse causes of a corrupt PST file. They include virus attack, damage to storage media such as DVDs, and writing errors during backup.
Resolving the ‘Outlook PST is not a personal folders file’ error
The moment you come across this problem, it is advisable to make a copy of your target file. Have in mind that file repair procedures cannot offer 100 percent recovery of the data in your PST file. In fact, even if you manage to restore your email application, you are likely to lose any files that aren’t recovered during the restoration process. The following tips can help you salvage your PST files.
1. Try the Inbox Repair Tool
MS Outlook comes with an inbuilt repair tool. It is the Scanpst.exe utility that’s found in the program files. Prior to starting this repair tool, close the Outlook application and any file that may have access to the file you intend to repair.
Launch the program and choose the file you want to repair, then hit the start button. This will kick-start the file repair process. It is important to note that you may have to repeat this process several times before your file is fully repaired. In addition, this repair tool does not fix all problems associated with this error. This means the error may still show up, even after completing the recovery process.
To get the repaired files, start MS Outlook and press CTRL+6 to reveal the items that have been recovered. Move these files to a new PST folder and get rid of the recovered files from your Outlook profile.
2. Use third-party data recovery tools
If running the Inbox Repair tool doesn’t correct the error, consider using third-party Outlook repair applications. These tools can come in handy when you want to recover your PST file. For instance, the DataNumen Outlook Repair software is designed to give you an effortless data recovery experience. Once you install and launch the program, you will repair your files in five simple steps. It also designed to allow the recovery of all versions of Outlook, including the cloud-based version for Office 365.
This method is ideal for recovering PST files especially if some items such as messages, tasks, and contacts have been deleted. It is also the best option for recovering large PST files up to 16777216 TB.
Conclusion
The ‘Outlook PST is not a personal folders file’ error is capable of preventing you from accessing important information in your Outlook inbox. In such a case, you may choose to repair the files using the Inbox Repair tool. However, this method doesn’t guarantee 100 percent recovery of files. Also, any items that you don’t recover after running this option will be deleted and can only be salvaged from backup files. Using third-party Outlook repair tools such as DataNumen Outlook Repair helps you recover what the Inbox Repair tool cannot.
