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How PST File of Outlook 2016 Can Be Repaired

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Published By Raj Kumar
Aswin Vijayan
Approved By Aswin Vijayan
Published On February 21st, 2023
Reading Time 8 Minutes Reading
Category Outlook, Tips

How PST File of Outlook 2016 Can Be Repaired

Want to know how to repair PST file in Outlook 2016? read on this blog to know reliable methods with their complete steps.

Whenever Microsoft releases a new version of Office, several mistakes are carried along and also occur under new versions again and again. The same is the case for PST corruption. Though both the handling and the appearance of the ScanPST application installed with Outlook have hardly changed since Outlook 2000, and the usage is still simple.

This blog is committed to providing guidance for Outlook 2016. For advanced users, the existing manuals would certainly be enough, however, the beginner will struggle with it now. Therefore, each manual is included in steps, if possible, so that it should also be possible for a newcomer to be able to follow the steps of repairing the corrupt PST file.

How to Repair PST File in Outlook 2016

In order to be able to repair a faulty Outlook 2016 PST file, no prior knowledge is necessary. The only hurdle could be finding the path to the saved Outlook 2016 PST file. How to do this is described step by step:

  • Start Microsoft Outlook 2016> right-click My Outlook Data File> Data File Properties> Advanced -> File. The data file listed under File, therefore, stores the data. Note (or copy) the path, because you will need it later.

If you use Outlook 2016 as your default e-mail program to save your e-mails, messages, contacts, appointments, tasks, and notes to your PC, you will use PST files. To avoid losses, you should know how to repair and restore this file. The required tool ScanPST for repairing is installed when installing Outlook 2016. This article applies to ScanPST and describes how it can be used to repair and recover the data created and managed by Outlook in the event of corruption.

The procedure is the same regardless of whether you have loaded the ScanPST using the Fix it solution for Outlook at Microsoft or if you have found the file on the hard disk.

Download the Inbox Repair Tool from Microsoft

Microsoft recommends using the Fix it solution to repair the .pst file automatically.

Download Microsoft Fix it 20101 for Outlook 2013, 2016 & 2019

Download -> MicrosoftFixit20101.mini.diagcab

Automatically start the Inbox Repair Tool

To be able to automatically repair a faulty PST file, it is first necessary to download the Fix it solution for Outlook 2016. After completing the download process, click the MicrosoftFixit20101.mini.diagcab file to start troubleshooting and follow the steps in the Outlook 2016 Fix it wizard.

If the failed .pst file was not automatically repaired using the Fix-it tool, then manually start the Inbox Repair tool. How to do this is described step by step in the next section.

Manually start the inbox repair tool

  • If Outlook 2016 is used on a 32-bit version of Windows:
%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Office\Office16\ScanPST.exe
  • If Outlook 2016 is used on a 64-bit version of Windows:
%ProgramFiles(x86)%\ Microsoft Office\Office16\ScanPST.exe
  • When Outlook 2016 Click to Run is used as part of Office 365:
%ProgramFiles(x86)%\ Microsoft Office\root\Office16\ScanPST.exe

Repair Outlook 2016 PST file with the Inbox Repair tool

1. Use the browse function to find the Outlook Personal Folders file (see path of the Outlook data file above) that you want to scan, check and repair.

2. If you want to change the options for logging errors during the review, click Options. It will then be saved in the same directory as the PST file.

3. The log file is stored in the same directory as the Outlook 2016 PST file. So click on Start. Before that, you should have closed Outlook 2016.

4. When the review of the PST file is complete, select the “Back up the scanned file before repair” check box. This will ensure that a backup of the current Outlook 2016 PST file is created before the repair .

5. Now click on Repair button.

6. If the PST file has been successfully repaired, it will be displayed in a message such as “The repair is complete“.

Repeat the steps until the “Repair Inbox” application displays the message “No errors were found in this file” or “In this file, only insignificant inconsistencies were found that do not necessarily need to be resolved. If the repair was successful, you’re done. If not, then you should replace the damaged PST file with a working PST file.

How to do that will be described below.

This allows the backup copy to be used as a new primary file

  1. Start Outlook 2016.
  2. From the File menu, click Data File Management.
  3. Select the damaged .pst file, and then click Remove.
  4. Click Add, choose Personal Folder File (.pst).
  5. Click OK, and then select the PST file to use as the new primary file.
  6. Click OK.

For recovering the Outlook 2016 PST file in case of errors, do not rely solely on the ScanPST application. To effectively prevent data loss, the PST file must be backed up regularly. Creating backup files is possible by copying the file to another directory or making copies of all files stored on the PC.

Download Tool Purchase Now

Repair Corrupt PST file in Outlook 2016 with PCVITA Repair Tool

1. Download & Install the Outlook PST Repair tool. You can try out the free version before purchasing a software license for a tiny fee. Click on the “Add File” button to proceed.

2. Now you can either “Browse” and add the PST files or use the “Search” feature to locate the PST file on your system. Later, choose the “Advanced Scan” mode to allow a deep analysis of the faulty PST file. Click on the “Next” button.

3. The software will scan the corrupt PST file and repair it at the same instant. All the data that is successfully restored will be visible in the software interface. You can check the mailbox items within the tool. Now simply click on the “Export” button at the top and a new window with customizable options will appear before you.

4.  Here select “PST” to create a healthy Unicode PST with all repaired data and select the location to save the PST file. Apply other settings as per preference. Finally, click on the “Export” button to repair and restore Outlook 2016 PST file.

Apply other settings as per preference. Finally, click on the “Export” button to repair and restore Outlook 2016 PST file.

How the Inbox Repair Tool Corrects Errors

  • ScanPST discovers and corrects errors in most cases in the internal data structures of PST files. A PST file is a database file. Therefore, structures such as BTrees and reference counters are reviewed and repaired as needed. These lower-level objects are unaware of the upper-level structures such as news, calendar items, and so on.

ScanPST examines each folder of the PST file and does the following:

  • ScanPST ensures that the folders are assigned the correct tables.
  • ScanPST checks each row in each table and makes sure that the message or subfolder exists in the system.
  • If ScanPST can not find the message or subfolder, ScanPST removes the row from the table.
  • When ScanPST finds the message or subfolder, ScanPST checks the message or folder.
  • If the verification fails, the message or folder is considered corrupted and removed from the table and deleted from the database.
  • If the validation completes successfully, ScanPST performs another analysis to ensure that the now recovered values of the message match the values in the table. Damaged folders will be rebuilt from scratch if necessary. These folders contain no user data.

Why PST Repair Tool is More Preferable to Repair PST File in Outlook 2016?

This software has advanced features that allow it to repair and restore multiple PST files at once. It ensures that each and every section of the file is thoroughly scanned for any errors that are also rectified at the same instant. Some of its major benefits are:

  • It can repair Outlook 2016 PST file as well as support corrupt PST file of Outlook 2019, 2013, 2010, 2007 & 2003.
  • It recovers damaged Outlook file irrespective of the corruption level (minor or severe).
  • It supports repair of all PST items including emails, contacts, tasks, notes, calendars, and journals.
  • It previews all the recoverable items which can be restored selectively or all at once in multiple file formats.

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Conclusion

This blog described some of the top approaches of how to repair PST file in outlook 2016. Since not all methods are equally effective, users should choose the automated software for repairing Outlook 2016 PST file.

 

 

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