Repairing and Importing a back-up .pst

[Guest]

Hi,

I'm hoping for advice on how to import a .pst file that gives me an error
message -- OR advice on how to DOWNLOAD the Inbox Repair Toolkit.

WHAT I'M USING: Outlook Pro 2003 edition (part of Office Pro 2003) with all
updates, running on WinXP Pro SP 2, also with all updates.

BACKGROUND: I recently reinstalled WinXP. Before I did, though, I exported
my Outlook Inbox as a .pst file and saved it to a CD. After I completed
reinstallation and updates for both WinXP and Office, I moved the .pst file
from the CD to my hard drive, then used the Import command.

PROBLEM: Outlook gave me an error message, saying that the ".pst" file is
NOT a Personal Folders file and can't be imported. For kicks, I've tried to
Import it as another type of file, but it's not even visible as anything
other than a .pst file. I also confirmed that the .pst file was not read-only.

TROUBLESHOOTING: I wondered if the .pst file had been corrupted somehow. I
went to Microsoft's support site and learned that there's an Inbox Repair
Toolkit that comes standard with Windows and Office. Unfortunately, I can't
find it. When I do a search for "Scanpst.exe," it comes up empty. When I
follow the path described on the Support site, there are no folders with the
names given. I made sure that, under folder settings, I was able to See
Hidden Folders, but to no avail.

I then downloaded the Office File Conversion Kit and installed it, but,
likewise, can't launch it because I can't find its folder or .exe file.

So I have a couple problems: I can't import my .pst file and I can't see
some files on my PC that should NOT be hidden.

Any ideas or suggestions would be much appreciated!!

- DJ

 

[Guest]

I only know this answer because I am having a horrible time trying to fix my
inbox. I know where the inbox repair tool is. It hasn't helped me, but
perhaps will help you:
c:/program files/common files/system/msmap/then your local ID#--mine is 4
digits the inbox repair tool should be in there. I think.
Good luck.

 

[Guest]

Hi, Lynn:

You were right -- I found it at the location you provided, thank you.
Unfortunately, it didn't fix the problem, but at least it helps me narrow
things down.

 

[Guest]

You're welcome. If you do come upon anything that might fix a probably
corrupt inbox in Outlook, let me know.

Going crazy without the computer know-how to fix it,

 

[Pat Willener]

Thank you for a very good and detailed description. If only more posters
would give so good descriptions of their problems...

Now, first you should not have exported your data to a PST file, but
directly saved your original PST file. Export and Import should only be
used with non-Outlook data files.

However, your exported PST file should still be a usable PST file. Did
you remove the read-only attribute from the PST file after downloading
it to your HD? This could be the root of the problem.

P.S. the Inbox Repair Tool can also be found on the Start Menu ->
Programs -> Microsoft Office -> Microsoft Office Tools

 

[DL]

To add, In OL File>Open>Data File.........browse to the pst

 

[Guest]

Hi, Pat:

Thanks for the clear and useful advice. Will definitely help next time. I'm
not sure what I did wrong, but I must have mis-saved the file or managed to
corrupt it along the way.

With .pst file on my HD, and with the "Read Only" attribute un-checked,
Outlook does not recognize it as a Personal Folder file. This is the case
whether I am importing with the Import wizard or using
Outlook>File>Open>Outlook Data File... (thanks, DL).

Protectively, I'd made another backup via Nero and I'll try that method
later today.

 

[Gordon]

Hi, Pat:

Thanks for the clear and useful advice. Will definitely help next time.
I'm
not sure what I did wrong, but I must have mis-saved the file or managed
to
corrupt it along the way.

With .pst file on my HD, and with the "Read Only" attribute un-checked,
Outlook does not recognize it as a Personal Folder file. This is the case
whether I am importing with the Import wizard or using
Outlook>File>Open>Outlook Data File... (thanks, DL).

Unfortunately this is often the result of using the Export function to
export to another pst file. as the Export function is executed from within
Outlook, the pst file is of course open at the time the function is set in
motion. If Outlook (say) tries to do an automatic send and receive during
the export process, then that might very easily corrupt the resultant file.

BTW, the Inbox repair tool is automatically installed as part of office - do
a search for scanpst.exe.....

 

[Brian Tillman]

PROBLEM: Outlook gave me an error message, saying that the ".pst"
file is
NOT a Personal Folders file and can't be imported. For kicks, I've
tried to Import it as another type of file, but it's not even visible
as anything other than a .pst file. I also confirmed that the .pst
file was not read-only.

Uh oh. This is a fairly sure sign that your PST was damaged in the
copy-to-CD operation. Was Outlook closed when you did the copy? DId you
use the built-in drag-and-drop feature or did you use a third-party
CD-burning application? Copying PST with Outlook open will often leave a
PST damaged beyond repair (by SCANPST) and there is anecdotal evidence that
some CD-burning software doesn't handle PSTs well.

There are many PST repair applications available commercially and Google can
find them for you (search for "repair PST", "Office Recovery", or "repair
Personal Folders"). Often they're more comprehensive in their abilities
than the Inbox Repair Tool and some are not expensive.

 

[Guest]

Thanks, Brian. I'll let you know if that works. Ugh. I'm soooo frustrated
with that inbox!