Unable to load Outlook 2000 .pst file

[waldorf84]

I have been using Outlook 2000 on a Windows XP system; recently I had to
reinstall Windows and all my applications after a corrupt registry problem.
I reinstalled Outlook 2000 from my CD and applied all the updates from the
web. Then I tried to open my .pst file and I got the “not a personal folder
file" error. I have checked that the read-only attribute is not on, and I
have run scanpst which repairs the file but then when I load the repaired
file into Outlook 2000, there are no records in the email folder. The file
size is 630 MB, so it is not close to the 2 GB limit. I have multiple
previous data versions of my .pst file; all were saved to a DVD written with
Roxio 7.5 (these were copied to my hard drive before loading into Outlook.)

I have tried the demo versions of Stellar Phoenix, Advanced Outlook Repair,
and Recovery Toolbox for Outlook. The first time I ran Stellar Phoenix, it
recovered 4 emails out of the potential 5 emails the demo allows. When I
tried to replicate these results later, it recovered no emails; I am
following up with Stellar on this. In the meantime, does anyone have any
other suggestions to try? Are there any issues that could be related to the
Internet Mail Only (IMO) vs the Workgroup (WG) mode? I thought I was running
IMO mode previously (before the reinstall), and I chose IMO mode when I
reinstalled. However, when I checked the mode of my currently installed
version, it was WG, so I changed it to IMO. Would the mode used at the time
the data were saved make a difference here? Thank you so much.

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP-Outlook]]

I have been using Outlook 2000 on a Windows XP system; recently I had to
reinstall Windows and all my applications after a corrupt registry problem.
I reinstalled Outlook 2000 from my CD and applied all the updates from the
web. Then I tried to open my .pst file and I got the “not a personal folder
file" error.

When you see this, chances are the PST is too corrupt to be used any more.
Whatever method you used to back it up is suspect. It has nothing to do with
IMO vs. CW mode. If a commercial recovery tool won't work, you're out of luck
and will need to employ one of the prior versions of the PST or simply start
over.

 

[waldorf84]

Thanks, Brian. I have already tried some of the prior versions of the PST
and they have given the same results, e.g. scanpst says it repairs the file
but then no data are loaded when I open the file with Outlook 2000. Does
this still sound like the problem is with my method of backing up the pst
file (which is just writing the file out to a DVD, not really using any
'backup' method). Thanks.

 

[Jim Dell]

Thanks, Brian. I have already tried some of the prior versions of the PST
and they have given the same results, e.g. scanpst says it repairs the file
but then no data are loaded when I open the file with Outlook 2000. Does
this still sound like the problem is with my method of backing up the pst
file (which is just writing the file out to a DVD, not really using any
'backup' method). Thanks.

The read only bit is turned off correct? Some versions of windows don't
turn it off when you copy a file from CD/DVD to the hard drive.

Jim

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP-Outlook]]

Thanks, Brian. I have already tried some of the prior versions of the PST
and they have given the same results, e.g. scanpst says it repairs the file
but then no data are loaded when I open the file with Outlook 2000. Does
this still sound like the problem is with my method of backing up the pst
file (which is just writing the file out to a DVD, not really using any
'backup' method). Thanks.

It does sound like the PSTs are being corrupted when writing. Are you using
Windows' built-in burning software or a third-party tool? Was Outlook closed
when you burned the files?

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP-Outlook]]

The read only bit is turned off correct? Some versions of windows don't
turn it off when you copy a file from CD/DVD to the hard drive.

From the OP's initial message:

 

[waldorf84]

Yes, it is. Thanks for checking.

The read only bit is turned off correct? Some versions of windows don't
turn it off when you copy a file from CD/DVD to the hard drive.

Jim
.

 

[waldorf84]

I was using Roxio Creator 7.5 to write the DVD, but I was just copying the
files, not using a backup procedure. Generally speaking, I close Outlook
before writing those files. If Outlook was open, is there any data recovery
procedure that could be used? Can scanpst handle that kind of situation?

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP-Outlook]]

I was using Roxio Creator 7.5 to write the DVD, but I was just copying the
files, not using a backup procedure. Generally speaking, I close Outlook
before writing those files. If Outlook was open, is there any data
recovery
procedure that could be used? Can scanpst handle that kind of situation?

There is anecdotal evidence that some DVD/CD burning software cannot handle
PSTs well and do not create faithful copies. I have always used the built-in
burning capability and I've never experiences a problem.

If Outlook reports that the file is no longer a PST, it's usual for SCANPST to
say that as well. If a commercial tool can't recover it, then SCANPST sure
won't be able to. I think you're out of luck. I've started using the free
version of Mozy Home to make automatic backups and periodically write CDs as
well.

 

[waldorf84]

Thanks for all the info, Brian. I will change my ways re backing up files.

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP-Outlook]]

Thanks for all the info, Brian. I will change my ways re backing up files.

You're welcome. If I were faced with your problem and wished to address it
going forward, I'd try again with my current burning software and then check
if the copy is readable before relying on it. If it turned out unusable, then
I'd investigate the cause and try other methods. By going through each step
carefully, you may discover what the cause is.

 

[waldorf84]

Good idea; I hadn't thought about that in terms of finding the cause of the
problem. Thanks.