Summary: Are your Outlook data file not opening? It is time to repair them quickly to avoid any major data loss. Follow the steps given in this article to avoid any such data loss issues.
Outlook creates a PST file for saving its data on the user’s desktop. If you need to export data from Outlook, it will generate a PST file for your emails, contacts, calendars, and other data items. One can share PST files with other users to share its content with them. However, due to random reasons, the PST files may go corrupt making it difficult for you to access its data.
This may happen because of improper termination of Outlook, power failure, huge PST files exceeding 2 GB, device failure, or virus attacks, etc. If your Outlook data file gets damaged anyhow, you must repair it and recover the data correctly. In this article, we shall explain the manual as well as the automatic ways to help you open the PST files.
User Query: “Hi! I have been using Outlook for a long time now but recently, some of files have corrupted. How can I fix them?”
What to do if Outlook Data File not Opening?
When Outlook data files are troubled opening the data files, it often sends messages like Outlook can’t open data files or Outlook can’t open the set of folders. If you are receiving any such warnings, then you must know that the PST data files have gone corrupt and need urgent fixing.
One method of repairing the PST files is the inbox repair tool that Microsoft offers to repair the PST. It is easy to work with this as given below:
- Close the Outlook application & navigate to the following location in your system depending on the Outlook version you use:
2019/2016: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Office16
2013: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office15
2010: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14
2007: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office12
2. Double-tap on scanpst.exe to launch it. Select the “Browse” button & search for the PST file to repair.
3. Hit the “Start” button to start the scanning process.
4. When the inbox repair tool finds any error, choose “Repair” to start fixing the files.
5. Once the process completes, launch Outlook with the account associated with the PST file.
Alternative Way of Opening Outlook Data Files
The inbox repair tool may work well in some cases but sometimes, it encounters failure when the size of the PST file exceeds 2 GB or if the files are too advanced corrupt for its ability. It also fails to repair the lost and found folder and cannot fix the headers & structure of the directory.
In such scenarios, it is advised to go for a professional tool specifically built for cases like these. The SysTools Outlook PST File Repair Tool is the ultimate solution to all of your problems. It can open any level of corrupted PST files. Additionally, it has many other benefits such as:
- Exports the PST files into various file formats
- Repairs PST files encrypted with the password
- Can fix the lost or deleted PST file content
- Decrypts SMIME & OpenPGP encryption from emails
- Provides an easy to use interface for easy understanding
- Quick & Advance Mode to repair files
- Can also repair Outlook BAK files easily
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Conclusion
In this article, we have learned about the Outlook data file not opening issue and discussed its solutions. We have also discussed how one can resolve the problem both manually and automatically. Users can try any of the procedures mentioned above at their convenience. However, it is always better to go for the professional tools since they are developed for such purposes only and provide safety to the source data.