What is Inbox Repair Tool Scanpst.exe?
Have you ever wondered, one day you wake up and open your Outlook to check the emails and find out all of your mail data got corrupted?
Honestly Speaking! It is not less than a nightmare.
Fortunately, the user can troubleshoot this situation easily with the help of the Outlook Inbox Repair Tool (also known as Scanpst.exe).
So, if you are also looking for a solution on how to repair corrupt data file, then this technical blog certainly helps you a lot. Here we are going to explain about what is Inbox Repair Tool Scanpst.exe and how to use this utility. So, let’s begin!
Topics to be Covered
- Overview of Microsoft Outlook
- What is the Outlook PST file?
- Factors Responsible for PST file corruption
- What is Inbox Repair Tool Scanpst.exe?
- Where is Scanpst.exe located into the system?
- How does Inbox Repair Tool work?
- When Scanpst.exe fails?
- What to do when Scanpst.exe does not work?
- Bottom Line
What is Microsoft Outlook?
Microsoft Outlook is a desktop-based email client available for Windows & Mac OS. It is an application used for email communication. MS Outlook is used to manage various types of personal data. It includes Emails, Contacts, Appointments, Calendars, Tasks, and Notes.
What is Outlook PST File?
All the Outlook data stored in the PST file format on the local drive. The PST stands for Personal Storage Table and it is a proprietary file format of Microsoft Outlook. Each email account created in Outlook has its database in the form of PST. An Outlook PST file store copy of calendars, events, messages, and other Outlook data items on the local computer.
After understanding about the Outlook data file, it is time to learn what are the factors that create corruption in it.
Reasons for Outlook PST file corruption
Many reasons lead to corruption or damage in the Outlook data file. All of them are discussed below:
- Virus or Malware attacks
- Improper shutdown
- Storage device failure
- Network link issues
- Oversized PST file
- Errors in PST File
It is true that, once PST file gets damaged, the user is no longer able to access any data of MS Outlook. So, it becomes necessary to recover the damaged Outlook PST file to get back the data. For this, Microsoft developed a utility named Microsoft Outlook Inbox Repair Tool Scanpst.exe.
What is Inbox Repair Tool Scanpst.exe?
Scanpst.exe is an application provided by Microsoft. This Inbox Repair Tool is pre-installed in Microsoft Outlook. Microsoft provides this unpaid application to repair damaged Outlook data files. With the help of this utility, the user can repair corrupted items such as contacts, journals, emails, notes, tasks, etc…
Outlook Inbox Repair tool Scanpst.exe examines the header part and the rest of the structure of PST file. If the file is no longer organized in its original structure, then Scanpst.exe reconstructs the header structure after correcting the cause issue. All in all, the ScanPST.exe helps the user to detect and recover damaged Outlook PST files data.
In order to use the Inbox Repair tool, the user must know where ScanPST.exe is located in the system.
Important Note:
If you are Looking for an instant solution to repair the data file then the user can take the help of Emaildoctor Outlook Data File Repair Tool. This allows the user to recover the mailbox items from PST file. This utility is compatible with Outlook 2019 and its below versions.
Where is Scanpst.exe Located?
The location of Scanpst.exe could be different in different versions of Outlook. It may vary according to the Windows Operating System. The following table will let you the location of ScanPST.exe in Outlook.
| Outlook 2019 | C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\office16\ |
| Outlook 2016 (64 Bits) | C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Office16 |
| (32 Bits) | C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Office16\ |
| Outlook 2013 (64 Bits) | C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office15 |
| (32 Bits) | C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office15\ |
| Outlook 2010 (64 Bits) | C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14 |
| (32 Bits) | C:\Program Files\Microsoft office\Office 14\ |
| Outlook 2007 (64 Bits) | C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office12 |
| (32 Bits) | C:\Program Files\Microsoft office\Office 12\ |
| Outlook 2003 (64 Bits) | drive:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\System\MSMAPI\<locale ID> |
| (32 Bits) | C:\Program Files\Common Files\System\MSMAPI\ |
| Outlook 2002 | drive:\Program Files\Common Files\System\MAPI\<locale ID>scanpst.exe |
| Outlook 2000 | drive:\Program Files\Common Files\System\MAPI\locale ID\NT\scanpst.exe |
| Outlook 98 | drive:\Program Files\Common Files\Windows Messaging\scanpst.exe |
| Outlook 97 | drive:\Program Files\Common Files\Windows Messaging\scanpst.exe |
After knowing the location of Scanpst.exe, the user can run the Inbox Repair Tool whenever Outlook data items get corrupted.
How does ScanPST.exe Works?
To run the Scanpst.exe application the user has to follow the given below steps:-
Firstly, to open ScanPST.exe, use the above-mentioned location.
1. Double-click on ScanPST.exe to Open it.
2. After that, click on the Browse option to choose the damaged PST file.
3. Then browse the file, click on Start button to initiate the repair process.
4. Within a second, the scanning process gets started.
5. After successful completion of the process, an acknowledgment appears – Repair complete. Click on OK button.
Unfortunately! Scanpst.exe Is Not An Ideal Solution
The Inbox Repair Tool is completely free to use for repairing data files. However, there are some limitations associated with the ScanPST.exe tool. All of them are discussed below:
- In case the user has a highly corrupted Outlook .pst file, the Inbox Repair tool does not repair it.
- At many of the times when the Inbox Repair tool is unable to read particular content, even after so many trials. In that situation, the ScanPST.exe deletes the unreadable content, which may lead to loss of important data.
- Sometimes we have password-protected data, in that case, Scanpst.exe might not able to recover all of them.
- Also, the huge size PST file cannot be recovered by this tool.
From the above-said reasons, we understand that ScanPST.exe repairs the header part and works only for minor level corruption. It cannot recover permanently deleted emails from Outlook and does not help in repairing a highly corrupted file. In such a situation, we need some powerful software solutions.
Alternative of Outlook Inbox Repair Tool
So far we have discussed What is Inbox Repair Tool Scanpst.exe? When the ScanPST.exe fails to recover the complete Outlook PST file, then the user is suggested to go for an expert’s solution. For this, the Outlook PST File Repair Tool is the best solution to solve all your problems.
This software helps to repair both major & minor level damaged data files. This tool repairs the entire Mail, Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, Notes, Journal. The best part is that this utility restores permanently deleted data of the PST file. Furthermore, the tool is very much helpful in repairing even encrypted files.
This tool works in a few simple steps-
- Install and run the tool. Afterward, click on Add file button to browse the PST file.
- After that, scan the file and preview its data on the software preview panel.
- Click on Export to open its settings.
- Under Export Option, you can select the file format such as PST, PDF, etc in which you want to recover the damaged PST file. At last, click on Export to initiate the process.
Note: In case if your OST file is corrupted then the user can take the help of Emaildoctor OST Recovery tool. This will fix corruption issues from OST file and allows the user to recover mailbox items.
Final Words
In this article, we have discussed Microsoft Outlook, Outlook data files, and what is Inbox Repair Tool Scanpst.exe. In addition, we also covered the reasons for PST file corruption, and automated solution to repair damaged or corrupted files. It all depends upon the user which type of corruption he/she wants to repair. Regardless of whether it is a minor level or major level. According to the damage level, users can opt for any of the above-mentioned methods.
