What If ScanPST Does Not Work? Proven Ways to Fix It

If you have been using Outlook from very start, then you might know that when Outlook starts showing errors, has problems when opening mailbox, or says PST file is damaged or corrupted. To fix these problems, we use Inbox Repair Tool also known as ScanPST.exe. This is built in solution offered by Outlook that users try first to resolve problems. But sometimes ScanPST does not work as it needs to.

However, it may stop working at start, fail during scanning process, or repair PST data without recovering all mailbox items. And these issues can occur due to multiple reasons.

In this guide, we will explain why ScanPST not working and how to fix common problems. We will also recommend best alternative to ScanPST, which might help users to repair their data file effectively. Let’s begin with article.

What is ScanPST.exe in Microsoft Outlook?

ScanPST is built in solution provided by Outlook to check and repair specific problems faced by users in their PST files. These data files include all mailbox data, such as emails, contacts, calendars, and other data.

However, when Outlook tells that data file is corrupted, damaged, or cannot be opened. Then ScanPST checks its complete structure and tries to fix the problem. But, it is not only solution to repair Outlook data files. It might not also resolve each type of error that occurs in PST files. Thus, if ScanPST does not repair PST file, it is important to detect main reason for failure before trying to repair issue.

Why ScanPST Does Not Work?

In this section, we have listed some of root causes that prevent Inbox Repair Tool from completely fixing mailbox. Let’s quickly understand them.

• Size Limitation Of 2 GB: Gone are the days when your PST file used to have file size of 2 GB. As discussed above MS Outlook 2003 and above supports Unicode file format and have file size much more than 2 GB. But does scanpst.exe fix PST file larger than 2 GB? The answer is a big “NO”. ScanPST can only repair corrupted PST file with size below than 2GB and this is the major drawback of this utility.
• Not Effective When PST Is Severely Damaged: The tool is reliable and free but when your PST file is badly corrupted this utility will not repair your file completely. Sometimes corruption damage file structure and internal elements of PST files very badly, this not only destruct lower-objects, it also corrupts upper-objects badly and this cannot be cured using scanpst.exe alone.
• Unable To Find Location Of ScanPST.exe: This might be very rare situation but many users are unable to reach to the utility as this program is partly hidden residing under the Program Files under C Drive. Users face problem to find the exact location of the program.
• Your Data Can Be Unnecessarily Deleted: When ScanPST does not find any element such as message or table in its folder or if the whole folder is not found, it is first validated and when not found again it considered as corrupted and it is removed from the database. It means that if a specific block is unreadable by the program it will be deleted and this can be harmful to your PST file as it goes on deleting unreadable objects.

Working Guide to Solve ScanPST Does Not Work Error

1. Download and run the aforementioned software on your system.



2. Tap Add File option to load your PST data files.



3. After that, preview all PST data in panel shown in red color.



4. Now select PST format as export type and apply some advanced settings for specific result.



5. Change Destination path to store final repaired PST output.



6. At last, click Export button to begin repair process.

Conclusion

In this article, we have explained that when ScanPST does not work, then users should choose best recommended software mentioned above. This will act as an alternative method which is secure and reliable. Also, before starting to repair PST data file, keep backup of your data to avoid accidental loss. If you still have any errors related to ScanPST tool, then contact our support team via 24/7 live chat.