OL97: Using the Inbox Repair Tool to Recover Message Stores

ID: Q171371

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Outlook 97

SUMMARY

This article provides tips for using the Inbox Repair Tool to recover folders and items from a corrupted Personal Folders file (*.pst).

MORE INFORMATION

The Inbox Repair Tool is a tool designed to help repair problems associated with Personal Folder files (*.pst files)and Offline Folders (*.ost files) The Inbox Repair Tool ships with Microsoft Windows 95 and is contained on the Microsoft Outlook 97 and Microsoft Office 97 CD-ROM.

For more information about installing and running the Inbox Repair Tool, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

NOTE: The examples listed in the various steps below refer to usage of this utility on a PST file. The same procedures apply to an OST. To locate the OST file, click to select Offline Folders (*.ost) in Select File to Scan.

   ARTICLE-ID: Q168648
   TITLE     : OL97: How to Find and Run the Inbox Repair Tool

What the Inbox Repair Tool Does

When you run the repair tool on a Personal Folders file, it does the following:

The repair tool analyzes the PST directory structure and item headers, attempting to recover all folders and items.
If the repair tool recovers the PST file, it means that the repair tool found problems and fixed what it could.
The repair tool will attempt to turn any file into a PST file. (If you rename an executable file to "Something.pst," the tool will change it into a mountable PST file.)

Recovered Personal Folders File

After running the Inbox Repair Tool, start Outlook using the profile that contains the Personal Folders file that you tried to repair. On the View menu, click Folder List to turn on the Folder List view. In your Folder List, you should see the following recovered folders:

   Recovered Personal Folders

      Calendar
      Contacts
      Deleted Items
      Inbox
      Journal
      Notes
      Outbox
      Sent Items
      Tasks

These folders are usually empty, because this is a rebuilt PST file. You should also see a folder called "Lost and Found." This folder contains folders and items that the Inbox Repair Tool recovered. Items missing are beyond repair.

Recovering Repaired Items

You should move as many of the items from the "Lost and Found" folder to a new Personal Folder in your profile. First, create a new "Personal Folders" in your profile. Then, drag any recovered items from the "Lost and Found" folder to the appropriate location in the new Personal Folders.

To create a new Personal Folders in your profile, follow these steps:

1. Start Outlook with the profile that contains your Recovered Personal

   Folders.

2. On the Tools menu, click Services.

3. Under the Services tab, click Add to open the "Add Service to Profile"

   dialog box.

4. In the "Available information services" list, click to select "Personal

   Folders," and then click OK.

5. In the "Create/Open Personal Folders File" dialog box, select a

   directory and file name for the new Personal Folders file (*.pst),
   and then click Open.

6. Click OK to close all dialog boxes.

You should now have a new "Personal Folders" in your profile. Drag recovered items from the "Lost and Found" folder to your new Personal Folders. When you have finished moving all items, you may remove the "Recovered Personal Folders," including the "Lost and Found" folder, from your profile.

Recovering Items from the Backup Personal Folders File

NOTE: If you are unable to open your original PST file before running the Inbox Repair Tool, it is likely that the procedures below will not work. If you are able to open the original PST file, then there is a small chance that the procedures below may allow you to recover additional items from your damaged PST file.

When you run the "Inbox Repair Tool," by default, the option to create a backup of the original PST file is on. This option creates a file on your hard drive called <filename>.bak that is a copy of the original <filename>.pst file with a different extension. The BAK file resides in the directory of the original PST file.

You may be able to recover items from the BAK file that the Inbox Repair Tool could not. Make a copy of the BAK file, giving the file a new name with a PST extension, such as "Newname.pst."

Open Outlook using the profile that contains the new Personal Folders file from step 4 in the "Recovering Repaired Items" section, and try to import the "Newname.pst" folder by using the Outlook Import And Export Wizard. Follow these steps:

1. In the wizard, click to select "Import from a personal folders file

   (*.pst)," and click Next.

2. Under "File to import," select your Newname.pst file. Under Options,

   click "Do not import duplicates," and click Next.

3. Under "Select the folder to import from," click to select the Personal

   Folders, and click to select "Include subfolders." Click to select
   "Import folders into the same folder in," and select your new Personal
   Folders file from step 4 in the "Recovering Repaired Items" section.

4. Click Finish.

Keep in mind that the backup file was the original corrupted file, and you may find that you cannot recover anything other that what was recovered in "Lost and Found." If you are unable to import the Newname.pst file into Outlook, then you have lost any information that is not in the "Lost and Found."

REFERENCES

For more information about the Inbox Repair Tool, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   Article-ID: Q140719
   Title     : How to Use the Microsoft Exchange Inbox Repair Tool

Keywords          : kbtool GnlCrpt kbfaq
Version           : WINDOWS:97
Platform          : WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbinfo

Last Reviewed: July 19, 1998