2 Some SCANPST Utility In Microsoft Outlook 2003

A. Scanpst - Inbox Repair Tool
Microsoft provides MS Outlook with a tool named ScanPst which is capable of repairing somewhat damaged .PST files. ScanPst, as its name implies, scans and attempts to repair a specified .PST file; it analyzes a .PST file directory structure and checks mail item references and headers. After completing the scanning, ScanPst will display information on errors detected and offer you to repair the .PST file.

B. When ScanPst does not help
Sometimes, ScanPst is not able to correct the problem with the PST file.

* ScanPst is not capable of recovering messages you have deleted yourself. Obviously, because this is not an error as far as the system is concerned.
* ScanPst may sometimes report no errors in the file, but Outlook still complains.
* ScanPst may sometimes loose too much data during recovery.

C. Where to find Scanpst?
ScanPst is located under C:\Program Files\Common Files\System; in there, there is a folder named either "MSMAPI" or "MAPI". Under this folder you'll see a folder with a numerical name such as 1033. So, the complete path for ScanPst looks like the following:

C:\Program Files\Common Files\System\MSMAPI\1033\

Notice, however, there will be two files with similar names - ScanPst.exe and ScanOst.exe. At the moment we only deal with the ScanPst.exe.

If you are unable to locate ScanPst by just looking into the folders, use Windows Search instead

1. Click Start to open Windows start menu
2. Select Search, then click Files and Folders
3. Type in "ScanPst.exe" without quotes, click Find

D. Using ScanPst
ScanPst is the second thing to try if Outlook fails to open its email file (first thing to try is to reboot the machine).

1. Start ScanPst
2. Specify a .pst file to repair, then click "Start" button
3. Check "Make backup of scanned file before repairing". ScanPst will create a copy of the .PST file with the same name and a .BAK file type (extension). This copy will be located in the same folder as your original Outlook mail file. Later you can attempt to repair this file using different Outlook recovery tools.
4. Click "Repair"
5. Start MS Outlook by using a profile which you tried to repair.
6. Under menu Go select Folder List
7. In there you may see a folder called Recovered Personal Folders containing a set of basic folders such as "Inbox", "Sent", "Drafts" (if these ones really exist in the original profile) or a folder called "Lost and Found". It is assumed that the items missed from "Lost and Found" folder cannot be repaired and thus are actually lost. In fact, such is not the case.
8.If there is any necessary email data in the "Lost and Found" under "Recovered Personal Folders", then you can create a new .pst file and just drag the recovered messages into this newly created folder. When you have finished coping all recovered email items, you can safely delete "Recovered Personal Folders" from your current profile.