Best Ways to Unlock Corrupted or Secured PST Files

PST files form the basis of your local Outlook data storage, but they can be immediately inaccessible if they become corrupt or if you forget your password. In this guide, you'll learn how to regain access to your Outlook data.  

What is PST file corruption?  

A PST file is a Personal Storage Table file designed specifically for Outlook. It allows you to store your emails, contacts, calendar events, tasks, and notes directly on your device. Although this feature is highly beneficial for Outlook users, PST files are often not considered entirely reliable; they frequently become corrupted or inaccessible due to various reasons.   

 

These causes for PST file corruption may include:  

• An abrupt system shutdown while Outlook is synchronizing data  
• The file size exceeding the 2 GB limit in older versions of Outlook  
• A virus or malware attack on your PST file; or hard disk errors
• Forgetting the password set for your PST file.  

 

However, there are two different problems, and they are different from one another: corruption and password-protected PST files. Each requires a distinct method.  

Method 1 — Microsoft's built-in Inbox Repair Tool (ScanPST)  

Microsoft includes a diagnostic utility called ScanPST with every version of Microsoft Outlook. This utility is your first line of defense for mildly to moderately corrupted PST files.  

How to use  

1. Close Microsoft Outlook completely before proceeding.  
2. Locate ScanPST.exe, and common locations are: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Office16\  
3. Search for "scanpst" in Windows Explorer.  
4. Run the utility and click "Browse" to choose your corrupted PST file.  
5. Click "Start." The utility will scan your file and display what it has found.  
6. Check the box to create a backup, and then click "Repair."  
7. Once complete, open Outlook and check your newly repaired PST file, and a "Recovered" folder may contain salvaged messages.  

 

Important:   

However, ScanPST has certain limitations:  

 

• It cannot repair highly fragmented files.  
• It cannot recover permanently deleted files.  
• If an error occurs during the scanning process, it may fail to work on large or severely corrupted PST files.  
• In such a situation, you can proceed to the next steps.  

Method 2 — Create a new PST file and Import Data  

If only part of a PST file has been repaired, some data may still be inaccessible. The solution is to create a new PST file and import the repaired one.  

Steps  

1. In Outlook, select File > Account Settings > Account Settings.  
2. On the Data Files, click on Add, which creates a new blank PST file.  
3. Go to File, then Open & Export, and finally Import/Export.  
4. Select Import from another program or file, then select Outlook Data File (.pst).  
5. Browse the repaired PST file, select the option for handling duplicates, and import.  
6. All recoverable data will now be in the newly created PST, devoid of structural baggage.  

Method 3 — Third-party PST repair tools & PST Password Remover  

There are many tools available online. However, it is important to use a reliable tool that provides features such as preview before recovery, support for both ANSI and Unicode PST files, recovery of permanently deleted items, and the ability to remove passwords from locked PST files. 

  

MailsDaddy PST Password Remover is a reliable tool that works well with corrupted and locked PST files. The tool is capable of removing passwords and recovering data from corrupted PST files without any loss of data. 

  

If the PST file is both corrupted and password-protected, the MailsDaddy PST Password Remover tool is recommended. This is because the tool is effective in resolving both problems. However, if the PST file is only corrupted, the MailsDaddy Outlook PST Repair tool is recommended. 

  

Workflow of PST Password Remover tool: 

1. Download and run the MailsDaddy PST Password Remover tool. 
2. Browse the corrupted or locked PST file. 
3. Preview of the recovered PST file data. 
4. Choose a Reset or Remove password option as required. 

Prevention tips & best practices  

It's far more painful to recover data after PST corruption than it is to prevent it. There are a number of best practices you can follow to almost completely eliminate the risk of losing your Outlook data.  

 

• Keep your PST files under set sizes. 
• Make regular backups. 
• Keep your PST files on your machine, not on a network drive.  
• Consider using Microsoft 365 instead of a PST file. 
• Close Outlook Properly before Shutdown.  

Conclusion:  

However, the process of unlocking a corrupted or secured PST file is not always a difficult task. While the use of manual methods like ScanPST and backups can prove to be helpful in some cases, the use of professional tools can always prove to be a more reliable and efficient solution to the problem of corrupted PST files and forgotten passwords.  

Read more: How Does PST Attachment Extraction Help Reduce Outlook File Size?