What if you’re all set to offboard an employee, but the moment you try to access the PST file containing their information, you find out that you can’t open it? Corruption in an Outlook PST file can cause Outlook to crash repeatedly, show data file errors like missing folders or emails, or failure to open certain files or folders. In this guide, we’ll talk about 5 signs that’ll help you identify if your PST file is corrupted or if it’s an Outlook specific problem.
Top 5 signs suggesting your PST file might be corrupted
Sign 1: Outlook PST file cannot be opened
This is one of the most common signs that might indicate corruption in the PST files. If your Outlook is unable to open a PST file that was easily accessible earlier, then you must check for any structural damage in the data file. If the file structure is damaged, Outlook might be unable to load important files or folders.
Sign 2: Specific folders are inaccessible in PST file
If Outlook is unable to access some folders in the PST file, check if the data file is experiencing any errors. In some cases, instead of the whole file becoming unusable, only some folders become inaccessible. Structural damage can often affect some folders within the file instead of affecting the whole file. Here’s how you can identify it easily:
• You can open the Sent Items folder, but the deleted items folder won’t open.
• A particular folder shows an error when you try to open it.
• Outlook crashes when you try to open a certain folder in PST file.
• Individual files or message can’t be opened in Outlook.
Sign 3: Outlook crashes or freezes
If Outlook freezes mid-function again and again, when working with a specific PST file, it can indicate that there’s some kind of corruption or error in the data file. Particularly, if Outlook:
• Freezes when trying to open a specific folder.
• Stops responding when trying to open a specific PST file.
• Hangs or pauses a lot when trying to open/load a PST file.
• Freezes when you’re moving or copying an email or a file to a different location within Outlook.
• Crashes when trying to edit a specific email or a certain group of messages.
Sign 4: Outlook shows error messages when trying to open PST files
If Outlook is unable to read PST file data due to severe structural damage, it might show the following error messages:
• The file [path][name].pst is not an Outlook data file.
• An unknown error has occurred: 0x80040600.
• Errors have been detected in the file [path][name].pst.
• Outlook cannot open the data file or folder.
Sign 5: Can’t move or copy items/folders in PST file
A PST file can open in Outlook and still face problems if there’s structural damage or corruption. Outlook may have problems while trying to delete messages, copy items, modify data, or move files and folders, from one location to another within the email client. If this operation works normally in other PST files but creates issues in a single PST file, then it’s worth checking that data file for any corruption. You just have to verify if this issue is consistent in a single PST file or in multiple PST files.
How to confirm that a PST file is corrupt?
Noticing these signs can give you an idea of the structural damage or corruption present in your PST file, however you should confirm whether the file is actually corrupt or not. Check if you face these problems with only one PST file or does it affect multiple files in Outlook. If you face the same problem with multiple data files at once, then the problem might be Outlook specific. However, if the issues are consistent with one PST file only, then it can be possible that the PST file is corrupted.
One easy way to check for errors in PST files is with the help of the Inbox Repair Tool (ScanPST.exe). This free tool scans the PST files and lists down all the minor errors present in the PST file. You can locate the ScanPST.exe tool on your system depending on the current version of your Outlook and Windows OS. If the corruption level is too severe, take the help of a dedicated Outlook PST repair software to recover your PST file data.
Final Insights
A corrupted PST file shows its signs, even though it may not always feel obvious. Error messages on opening, Outlook crashing, or missing items can indicate there’s something wrong with your data file. Check all the signs to confirm if your PST file is actually corrupt or if it’s an Outlook specific issue. To confirm this, check for corruption with ScanPST.exe.
Top comments (0)