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The Data Recovery Expert

How to Recover .pst Files

Recover PST Files

Files with a .pst extension contain data created by Microsoft Outlook. These files contain a variety of data related to your Outlook account, including mailbox messages, attachments, contacts, calendar, and more. As such, their loss can wreak havoc to your personal or professional life, and cost you important exchanges, contact information, or your planner data. Therefore, you must keep regular backups, preferably on external storage. Sadly, most people learn that lesson too late and must learn how to recover .pst files forcibly. Luckily, we’re here to help.

1. Find and open .pst files

Your PST files might be there, but they’re either misplaced or hidden. To make them appear, follow steps 1-6 under Verify that the folder isn’t hidden headline in our “recovering a deleted folder in Windows 10” guide. Now, follow these steps to recover .pst files:

  1. Find them on Windows 10 in one of these ways:
    1. Check default locations: Depending on Outlook version, look in:
      • Outlook 2007 and earlier: <drive letter>:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\
      • Outlook 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Microsoft 365: <drive letter>:\Users\<username>\Documents\Outlook Files\
    2. Search the storage: Open This PC and then:
      1. Type “*.pst” in the top right corner without quotation marks before pressing Enter.
      2. After the scan finishes, note the locations you found or drag .pst files to Desktop.
  2. Open Microsoft Outlook, then click on File in the top left corner.
  3. Select Open (sometimes Open & Export), then Open Outlook Data File.
  4. Select your .pst file and check whether it loads data correctly.

2. Recover .pst files from a Microsoft Outlook backup

We went over .bak files recovery previously, and noted it represents a backup of files generated by various applications. Well, Microsoft Outlook is one of those and stores them in the same folder as .pst files. So, after finding a .bak file generated by Outlook, convert it to .pst like this:

  1. Make a copy of the .bak file.
  2. Rename the copy from, for example, file-name-copy.bak to, for example, personal-file.pst.
  3. Try to load the file using the method above. If that fails, you must utilize Outlook’s Import and Export Wizard.
  4. Click on File again, then select Import and Export. 
  5. Tip. On Outlook 2010 and later versions, go to File > Open > Import.
  6. Click on Import from another program or file, then Next.
  7. Select Personal Folder File (.pst), then Next again.
  8. In the File to import section, click on Browse, then select your file.
  9. Under Options, make sure to click on Do not import duplicates before clicking Next.
  10. In the Select the folder to import from section, choose your PST file, then click on Include subfolders.
  11. Select Import folders into the same folder, then your new PST file folder, and click on Finish.
  12. Outlook should import the data .pst file contains.

3. Recover .pst files using Inbox Repair tool

Oftentimes, when you try to load the file with a .pst file extension, it refuses to open. The reason varies, but because it’s a recurring problem, Microsoft created a tool to fix errors and corruption. So, follow these steps to recover your .pst file via that tool:

1. Run the Inbox Repair Tool

Inbox Repair Tool file might be hidden, so make sure you enabled showing hidden files and folders. Now, search for “ScanPST.exe” in these folders on Windows 64-bit:

  • Outlook 2007: <drive letter>:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12
  • Outlook 2010: ~\Office14
  • Outlook 2013 MSI: ~\Office15
  • Outlook 2016 MSI: ~\Office16
  • Outlook 2016 Click-to-Run: ~\root\Office16
  • Outlook 2019/Microsoft 365: ~\root\Office19
  • Outlook 2013 Click-to-Run: <drive letter>:\Program Files\Microsoft Office 15\root\office15
  • Typical Windows location 1: <drive letter>:\Program Files\Common Files\System\Mapi\1033
  • Typical Windows location 2: ~\MSMAPI\1033

Tip. Windows 32-bit users need to replace Program Files with Program Files(x86) in the data paths.

2. Repair the .pst file

After double-clicking on ScanPST.exe, follow these steps to restore .pst file to working condition:

  1. Click on Browse and select the problematic PST file.
  2. Tip. The tool only works with non-encrypted PST files with a size lower than 2 GB.
  3. Click on Start to begin the scanning process.
  4. When it finds an error, click on Repair to fix it.
  5. Tip. Microsoft recommends repeating the procedure a few times until Repair no longer comes up.

3. Create a new .pst file entry and transfer data

The newly generated PST file is rebuilt but incomplete. To make it work again, create a new Personal Folders file entry, then copy repaired files like this:

  1. Open Microsoft Outlook.
  2. Select the user profile to whom the repaired PST file belongs.
  3. Press Ctrl + 6 on your keyboard to enable Folder List view.
  4. You’ll now see the content in the form of folders: Calendar, Contacts, Deleted, Items, Inbox, Journal, Notes, Outbox, Sent Items, Tasks, and Lost and Found.
  5. Note. The majority (if not all) of the folders will be empty. The data ScanPST.exe retrieved will be inside the Lost and Found folder.
  6. Now, create a brand-new PST file like this:
    • Outlook 2007: Open the File menu, and then:
      1. Select Data File Management.
      2. Click on Add and a New Outlook Data File box will open.
      3. Under Types of storage, select Office Outlook Personal Folders File (.pst), then click on OK.
      4. Under Create or Open Outlook Data File, select the file name and the location for your new file, then click OK twice.
    • Outlook 2010 and later: Select the File tab on the ribbon.
      1. Navigate to the Info tab.
      2. Go to Account Settings, then Account Settings again.
      3. In the Data Files tab, click on Add.
      4. Same as step 4 above.
  7. Drag the folders from step 4 from the restored PST file to the new PST file to copy/overwrite them.
  8. Test the new PST file using method 1. If you’re satisfied, delete the old one.

3. Restore .pst files via data recovery software

Did nothing help so far? You or the operating system might have deleted the files, then. Luckily, you can get them back via data recovery software for Windows or Mac software for recovering data. Although we’re not affiliated, we suggest using EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard because of step 3:

  1. Follow steps 1 and 2 under the last headline in our “recover hidden files from pen drive” guide.
  2. Instead of a USB drive in step 3, select the drive letter or locations for PST files we mentioned.
  3. Instead of step 5, use one of these 2 options to filter results:
    • In the top left corner, click on Type. From the drop-down menu, uncheck everything except the Emails option.
    • Use the search bar in the top right corner. Type “.pst” without quotations.
  4. Follow steps 6 and 7.
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