Introduction

Most of the users do not know that in Microsoft Outlook the storage limit for a single user's .PST file (the file used as Outlook's message database) is 2 GB. If a .PST file exceeds to over 2 GB, it can become damaged and some mail items may be lost. I have noticed majority of the time the victims are busy key executives in the Corporate who always think .PST is lifetime mail storage file - Yes, it is but only when they do proper housekeeping. In this article, I will show you some useful resources and links which can help you recover your .PST file in the event it damaged.

Scenario#1 - Using Advanced Outlook Password Recovery Tool

PST file has password protection, but user forget the password (the following steps are based on a tool called AOPLR). If someone protects a PST file with a password, later they forget the password, you should be able to open the document with the tool called Advanced Outlook Password Recovery (AOLPR). You can buy this tool from http://www.elcomsoft.com/aolpr.html

After you complete AOPLR Setup, the program will be located in your Program Files named: Advanced Outlook Password Recovery (AOLPR), you may open this file and click on the key to register. After registered this tool, you can crack any Personal Folder file password, it will not give you the original Password, but will give you one to open the file.Click on the “Open File” Icon, drill down to the Personal Folder and click “Open”



Click “Yes” to Open Outlook, click on the Personal Folder, and hit Ctrl-V to paste the system generated password in to the Personal Folder.

Scenario#2 - PST file cannot open or access, and the size is < 2GB

Microsoft released an Inbox Repair tool (Scanpst.exe) which is designed to help repair problems that are associated with personal folder (.pst) files. The Inbox Repair tool is automatically installed with all English-language Outlook installation options depending on your operating system.

For Microsoft Windows NT and Microsoft Windows 2000:
C:\Program Files\Common Files\System\Mapi\1033\NT

For Microsoft Windows 95 and Microsoft Windows 98:
C:\Program Files\Common Files\System\Mapi\1033\95

You can also run a Search on the Google to find the file “scanpst.exe”. You can use this tool to repair crashed PST file, before using this tool, remember to BACKUP the original PST file.
Detail steps are found here: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;197316

Scenario#3 - PST file can’t open/access, and size is > 2GB

While attempting to open a personal folders (.pst) file or an offline folders (.ost) file from Microsoft Outlook, you may receive the following error message:

Errors have been detected in the file <file_path>. Quit all mail-enabled applications, and then use the Inbox Repair Tool.

where <file_path> is the path to the .pst file.

If you run the Inbox Repair Tool (Scanpst.exe), the file does not resolve the problem. This problem occurs because the .pst and the .ost files have a 2 gigabyte (GB) size limitation, and the error message occurs when it is exceeded. The Inbox Repair Tool cannot correct this problem.

So you need use the "PST2GB" tool to recover this type of file. After running this tool, it will create a truncated copy of the .pst file. The copy that is left after the tool completes does not have all the original data because the tool cuts a user defined amount of data from the file.

Please note the Recovery Limitations of the 2 GB Truncation Utility:

• You must have 2 GB of free hard disk space (to make a copy of the .pst file).
• The utility truncates the .pst file to under 2 GB. To have enough working space, truncate the file between 20 to 25 megabytes (MB) less than the 2 GB limit. The truncated data is removed from the new copy, which means some messages are missing from the recovered copy.

You can download the "PST2GB" tool from here, and also it includes instruction guide to recover the data.

Related Links:

Oversized PST and OST crop tool
PST2GB Recovery instructions
How to use the Inbox Repair Tool
KB Article on Scanpst.exe

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