How to Fix “Unable to Open PST File in Outlook 2016, 2013 & 2010” Issue?

Whenever a user has an orphan PST file or gets corrupted due to any reason, it becomes inaccessible. Due to which a user is unable to open PST file in Outlook 2016 and below versions. Therefore, in this post, different methods to fix this issue is covered.

Microsoft Outlook is one of the most popular & widely used emailing application used by multiple organizations. It uses Personal Storage Table or PST file as a data file to store all user's mailbox data. However, in some cases, it becomes difficult for a user to open the PST file. It can be due to any reason like damaged PST file or an orphan PST file. Therefore, if a user is unable to open PST file in Outlook 2010, 2013, or 2016, then there must be some issue with the PST file. It can also be possible that PST file exceeds its file size limit due to which it becomes inaccessible. Thus, in order to access the Outlook data items like emails, contacts, calendars, tasks, etc., one needs to repair the corrupt PST file. Hence, in this post, how a user can get access back to PST files is discussed.

User Query

"When I switched from my old organization to new, I carried my PST file with me as it contains lots of important work. But, in this new organization, no one uses Outlook. Therefore, now I am looking for the solution that can help me opening PST file without Outlook installed on the local machine. Kindly suggest me some solution."

"Past few days, I was trying to open PST file of my MS Outlook 2010 account file, but I was not successful. After trying many times, I received an error: "Outlook.pst is not a personal storage folder file". When I searched about this error I came to know about this due to some corruption issue in Outlook PST file. Therefore, to remove corruption, I tried scanpst.exe. But, it did not work properly and unable to resolve the issue. Therefore, need a foolproof solution without any loss of data."

Different Methods to Repair Unable to Open PST File Error

In order to open & view inaccessible data items of the PST file such as emails, contacts, tasks, calendars, etc., one needs to repair the Outlook.pst file. To do the same, there are two ways that a user can use and both of them are discussed below:

Method 1: Using Inbox Repair Tool to Fix Outlook PST File Errors

Microsoft Outlook has an inbuilt utility called Inbox Repair tool or scanpst.exe tool. It is used to scan & repair the damaged or corrupt PST file. To do the same, follow the steps mentioned below:

1. 1. To begin, close MS Outlook application & open the Inbox Repair Tool to begin the scanning process

2. 2. For repair utility, go to its default locations in Outlook 2016 & 2013 and double-click on its icon

• Outlook 2016: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\"

• Outlook 2013: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office15\"

1. 3. Now, choose the corrupted Outlook PST file typing the location or directly browsing the location from the system

2. 4. After that, click on Start button to begin the scanning process

3. 5. As you click on the start button, the scanning process begins and check the consistency of the file

4. 6. Then, a report is generated, which displays the number of folders & items with the number of errors that were found during scanning process

5. 7. In last, click on the Repair button available at the bottom of the screen

6. Note: This inbuilt scanpst.exe application of the Outlook does not always provide satisfactory results. It is successful in the case of minor level corruption only or may resolve unable to open PST file problem. However, when it comes to badly corrupt PST file, the software may fail to repair it properly.

7. Method 2: Using PST File Viewer to Repair Inaccessible PST Files

8. As Inbox repair tool is not a guaranteed solution, so it is advised to switch a professional solution i.e. SysTools PST Viewer. It is a utility that is designed especially to open & view PST file of any version of MS Outlook. In addition, it provides the view of attachments also associated with each email. However, in the case of corrupt PST file, it offers two different scanning modes to recover the damaged PST file. Moreover, the tool is compatible with all versions of MS Outlook and does not have file size limitation.

9. The Bottom Line

10. PST file is really important for any Outlook user, as it stores all important data in it. But, when the PST file becomes inaccessible due to any reason. It becomes really difficult for a user to open & view it. Therefore, in this post, different methods to fix unable to open PST file in Outlook 2013, 2016, & 2010 are covered. A user can choose between them based on the level of corruption or on the reason behind the inaccessibility of PST file.

As an Author of FreeViewer Blog, Barry Scholfield has experience of more than 5 years and he is now working as a product review expert & technical writer.