Using the Inbox Repair Tool (scanpst.

exe)
The Inbox Repair Tool is your first-aid-kit when it comes down to corruptions in your Outlooks data storage file
(pst-file). A common need for running this tool is when Outlook refuses to load or is not willing to open a pst-file
and displays an error similar to;

Additional often seen variants are;

Errors have been detected in the file <path to pst-file>.
The file <path to pst-file> is not an Outlook data file (.pst).

In other cases, you might get recommended to use this tool when you are suffering from some specific symptoms
such as (but not limited to), Outlook crashing upon displaying a folder or writing data to it, mspst.dll errors in the
Event Viewer, import/export not completing, several send/receive errors or view settings not being maintained.
This guide helps you locate the Inbox Repair Tool for your version of Outlook, walks you through the repair
process and gives recommendations what to do to when the Inbox Repair Tool fails and how to prevent pst-file
corruptions from happening in the future.

Locating scanpst.exe for your Outlook version

The location of scanpst.exe depends on your version of Outlook and whether or not you are using a 64-bit version
of Windows.
When using Outlook 2000, 2002/XP or 2003, then the location also depends on your installed language of
Office; <locale ID>.
Outlook 2010
32-bit Windows; C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\
64-bit Windows; C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\
64-bit Outlook; C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\
Outlook 2007
32-bit Windows; C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\
64-bit Windows; C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office12\
Outlook 2003
32-bit Windows; C:\Program Files\Common Files\System\MSMAPI\<locale ID>\
64-bit Windows; C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\System\MSMAPI\<locale ID>\
Outlook 2002/XP
C:\Program Files\Common Files\System\MAPI\<locale ID>\

Outlook 2000
C:\Program Files\Common Files\System\MAPI\<locale ID>\NT\

Outlook 97 / Outlook 98
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Windows Messaging\

Outlook 2010 Click-to-Run

When you use a Click-to-Run version of Outlook 2010, then you will not be able to open scanpst.exe via
conventional means. Instead, follow the following procedure;
1. Open the Click-to-Run version of Word, Excel or PowerPoint.
2. Choose File-> Open
3. Browse to the following location;
Q:\<14####.lan>\Office14

4. Set the All Word Documents drop down list list to All Files.
5. Right click on scanpst.exe and choose Open.
The folder <14####.lan> is a variable that depends on the version and language of your Click-to-Run installation.
For instance; 140062.enu

Running the repair process

The repair process consists out of several steps. If you already know the location of the pst-file that you would like
to scan, continue to; Starting the scanning process

Locating the pst-file

When you start the Inbox Repair Tool (scanpst.exe), the first thing it prompts you for is the location of the pst-file
to scan. This path is revealed in the startup error or otherwise the default locations are as follows;
Windows XP

Outlook 2007 and previous

C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook\

Outlook 2010
C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\My Documents\Outlook Files\

Windows Vista and Windows 7

Outlook 2007 and previous

C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\

Outlook 2010
C:\Users\%username%\Documents\Outlook Files\

Another way to determine the location of your pst-file (in case it differs from the default location) is via the Mail
applet in Control Panel-> button Data Files
If you have multiple profiles and the pst-file to scan is not part of your default mail profile, press the Show
Profiles button to select the correct profile first and the Properties

The Inbox Repair Tool (scanpst.exe) with a file selected to scan.

Starting the scanning process

After you have selected the pst-file to scan, you can press the Start button. At this point, nothing will happen to
your pst-file yet; scanpst will do an analysis first. This analysis consists out of 8 phases of which some can take
quite a bit longer to complete than others depending on the size and level of corruption of the file.

Analysis in progress
After the analysis scan has completed, it will present you with a scanning report and options for the next step. You
can press the Details button for more information about the type of corruption.

Errors were found but you are almost ready to repair them.

Starting the repair process

Before you continue to the actual repair process, make sure you have a backup of the pst-file. If you do not have a
backup already, make sure that you have the option set to make a backup before proceeding (selected by default).
After pressing the Repair button, the actual repair process will start and go through the 8 phases again. With a very
large pst-file (larger than 4GB) and a slower hard disk, this process can sometimes take longer than half an hour.
Note:
When the repair process starts, it could appear that it will hang directly (Not Responding in Title Bar). In reality, it
is not hanging but making a copy of your pst-file in the background or already has started the repair process.
Depending on the size of your pst-file and the speed of your hard disk, this can take a while.

If it still hangs after 10 minutes (no hard disk activity either) and still hasnt begun the actual repair process, you
might want to abort the scanpst.exe process via Task manager (CTRL+SHIFT+ESC > select tab Processes). Then,
make a copy of your pst-file manually and restart the Repair process but this time with the Backup option disabled.

Repair completed
If everything goes correctly, youll get the Repair complete dialog after some time. You can then press OK to
close it and start Outlook again.

Prevent pst-file corruptions

Preventing is better than repairing of course. While there have been a lot of precautions built into Outlook
to prevent pst-file corruptions, there are a couple of common causes which may result in corruptions in
the pst-file;

Computer/Outlook crashes
If your computer crashes while Outlook was running or even worse, writing data to your pst-file, running
scanpst.exe afterwards is highly recommended. Always try to find the root cause of your computer crashes
and make frequent backups of your pst-file when you cannot directly find the cause (actually, making
backups frequently is always recommended).
Outlook not closing properly
If Outlook doesnt close properly (the outlook.exe process continues to run after you close Outlook), then
Outlook will be closed forcefully when shutting down your PC which is similar to Outlook crashing. To
troubleshoot see; Outlook doesnt close
Faulty add-ins which write corrupted data
While add-ins are great to extend the functionality of Outlook, they might not all work as expected. If
corruptions continue to occur in your pst-file, it might be good to review your installed add-ins and see if you
still need them or if an update is available. You might be even using some without knowing. Disable them all
and see if the corruptions return. If not, test them one-by-one to find the culprit.

Outlook doesnt close

It isn't very common that Outlook doesn't close on it's own. Practically always this is caused by an add-in or another
program that integrates with Outlook. Once this add-in is disabled or updated or the program is closed the problem
will be gone and Outlook will close normally again.

Recognizing Outlook shutdown issues

Outlook shutdown issues are not always directly apparent but may surface via other errors or issues such as;

Outlook not being able to start anymore after you have closed it and only being able to open Outlook again
after restarting the PC.
AutoComplete / AutoSuggest cache becoming corrupted and Outlook not offering you email addresses
anymore when addressing a message.
Data file issues
Error; The data file <FILENAME> was not closed properly. This file is being checked for problems.
Gears icon in the bottom right corner in Outlook.
Not being able to backup your pst-files.
Mails still coming in.
An Outlook icon still in the Notification Area (later versions will show a special icon
)
Not being able to switch mail profiles (when using more than 1 mail profile in Outlook).
outlook.exe is still running on the Processes tab in Task Manager (accessible via CTRL+SHIFT+ESC or by
right clicking an empty spot on your Task bar and choosing Task Manager).
Navigation Pane corruptions or resets. This can result in an Outlook startup error saying; Cannot open the
Outlook window.
(In this case, in order to be able to open Outlook again, you'll have to start it with the /resetnavpane
switch.)
Error message about add-in when starting Outlook again.

The gears icon indicates that Outlook checks

your data file for issues in the background.

Solving shutdown issues caused by add-ins

Various add-ins hook into Outlook in such a way that closing Outlook on its own has been made impossible. To
find out if your issue is being caused by an add-in you can disable them all and see if the issue goes away. If
Outlook now closes properly, you can enable your add-ins one-by-one (restarting Outlook after each one) to find
out which add-in prevents Outlook from closing.
You can disable add-ins in the following way;

Outlook 2003 and previous

Tools-> Options-> tab Other-> button Advanced Options-> button Add-In Manager or button COM
Add-ins
Outlook 2007
Tools-> Trust Center-> section Add-Ins-> select the type of add-in in Manage and press Go
Outlook 2010
File-> Options-> section Add-Ins-> Go

Disabling the Outlook Change Notifier add-in can solve Outlook losing the AutoComplete cache.
(click on image to enlarge)

Solving shutdown issues caused by programs

Programs that integrate with Outlook are not always shown as an add-in as well. In this case you'll have to disable
the integration in the program itself. See the documentation of that program on how to disable it. If the integration
is the key of the program (like it is with synchronization software) make sure you close that program after or before
closing Outlook or it will keep Outlook open.
Programs that tend to keep Outlook open are;

Fax software (such as WinFax Pro)

Virus scanners (Norton, AVG, Panda and Kaspersky are some known to have caused problems)
Anti-spam filters (for instance; Cloudmark)
Synchronization software (ActiveSync, BlackBerry Desktop, iTunes)
Windows Vista and Windows 7 Sidebar Gadgets displaying Outlook information
Skype (View-> Show Outlook Contacts)