Way to fix email header corruption in Outlook PST

Shashibhushan Kumar

Updated On - May 20, 2024

Microsoft Outlook is a personal information manager provided by Microsoft that stores emails, tasks, contacts, calendars, etc. It is a safe and secure primary email-based client used for professional and individual work, improving productivity. Microsoft Outlook uses .pst as the default file format to store copies of email messages and other mailbox data items. Email header corruption in Outlook typically refers to the header corruption of a PST file. You can’t access data if your Outlook PST file’s header is broken or corrupted. If in case, you try to open a PST with header corruption issues, you are most likely to face the following error messages:

• Outlook .pst could not be accessed/Access Denied
• Outlook .pst is not a personal folder file.

Let us have a look at the reasons why Outlook data files get corrupt.

• Sharing PST files over a standard Network.

Sharing a PST on a standard network enables simultaneous access to the file, which eventually makes the file more prone to header corruption.

• Malware Attack

A PST header contains valuable information like file signature, file size, etc. If under any circumstances, the file is exposed to infectious malware or viruses, you are most likely to find PST files inaccessible.

• Sudden Closure of the Outlook program

A sudden closure of the Outlook application during an ongoing process often results in corruption/damage to the header components of the PST file.

We can repair the PST header corruption issue using manual and professional software. Users can fix email header corruption in Outlook PST by trying these methods. Both these methods have their significance.

Inbox Repair tool, otherwise known as ScanPST.exe, is a built-in software provided by Microsoft that can help diagnose and fix corruption issues in PST files where all the user’s email, calendar, and other data is stored. Follow the simple steps to fix header corruption using the Inbox Repair tool.

• Locate the Inbox Repair tool or ScanPST.exe in your system. Generally, the setup for the tool can be found at the following locations in your system.

In our case, we have located the tool at C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Office16

• Double-click on the SCANPST.EXE file to launch the Inbox Repair tool.

• Click Browse and select the corrupt PST file.

• Click Start to initiate the scan process.

• The tool will scan the corrupt PST file for possible errors and corruption issues.

• After successful completion of the scan process, the tool will tell you whether your PST has errors or not. If there are no errors in the PST, click OK to exit the tool. In case errors are found, click Repair to start the repair process.

• Within no time, the tool executes the repair process. Click OK to exit the Inbox Repair tool.

If after running the PST Inbox Repair, the email header corrupts in Outlook PST issue remains unsolved, it means that your PST file is badly corrupt or damaged.

In some situations, users will have to create a new PST file in Microsoft Outlook. It is not a complicated task. To create a PST file in Outlook, follow the step-by-step process:

• Download Microsoft Outlook.
• Click on New Email, select More Items from the dropdown, and then click Outlook Data Files.
• Give a name for the new PST file, select save as type as Outlook data file and then click OK.

Note: Click Add Optional Password if you want to create a password-protected PST file.

Manual methods do not always consistently provide the best results for your recovery task. Therefore, you can use third-party tool to fix the header corruption of a PST file. It will save your valuable time and effort. Recoveryfix for Outlook PST Repair is a standard solution for all your corruption issues regarding PST files. With this tool, you can fix any problem associated with the inaccessibility of PST files.

Let us have a look at the step-by-step procedure to recover a corrupt PST file.
Download the application in your Windows platform and follow the steps given below:

• Download and launch the tool. The default interface of the tool will look something like this:

• Click on the Browse button to locate the folder containing the corrupt PST file. Select the corrupt PST file and click Next.

• In the Savings Options window, select the output type, format, and provide a destination path to save the recovered file. Click OK to continue.

Note: If the selected PST is large, you can set the Split Option as “Split file” after the recovery. If not, let the settings remain unaltered.

• The tool will start processing the corrupt PST file for recovery.

• Once the PST file recover process is completed, click OK and press save.

Conclusion
All the manual methods to fix email header corruption in Outlook PST are worthy choices for you. However, suppose manual methods fail to repair the issue associated with email header corruption. So, we are also recommending professional software Recoveryfix for Outlook PST Repair, which is the most recommended alternative to the Inbox Repair tool. It repairs multiple inaccessible PST files and saves the recovered healthy PST file into different PST, EML, DBX, MSG, etc. formats. It can fix all your problems in PST files, preserve original data, and make your mailbox items accessible in Outlook. It has robust algorithms and features that even beginners can recover corrupt PST files efficiently.