Scanpst.exe is a utility used to correct MS Outlook PST files. Scanpst can partially fix internal PST file database issues but in most cases you will have to try a third party Scanpst.exe tool.
It is possible to split PST mailboxes into different files located locally or on a network driver. The problem is that although a network driver may appear as a local drive (drive mapping) network drive not provides the same performance as a local one (i.e. C drive). Therefore Outlook may face problems to contact the PST file located on the network server and that may lead sooner or later to corrupt PST file which require a repair with scanpst.exe
If such a failure happens, it is possible to restore your PST file mailbox first with backup software that is daily backup in your network storage. However, since the mailbox data may contain some crucial business data you might do not want to lose even a single day of work.
If restoring the mailbox data located in your inaccessible PST file is a must, you can try and use the Scanpst.exe utility. Scanpst.exe location is in your Outlook installation folder (You may find it under the default installation folder i.e. c:program files). If you cannot find it the best is just to run the search program and find the scanpst.exe directly.
Typical PST errors:
“The file F:archive.pst is not a personal folders file.”
(you can replace the letter F with your own network drive letter).
Cause for the PST error:
The above error indicates that Outlook cannot read the PST database because it is corrupt. The file does not have valid database structure. Another possible cause is that you just do not have network connection to the PST file. In that case it is very easy to solve it and just call your network administrator to fix it.
Please consider that Outlook PST database file was not designed to work with slow connections such as network drives. In many cases the connection is slowing during saving data or file closing which in many times cause data lose and PST file corruption.
Can Scanpst.exe solve it?
