How to open a pst file in Outlook. How to open a PST file if you don't have Office Outlook. How to transfer Outlook data from one computer to another

You"re here because you have a file that has a file extension ending in .pst. Files with the file extension .pst can only be launched by certain applications. It"s possible that .pst files are data files rather than documents or media , which means they"re not meant to be viewed at all.

what is a .pst file?

Files in the PST format are data files created by Microsoft Outlook, a personal information manager and a part of the Microsoft Office Suite. Outlook is most often used as an email application; it also features other elements such as the contact manager, task manager, note taking, a journal and a calendar. The program can also work with Microsoft’s Exchange Server where multiple users may share mailboxes and calendars, exchange files and schedule meetings. PRF files are user profile files which contain information on the user such as signatures and references to mail folders, and other user preferences like mail account settings. Using Microsoft's Office Resource Kit, PRF files can be created and the set out to multiple systems. PST files are used to hold personal information used by Microsoft Outlook and Exchange. This information may include contacts, addresses, email folders and other data. Such files have a 2GB limit and will slow down the program if files are close to the limit.

how to open a .pst file?

Launch a .pst file, or any other file on your PC, by double-clicking it. If your file associations are set up correctly, the application that"s meant to open your .pst file will open it. It"s possible you may need to download or purchase the correct application. It"s also possible that you have the correct application on your PC, but .pst files aren"t yet associated with it. In this case, when you try to open a .pst file, you can tell Windows which application is the correct one for that file. From then on, opening a .pst file will open the correct application.

applications that open a .pst file

Microsoft Outlook Express

Outlook Express is an email and news client that is integrated with Internet Explorer versions 4.0 through 6.0. It is also bundled with a number of versions of Microsoft Windows, from Windows 98 to Windows Server 2003, and is available for Windows 3.x, Windows NT 3.51, Windows 95 and Mac OS 9. In Windows Vista, Outlook Express was outdated by Windows Mail, then again by Windows Live Mail as separate software in Windows 7. Microsoft Entourage, sold as part of Microsoft Office for Macintosh, has changed the Macintosh version. Outlook Express is a diverse application from Microsoft Office Outlook. The two programs do not share a common codebase, but do share a common architectural philosophy. The similar names lead many people to incorrectly conclude that Outlook Express is a stripped-down version of Microsoft Office Outlook. Outlook Express utilizes the Windows Address Book to store contact information and incorporates tightly with it. On Windows XP, it also joins together with Windows Messenger.

Microsoft Office Outlook

Microsoft Outlook is available as a part of the Microsoft Office suite, and a personal information manager from Microsoft. The present version is Microsoft Office Outlook 2010 for Windows and Microsoft Office Outlook 2011 for Mac. Although frequently used primarily as an email application, it also includes a calendar, task manager, contact manager, note taking, a journal and Web browsing. It can be utilized as a stand-alone application, or can work with Microsoft Exchange Server and Microsoft SharePoint Server for many users in an organization, such as shared mailboxes and calendars, exchange public folders, SharePoint lists and meeting schedules. There are third-party add-on applications that integrate Outlook with electronic devices such as BlackBerry mobile phones and with other software like Office & Skype Internet communication. Developers can also make their own conventional software that works with Outlook and Office components using Microsoft Visual Studio. Moreover, Windows Mobile devices can synchronize almost all Outlook data to Outlook Mobile.

a word of warning

Be careful not to rename the extension on .pst files, or any other files. This will not change the file type. Only special conversion software can change a file from one file type to another.

Microsoft Outlook, which is the undisputed leader in the segment of corporate email clients on desktop PCs, stores user data in OST and PST files. OST– the file is a cached copy of the user’s mailbox stored on the MS Exchange server. PST is a personal folders file containing the user’s emails and stored locally on the computer. Quite a large number of Outlook users have, to one degree or another, encountered problems opening pst files due to their corruption. The inability of a user to open an archive of letters results in a headache for administrators and technical services. support.

In this article, we will talk about the main causes of damage to personal pst folder files and a simple method for restoring them.

Causes of damage to archive files of personal folders Outlook can be different: these can be either errors on the file system (in this case it’s worth starting with), or damage to the structure of pst files caused by emergency closing of the Outlook client (the most common), power failure, viruses, due to storage pst files in a shared network folder (this configuration is not supported by Microsoft), etc.

Also, do not forget about the restrictions on the maximum size of a pst file in different versions of Outlook. If you exceed the maximum file size or open a large file in an older version of your email client, Outlook may not work correctly. Limits on the size of pst files the following:

Outlook 2002 and earlier - pst files are in ANSI format and are limited to 2 GB in size
Outlook 2003 and Outlook 2007 – 20 GB limit
Outlook 2010 and Outlook 2013 - pst/ost files are in Unicode format and are limited to a maximum size of 50 GB

In addition, do not forget that the larger the file, the greater the likelihood of errors appearing in it, so it is recommended to work with pst files of 2-8 GB in size

If a pst file is damaged, the Outlook client completely or partially loses the ability to open it, producing, for example, the following error:

Cannot start Microsoft Outlook. Cannot open the Outlook windows. The set of folders cannot be opened. Errors have been detected in the file ….outlook.pst

The file …outlook.pst is not an Outlook data file (.pst)

The presence of such errors indicates that the pst data file is damaged and requires restoration of its logical structure.

First of all, let's figure out where Outlook actually stores pst files. By default, *.pst (personal folders) and *.ost (local cached copy of Exchange server folders) files are stored in the following directories depending on the OS version:

Windows 2000, 2003, XP: C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8: C:\users\%username%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook

But the user, if necessary, can create/move a personal folder file to an arbitrary location.

Important! Before you start restoring a pst file, create a backup copy of it, thereby protecting yourself from possible further damage to the file by the recovery utility or Outlook itself.

To restore damage in archived Outlook folders, Microsoft includes a special utility in the Office package (in my opinion, starting from the 2000 version of MS Office) Microsoft Outlook Inbox Repair Tool (scanpst.exe ). This small utility is not a universal panacea that allows you to recover a pst file after any damage, but it allows you to solve most common problems with personal folder files.

You can find the utility in the directory:

c:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE[Office version number, – 11,12,13,14)

So, for example, for Office 2010 the path to the directory with the scanpst.exe utility will be like this:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE14

For Outlook 2013 this rule does not work, look for the utility in the c:\Program directory Files\Microsoft Office 15\root\office15

Note. On a 64-bit system, if 64-bit is used, the path to looks like this C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14

Let's try to repair damage in the pst file automatically. To do this, run the scanpst.exe utility and specify the path to the pst file.

Important! Before running the utility, be sure to close Outlook and other processes that use the restored pst file.

To start the process of scanning the file for errors, click the button Start.

The process of checking and analyzing the file structure consists of 8 stages. The verification time depends on the size of the pst file and the number of errors in it.

In our case, the utility reported that the personal folders file contains errors and offers to start the recovery procedure (button Repair). If you have not yet created a backup copy of the pst file, you can do so now by checking the checkbox and specifying the file name.

After pressing the button Repair The pst file recovery process starts, which also consists of 8 stages. In our example, for a 1 GB archive, the recovery process took about 15 minutes.

If everything goes smoothly, a message will appear after the utility has finished running Repair complete and you can try to open the pst file in Outlook.

So, as we have already said, the scanpst.exe utility should help in most cases (about 90%) when errors occur or pst files in personal folders are damaged. The scanpst utility will not be able to help if:

there are corruptions in the headers of the pst file
personal folders file is password protected
need to recover accidentally deleted emails or folders
when the maximum pst file size is exceeded
in case of complex damage to the logical and physical structure of the pst file

You can use the Inbox Repair Tool (SCANPST.EXE) to diagnose and fix errors in the Outlook data file. The Inbox Repair tool checks the Outlook data files on your computer to make sure they are in a usable form.

You can use the Inbox Repair tool in the following situations:

You receive a message that Outlook can't open the data file

You receive a message that Outlook can't open a set of folders

You think your Outlook data file may be damaged

If you use an Exchange email account, you can delete the Outlook Offline Data (OST) file and Outlook will recreate the Outlook Offline Data (OST) file the next time you start Outlook.

Notes:

Recovering Outlook Data File (PST)

What happens after recovering an Outlook data file?

A folder named recovered personal folders containing default or orphaned Outlook folders and found folders. Some of the recovered folders may be empty. Folder " lost and found" includes all folders and items recovered by the recovery tool that Outlook cannot place in the original structure.

Creating a new data file

You can create an Outlook data file and drag and drop items from a folder into it Lost and Found. After this you can delete the PST file Recovered personal folders, including folder Lost and Found. To create a new Outlook data file, see Create an Outlook data file.

Recovering items from a backup .bak file

If the original Outlook data file is open, you may be able to recover additional items. The Inbox Restore tool creates a backup file with the same name as the original file, but with a .bak extension, and stores it in the same folder. You can try restoring items from a backup file that the Inbox recovery tool couldn't restore.

Finding Outlook Data Files

You can check the location of Outlook data files in Outlook.

Select Account Settings" file _gt_ _gt_".

Open the tab data files.

All Outlook data files (PST) and offline data files (OST) are listed along with the name of the account that the files are associated with.

In this article we will look at how to save and secure Outlook data by archiving or creating a backup copy, as well as ways to restore Outlook data files (.pst or .ost) from a backup or archive.

After all, whether you use Outlook to create and send emails, import contacts from Gmail into your email client's address book, or use its address book, create tasks or calendar items in it, this means that your email client stores a lot of valuable data. In this regard, it is useful for every Outlook user to know how to secure and save their data to avoid losing it in the future.

Content:

Mail control panel

First, let's look at the Outlook control panel and mail settings, with which you can configure your email client in Windows. To open it, go to the Control Panel of your computer and select the section Mail.

In the window that opens Mail settings Three sections are available: Accounts, Data files, Configurations.

Selecting the first two items opens the same window Email account settings, only with different bookmarks, in which you can add an account, see where the data of each mail account is stored, restore or make changes to it.

To add an account in Outlook, click the button Accounts, and in the bookmark Email click Create.

If you need to perform certain actions with the data of a specific mail account, then to do this, go to the tab Data files in which you can do the following:

Add or remove a data file.
Install Data File Options.
In this menu, in addition to other functions, there is a function to reduce the size of the data file, which will be useful if such a file "will increase" to large sizes and will take up a lot of space on your computer’s hard drive. To do this, click on the menu Parameters button Compress.
Set the default data file to be the main one.
Open the location of the file (data file) by clicking the corresponding button.

Outlook data files (.pst and .ost)

Most often, the user does not need to know where the Outlook email client stores its data. But if you need to create a backup copy of your mail client data or transfer it to another drive in order to save or free up free space on your computer’s hard drive, you need to know its location.

Outlook stores email messages from each email account in .pst or .ost file, but the location of such a file depends on the version of the mail client used. In this article, we will show where Outlook data files are located, and how you can change their location if necessary.

If you've been using Outlook for a while, you've probably heard of PST files. Each email box in Outlook has its own data storage in the form of a PST file, in which all letters and correspondence, calendar marks and reminders are saved. PST file data may or may not be compressed and encrypted, depending on the settings made.

You may have noticed that the larger the amount of data stored in a PST file, the slower the email client starts to work. From time to time, Outlook offers to archive older messages to reduce this issue by downloading less data to the email client when it starts.

You may also have seen a file with the .ost extension in the Outlook data folder. OST files have a similar function to PST files, but are used as temporary offline email storage. The point is that the user can use messages from the OST file while the email server is disconnected (no Internet connection), and after the connection is restored, Outlook synchronizes everything.

That is, a PST file is created by Outlook in case of saving all email and correspondence on the local computer, and an OST file is created when working with email hosts that save all email data on a remote server (for example, Gmail or Outlook.com). In this case, the OST file simply contains a local copy of your email data.

Where are Outlook data files stored?

The location where Outlook data files are stored depends on the version of the program. Outlook 2007 and 2010 saves by default PST And OST files to folder AppData:

C:\Users\ Username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook

Starting with Outlook 2013, the location of PST files has changed and they are now stored in the Documents folder. So, Outlook 2013 and 2016 saves PST files in the following folder:

C:\Users\ Username\Documents\Outlook Files

See storage folder PST or OST a specific account file can also be done using Outlook itself. To do this, go to the menu File / Setting up accounts.

In the window Account settings in the Data files tab, select the account you want to view (if there are several of them) and click "Open file location"

Outlook will open an Explorer window and show the folder in which it is stored. PST file (or OST file, if this account uses one).

Archiving Outlook Data

The main data file that Outlook works with is the file with the account name. You can also create an archive or backup copy from this file. This can be done by setting up automatic data archiving or manually archiving data.

Automatic data archiving

To set up automatic archiving of Outlook data, open the application and go to the File tab. Select the required account from the pop-up menu (if there are several).

After that, click Cleaning Tools and select the menu item.

After clicking the button, Outlook will archive the installed mailbox folders. To change the autoarchive settings, just right-click on one of the folders in your Outlook mailbox and select Properties / / .

By clicking the button Default archive settings, you can set archiving of folder items with default settings.

Manually back up Outlook data

If there is no need to set up automatic mail archiving, then this can be done manually. To do this, go to the menu File / Cleaning products / Archive.

In the menu that opens, set the necessary parameters and click Ok.

As a result of both described methods of archiving Outlook data, the mail client will create a file with a data archive that can be imported back if necessary.

Backup and restore your Outlook data file

Also, in order to ensure the safety of your mail client data, you can create a backup copy of the Outlook data file. Just copy it .pst or .ost your account file to another drive or cloud storage. To do this, open the location of the desired file PST and copy it.

To restore the data file copied in this way, open Outlook and go to File / Open and export / Open Outlook data file, and select the required data file.

As a rule, the email client immediately opens the folder with data files.

After this, Outlook will display all the data from the selected file PST, and you will be able to use mail as usual. If there is no longer a need to use this backup copy of the data file, this data can be deleted from the mail client.

Note. As you can see in the Outlook Data, Files and Settings Import and Export Wizard, data can only be imported from a file PST. That is, if your mail account uses an OST data file, it will not be able to import it in this form. To do this, you will need to convert the OST file to PST format. Such conversion is not possible using the built-in tools in Outlook; for this, use third-party software.

How to change the default Outlook data file storage folder (.pst or .ost)

If you need to move your Outlook files from drive C or simply to a more convenient location, then this can also be done. You just can’t simply copy this file by holding the left mouse button. If you do this, Outlook will create a new file in the default folder for PST file and as a result, some of the mailbox information will be lost. To move a data file, you must change the default storage location for Outlook files using the registry before moving the file.

Attention. The registry editor is a tool that, if done incorrectly, can damage the operating system, after which its operation will become unstable. Therefore, be careful when performing any actions with the Registry Editor, or better yet, create a backup copy of it before making any changes.

Close Outlook and open Registry Editor.

On the left side Registry Editor go to the following path:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\

where 16.0 is the version of your Outlook.

Next, create a new unit in this folder. To do this, right-click in the right window and select Create / Expandable string parameter. Name the new unit "ForcePSTPath".

PST File Summary

The PST file extension has two file type(s) and is associated with five different software, but mainly with Microsoft Outlook Express, developed Microsoft Corporation. They are often presented in the format Outlook Personal Information Store File. Most often, PST files are classified as.

The PST file extension is supported by Windows, Mac and iOS. These file types can be found primarily on desktop computers and some mobile devices.

The PST file extension has a popularity rating of "Low", which means that these files are generally not found in most user file stores.

For more information about PST files and associated software applications, see the information below. Additionally, the following also provides a basic troubleshooting guide that will help you solve problems encountered while opening PST files.

Popularity of file types

File Rank

Activity This file type is still relevant and is actively used by developers and application software. Although the original software of this file type may be overshadowed by a newer version (eg Excel 97 vs Office 365), this file type is still actively supported by the current version of the software. This process of interacting with an old operating system or outdated version of software is also known as "».

backward compatibility

File status

Page Last updated

PST File Types

PST Master File Association

A PST file is a data storage file used by Microsoft Outlook, an email client and personal information manager. It contains email, folders, address, contacts and other data.

Software that opens Outlook Personal Information Store File:

Compatible with:

Windows

Software that opens Outlook Personal Information Store File:

Compatible with:

Software that opens Outlook Personal Information Store File:

	Compatible with:
	Mac

Windows Phone

iOS

Android

Data file associated with STAR-CD, an engineering application used for in-cylinder flow and combustion analysis. The PST file contains the results data obtained by the software.

Try a universal file viewer

In addition to the products listed above, we suggest you try a universal file viewer like FileViewPro. The tool can open over 200 different file types, providing editing functionality for most of them.

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| Terms |

Troubleshooting problems opening PST files

Common problems opening PST files Microsoft Outlook Express is not installed By double clicking on the PST file you can see a system dialog box telling you Microsoft Outlook Express for %%os%% is not installed on your computer. Since your operating system doesn't know what to do with this file, you won't be able to open it by double-clicking on it.

Advice: If you know of another program that can open a PST file, you can try opening the file by selecting that application from the list of possible programs.

The wrong version of Microsoft Outlook Express is installed

In some cases, you may have a newer (or older) version of the Outlook Personal Information Store File. not supported by the installed version of the application. If you do not have the correct version of the Microsoft Outlook Express software (or any of the other programs listed above), you may need to download a different version of the software or one of the other software applications listed above. This problem most often occurs when working in an older version of the application software With file created in a newer version, which the old version cannot recognize.

Advice: Sometimes you can get a general idea of the version of a PST file by right-clicking the file and then selecting Properties (Windows) or Get Info (Mac OSX).

Summary: In any case, most of the problems that arise while opening PST files are due to not having the correct software application installed on your computer.

Install optional products - FileViewPro (Solvusoft) |

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Other causes of problems opening PST files Even if you already have Microsoft Outlook Express or other PST-related software installed on your computer, you may still encounter problems while opening Outlook Personal Information Store Files. If you are still having problems opening PST files, it may be due to other problems preventing these files from being opened

. Such problems include (presented in order from most to least common): Invalid links to PST files
in the Windows registry (“phone book” of the Windows operating system) Accidental deletion of description
PST file in the Windows registry Incomplete or incorrect installation
application software associated with the PST format File corruption
PST (problems with the Outlook Personal Information Store File itself) PST infection
malware Damaged or outdated device drivers
Lack of sufficient system resources on the computer to open Outlook Personal Information Store File format

Quiz: What file extension is for an audio file?

Right!

Close, but not quite...

AAC, or Advanced Audio Coding file format, is a lossy digital audio compression format. This achieves better sound quality than MP3 at the same bit rate.

Best Operating Systems

	Compatible with:	(82.33%)
	iOS	(11.56%)
	Windows Phone	(3.43%)
	Macintosh	(1.71%)
	Linux	(0.60%)

Event of the day

A popular image format, JPEG, is lossy. Every time a JPEG image file is opened and saved as a new file, information is lost due to the compression methods used for the format itself. For lossless editing, you should use TIFF, PNG, and BMP file formats.

How to fix problems opening PST files

If you have installed on your computer antivirus program Can scan all files on your computer, as well as each file individually. You can scan any file by right-clicking on the file and selecting the appropriate option to scan the file for viruses.

For example, in this figure it is highlighted file my-file.pst, then you need to right-click on this file and select the option in the file menu "scan with AVG". When you select this option, AVG Antivirus will open and scan the file for viruses.

Sometimes an error may occur as a result incorrect software installation, which may be due to a problem encountered during the installation process. This may interfere with your operating system link your PST file to the correct software application, influencing the so-called "file extension associations".

Sometimes simple reinstalling Microsoft Outlook Express can solve your problem by linking PST with Microsoft Outlook Express correctly. In other cases, problems with file associations may result from bad software programming developer and you may need to contact the developer for further assistance.

Advice: Try updating Microsoft Outlook Express to the latest version to ensure you have the latest patches and updates.

This may seem too obvious, but often The PST file itself may be causing the problem. If you received a file via an email attachment or downloaded it from a website and the download process was interrupted (such as a power outage or other reason), the file may become damaged. If possible, try getting a new copy of the PST file and try opening it again.

Carefully: A damaged file can cause collateral damage to previous or existing malware on your PC, so it is important to keep your computer up-to-date with an up-to-date antivirus.

If your PST file related to the hardware on your computer to open the file you may need update device drivers associated with this equipment.

This problem usually associated with media file types, which depend on successfully opening the hardware inside the computer, e.g. sound card or video card. For example, if you are trying to open an audio file but cannot open it, you may need to update sound card drivers.

Advice: If when you try to open a PST file you receive .SYS file error message, the problem could probably be associated with corrupted or outdated device drivers that need to be updated. This process can be made easier by using driver update software such as DriverDoc.

If the steps do not solve the problem and you are still having problems opening PST files, this may be due to lack of available system resources. Some versions of PST files may require a significant amount of resources (e.g. memory/RAM, processing power) to properly open on your computer. This problem is quite common if you are using fairly old computer hardware and at the same time a much newer operating system.

This problem can occur when the computer is having trouble keeping up with a task because the operating system (and other services running in the background) may consume too many resources to open PST file. Try closing all applications on your PC before opening Outlook Personal Information Store File. By freeing up all available resources on your computer you will be in the best possible position to attempt to open your PST file.

If you completed all the steps described above and your PST file still won't open, you may need to run equipment update. In most cases, even when using older versions of hardware, the processing power can still be more than sufficient for most user applications (unless you're doing a lot of CPU-intensive work, such as 3D rendering, financial/scientific modeling, or intensive multimedia work) . Thus, it is likely that your computer does not have enough memory(commonly called "RAM" or random access memory) to perform the task of opening a file.

Try refreshing your memory to see if it helps open the PST file. Today, memory upgrades are quite affordable and very easy to install, even for the average computer user. As a bonus, you you'll probably see a nice performance boost while your computer performs other tasks.