An outlook 2007 pst file is corrupt, and we have to retrieve as much info as possible from it. scanpst.exe doesn't fix it. It is 1.2 Gb in size. Our focus is primarily the contacts and calendar, but any/all information recovered has value.

There are a lot of different software repair tools (shareware and commercial) out there, but no one seems to rate them.

If you have first-hand experience using these tools good or bad, please tell me what you used and how well it worked with your 2007 pst recovery efforts. I'm not looking for shills for products -- just real world experiences so we can eval what may be worth buying/using.

thanks.

Why does scanpst.exe not work? What is the message? Did Office Maintenance
work? Do you have a bad sector where the .pst file resides? Try running
chkdsk /r.

--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact.
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/KB/555375


After furious head scratching, afterhours asked:

| An outlook 2007 pst file is corrupt, and we have to retrieve as much
| info as possible from it. scanpst.exe doesn't fix it. It is 1.2 Gb
| in size. Our focus is primarily the contacts and calendar, but
| any/all information recovered has value.
|
| There are a lot of different software repair tools (shareware and
| commercial) out there, but no one seems to rate them.
|
| If you have first-hand experience using these tools good or bad,
| please tell me what you used and how well it worked with your 2007
| pst recovery efforts. I'm not looking for shills for products --
| just real world experiences so we can eval what may be worth
| buying/using.
|
| thanks.

Don't multipost.

--
Robert Sparnaaij [MVP-Outlook]
Coauthor, Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003
http://www.howto-outlook.com/
Outlook FAQ, HowTo, Downloads, Add-Ins and more

http://www.msoutlook.info/
Real World Questions, Real World Answers

-----

"afterhours" wrote in message
...

An outlook 2007 pst file is corrupt, and we have to retrieve as much
info as possible from it. scanpst.exe doesn't fix it. It is 1.2 Gb in
size. Our focus is primarily the contacts and calendar, but any/all
information recovered has value.

There are a lot of different software repair tools (shareware and
commercial) out there, but no one seems to rate them.

If you have first-hand experience using these tools good or bad, please
tell me what you used and how well it worked with your 2007 pst recovery
efforts. I'm not looking for shills for products -- just real world
experiences so we can eval what may be worth buying/using.

thanks.




--
afterhours

Why does scanpst.exe not work? Well, that is a great question for MS, isn't it? Why are there dozens of repair applications that purport to fix things that scanpst.exe doesn't? What to they know that the MS coders don't?

Actually, what I said was that scanpst.exe didn't fix the file. It told me there were 50 items that weren't recoverable (whatever 'items' means .. db records, tables, folders, attachments? we don't know, and MS doesn't see fit to tell us more). Once the 'repaired' file is put in place of a clean install of outlook, we then try to launch Outlook in the vain hope that it will behave.

What is the message? Alas, Outlook coughs up the ever helpful:

Microsoft Office Outlook has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience. (If you were in the middle of something, the information you were working on might be lost.)

Then it goes on to helpfully offer to Restart Microsoft Office Outlook with the checkbox selected and I have an option to send the error report to MS.

So we try again. This time, we try to import into a clean install of Outlook from the 'repaired' data file. And the emails mostly come over. I don't recall how many I started with, but I know that the vast majority are there. The calendar isn't. The contacts aren't. Bummer -- they matter more than even those emails.

Running a demo copy of OutlookFix lets me see my contacts and calendar entries, 'though it's crippled enough in demo mode to just give me a peek.

Running scanpst on the file, then on the repaired file did nothing to improve the results. Running other disagnostics have resolved nothing. This file was recovered from a dying hard drive, and is on a sound installation.