Tech

What Do You Know About PST Files and Why They Aren’t Effective?

PST files are known as Personal Storage Table files that are present on the MS Outlook application. These file formats cannot be recovered by anyone. Many users face PST file corruption and as a result, they fail to access the PST files. The size of the PST file formats is large but they might prove fragile for the system as well as the users. One of the main disadvantages of the PST file formats is that they cannot be recovered easily. Additionally, you will find about the corruption of the PST files without any issue. Once the PST files are corrupted, you need to use a third-party PST recovery tool. Continue reading the article to know more information. 

What PST Files Contain?

The PST files are the MS Outlook email application data files. Users rely on the PST files to save the local copies of journals, messages, tasks, and other essential email data items from the MS Exchange mailbox. The same procedure applies to MS Outlook 2003 where all the Outlook folders are contained with different types of email attributes such as calendars, inbox, and contacts. 

While using the MS Outlook email client platform to send and receive emails and other data items, you need to remember a couple of essential things. You need to know how you will be able to open the PST data files on your computer without facing any issues. This is why you need to learn to open the PST files properly. You will be able to see the PST files from the Browse button of the File tab. 

Drawbacks of the PST Files 

The PST files are extremely prone to corruption. Sometimes the problem associated with corrupted outlook data files becomes so severe that you need to use third-party and professional PST recovery tools. 

Remember that the extensions of the PST files can be corrupted pretty easily and this is one of the most difficult situations users face with the PST files. The PST files come with a size limit of 2GB if you’re using the older versions. When the PST files become oversize, they will undoubtedly face corruption. Even though the latest versions of MS Outlook come with PST files of 50GB maximum size limit which decrease the chances of corruption, you can still face problems. 

Do You Know Why the PST Files are So Much Prone to Corruption?

Multiple aspects might make you face PST file corruption. Users who transfer the details from their mailbox data items will undoubtedly face some hardware issues. In such cases, the chances of the PST files becoming corrupted are extremely high. 

Failure of the data storage is one of the most common situations that make the PST data files face corruption. Due to the bad sectors, the hard disk of your system might fail to complete the tasks properly. This will affect your work on the MS Outlook application as the PST files will be saved in this specific sector. Remember that PST files are not safe and come with high-security risks. This is why many users consider password protection for their PST files. You won’t be able to access the PST files after some time as they are in read-only format. 

The Reason for Large PST Files 

Keep in mind that the large mailbox data contains the large deleted data items folders. This is why you always need to keep track of the size of the mailbox installed on your system. If you don’t pay close attention, the size will increase exponentially and the PST files might get corrupted. The items that are stored in the Outlook folders are considered conflicts. 

How Can You Repair the Corrupted PST Files?

Even though many users believe that PST files are bound to corrupt and cannot be repaired, this is just a common myth that you need to avoid.

When corrupted, the PST files can be repaired without any problem. When you use a third-party PST recovery tool, you can repair the PST files without affecting the data items. As per Inter Media, you can also use the ScanPST tool that might help you fix the corrupted PST files. Here are the steps you need to follow:

  • You need to exit the MS Outlook application and browse the location of the ScanPST tool. Remember that you might face some issues locating the ScanPST tool as the location is dependent on the server you’re using. 
  • After you locate it, you need to open the ScanPST tool so that you can browse the corrupted outlook data files. 
  • This way the tool will start scanning the PST files.
  • If the tool finds any error, you will be able to choose the perfect repair process. 

Keep in mind that ScanPST might not help you recover or repair the corrupted PST files effectively. This is why you should use third-party recovery tools. 

Conclusion

Keep in mind that PST files are extremely prone to corruption. This is why you need to take the necessary steps that will prevent the PST files from corrupting.