Tuesday 1 January 2019

Is it Possible to Recover Outlook Email from 0KB PST File?

For myself, there has been never a situation like that but one of my friends faced this situation lately. As there was a lack of technical know-how hence she asked me for help. While searching on the internet to find her a solution, I came across an article which
contained nothing sensible and mentioned that there is nothing that can be done with a 0kb PST file unless you have a valid backup for it.



In this article, you will get to know how you can handle a situation where you have a 0kb PST file and there is no valid backup.

Possible Reasons

Before talking about the solution, it is important to reach out to the reasons for this problem. What can be done if your PST file has become 0kb? You have to find the root cause to get to the best solutions for this issue. Isn’t it? Also, a PST file will not become a 0kb file for no reason. There must be a definite reason for it and the common reasons have been listed below:

Run CHKDSK

To check the integrity of the disks we can use the Check Disk tool which examines the disk thoroughly and also fixes the errors if found. However, running CHKDSK can also cause the PST file to become 0kb.

Store PST File on a Network Drive

It is not recommended as well as not supported to store a PST file on a network drive or in a folder that synchronizes it to the cloud. If there will be any error or crash in the network drive it can cause serious damage to the PST file. Note: to recover the PST file, the cloud sync might have a backup copy.

Corruption

Behind most of the Microsoft Outlook problems, corruption is one of the common factors and is responsible for the issue in the Outlook data file.

Human Errors

Humans can never avoid making mistakes even if it is accidentally or intentionally. Given below are the two common situations where a PST file can become a 0kb file:

  • When you copy a PST file which is already opened by Microsoft Outlook on your computer then this will create a PST file of 0kb. However, the original file will remain the same but the issue arises when you have deleted the original PST file and the only PST file you are left with is of 0kb.
  • When you write a PST file to a CD and then you move it back to the hard disk and then you try to open the PST file it will not open. You will receive an error saying that the Outlook file is not a personal file folder and the size of the file will become 0kb.

Is it Possible to Recover Outlook Email?

Most of the users want an answer for when a normal PST file gets converted into a 0kb file. Generally, there is no option available to recover a 0kb PST file but you might be recommended for using Inbox Repair tool scanpst.exe utility for the recovery of the file. But this will not restore the corrupted file to its original size. However, if you have the valid backup then you can think of recovering the Outlook email file. If you have the regular backup of your Outlook data then two options are there for you to recover the file:

  • Create a new PST file and import the mailbox content from the backup by using the Import feature.
  • You can also use the backup file as the default Outlook data file.

This is only possible if you have the valid backup file. However, if you don’t have the backup with you then it will be a difficult situation. Given below are some of the tricks which might work in order to get the Outlook email recovery:

Using Auto-Archived PST file

You can use the ‘AutoArchive’ feature of Microsoft Outlook in case you don’t have a manual backup. This option is only available when you have enabled the AutoArchive option before and you have to go with the steps given below:

  • Open the Microsoft Outlook application on your computer and on the taskbar click on the File tab and then select ‘Options’.
  • Next, you have to click on the ‘Advanced’ tab from the options. Now, under the ‘AutoArchive’ heading click on the AutoArchive Settings option.
  • Now, on the AutoArchive dialog box, you can select the ‘Browse’ button to search for the archive PST file.

Use Previous Versions in Windows

If you don’t have the backup or the Auto-Archive option then you can still recover the Outlook email by using the Windows ‘Previous Versions’ feature as explained below:

  1. Firstly, move to the folder where you have stored the Outlook data file.
  2. Then right-click the folder and then select ‘Restore previous versions’ in the option.
  3. The Outlook File Properties dialog box will open and there you will see the multiple previous versions of this folder.
  4. Select the Folder version and then click the copy button.
  5. Now select the place where you want to copy the ‘Outlook File’ then click ‘Copy’ and this will copy the ‘Previous version’ of the Outlook data file.

Using 3rd Party Email Recovery Software

If the above steps are not helpful for you then you can go for a specialized solution. However no 3rd party Outlook PST Recovery Tool will really even when some vendors claim that their PST recovery software is very efficient in recovering the mailbox content from a 0kb PST file. When no PST recovery tool works, you can use a data recovery tool that will help restore your data from the computer. One such tool is Windows Data Recovery Software which can help you recover anything from a corrupt hard disk.



If you are thinking how this is possible then here it goes. If a PST file has become a 0kb file because of any reason then try to recover the PST file from the computer using a data recovery tool. Make sure the hard disk has not overwritten. Then run the Windows Data Recovery software which will scan the hard disk and will recover all the data as well as the PST file of 0kb size. Check the files size and it should be same as the original one and then open the PST file in the Microsoft Outlook.

1 comment:

  1. Recovery has become really hassle-free with the introduction of third-party PST repair tool.

    ReplyDelete