Outlook 2003 creates corrupt PST files

[Clif]

I am in the process of upgrading from Outlook 2000 to 2003. Outlook 2003 is on a brand-new machine running Windows XP Professional. I transferred my 2000 pst file to the XP machine, ran Outlook 2003, and pointed it to that file. Everything appeared to be OK initially. After a short time, though, I noticed that things in Outlook 2003 were disappearing - views, appointments, tasks. (As a note, I had moved my Outlook 2000 categories by hand.)

When things started to disappear, I ran scanpst.exe and found errors in the Outlook pst file. I repaired the file, ran scanpst again, and the utility found no errors. However, I discovered that after I did anything in Outlook 2003 - like add an appointment or task - and closed the program and run scanpst.exe, scanpst would find errors. Using Outlook 2003 at all seemed to corrupt the pst file.

After going through this cycle several times, I decided to run scanpst.exe on the original Outlook.pst file that the program initially created, which I had saved. That pst file had errors, too, according to scanpst.

Next I created a new pst file in Outlook using File > New > Outlook Data File, closed the program, and scanned that file. The brand-new pst file had errors too.

I ran chkdsk a couple of times throughout this process, and it always found no errors on the disk.

I've uninstalled Office 2003 and reinstalled it, but I had the same problem.

I've also uninstalled Office 2003 and installed Office 2000 on the XP machine. Outlook 2000 ran fine, and its pst file was fine (no errors with scanpst) after fairly extended use.

I could always stick with Outlook 2000, but I want to use Outlook 2003, and I'm not sure what to do next.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Guy Williams]

I just posted what appears to be a PST file compatibility issue when
exporting from 2003 that cannot be imported into XP.

I am in the process of upgrading from Outlook 2000 to 2003. Outlook 2003

is on a brand-new machine running Windows XP Professional. I transferred my
2000 pst file to the XP machine, ran Outlook 2003, and pointed it to that
file. Everything appeared to be OK initially. After a short time, though, I
noticed that things in Outlook 2003 were disappearing - views, appointments,
tasks. (As a note, I had moved my Outlook 2000 categories by hand.)

When things started to disappear, I ran scanpst.exe and found errors in

the Outlook pst file. I repaired the file, ran scanpst again, and the
utility found no errors. However, I discovered that after I did anything in
Outlook 2003 - like add an appointment or task - and closed the program and
run scanpst.exe, scanpst would find errors. Using Outlook 2003 at all seemed
to corrupt the pst file.

After going through this cycle several times, I decided to run scanpst.exe

on the original Outlook.pst file that the program initially created, which I
had saved. That pst file had errors, too, according to scanpst.

Next I created a new pst file in Outlook using File > New > Outlook Data

File, closed the program, and scanned that file. The brand-new pst file had
errors too.

I ran chkdsk a couple of times throughout this process, and it always found no errors on the disk.

I've uninstalled Office 2003 and reinstalled it, but I had the same problem.

I've also uninstalled Office 2003 and installed Office 2000 on the XP

machine. Outlook 2000 ran fine, and its pst file was fine (no errors with
scanpst) after fairly extended use.

I could always stick with Outlook 2000, but I want to use Outlook 2003,

and I'm not sure what to do next.

 

[Neil Jones]

I have had exactly the same problem since moving from
Outlook XP to 2003, I keep repairing my .PST succesfully,
but Outlook just seems to corrupt it again.

I tried creating a new PST in OL2003-only format, and
imported everything from my old PST file, but this also
keeps getting corrupted.

I'm running Norton Internet Security 2004 with the
AntiSpam Outlook extension, but this doesn't seem to be
the culprit, as even with it disabled the PST still seems
to get corrupted.

-----Original Message-----
I am in the process of upgrading from Outlook 2000 to

2003. Outlook 2003 is on a brand-new machine running
Windows XP Professional. I transferred my 2000 pst file
to the XP machine, ran Outlook 2003, and pointed it to
that file. Everything appeared to be OK initially. After
a short time, though, I noticed that things in Outlook
2003 were disappearing - views, appointments, tasks. (As
a note, I had moved my Outlook 2000 categories by hand.)

When things started to disappear, I ran scanpst.exe and

found errors in the Outlook pst file. I repaired the
file, ran scanpst again, and the utility found no errors.
However, I discovered that after I did anything in
Outlook 2003 - like add an appointment or task - and
closed the program and run scanpst.exe, scanpst would
find errors. Using Outlook 2003 at all seemed to corrupt
the pst file.

After going through this cycle several times, I decided

to run scanpst.exe on the original Outlook.pst file that
the program initially created, which I had saved. That
pst file had errors, too, according to scanpst.

Next I created a new pst file in Outlook using File >

New > Outlook Data File, closed the program, and scanned
that file. The brand-new pst file had errors too.

I ran chkdsk a couple of times throughout this process,

and it always found no errors on the disk.

I've uninstalled Office 2003 and reinstalled it, but I had the same problem.

I've also uninstalled Office 2003 and installed Office

2000 on the XP machine. Outlook 2000 ran fine, and its
pst file was fine (no errors with scanpst) after fairly
extended use.

I could always stick with Outlook 2000, but I want to

use Outlook 2003, and I'm not sure what to do next.

 

[Clif]

I'm sorry you're having the same problem, Neil. I've tried tons of experiments, but nothing seems to work. Like you, I tried creating a 2003-format pst file and coping my folders by hand, but the resulting pst file had errors too.

I would think there would be lots of people in this same boat.

Anyway, I wish I had the solution. As things stand now, I'm planning to uninstall Outlook 2003 and go back to Outlook 2000. I may try Outlook 2003 after a service pack is released.

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Describe in more detail how you migrated your PST from Outlook 2000 to 2003.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

I am in the process of upgrading from Outlook 2000 to 2003. Outlook 2003

is on a brand-new machine running Windows XP Professional. I transferred my
2000 pst file to the XP machine, ran Outlook 2003, and pointed it to that
file. Everything appeared to be OK initially. After a short time, though, I
noticed that things in Outlook 2003 were disappearing - views, appointments,
tasks. (As a note, I had moved my Outlook 2000 categories by hand.)

When things started to disappear, I ran scanpst.exe and found errors in

the Outlook pst file. I repaired the file, ran scanpst again, and the
utility found no errors. However, I discovered that after I did anything in
Outlook 2003 - like add an appointment or task - and closed the program and
run scanpst.exe, scanpst would find errors. Using Outlook 2003 at all seemed
to corrupt the pst file.

After going through this cycle several times, I decided to run scanpst.exe

on the original Outlook.pst file that the program initially created, which I
had saved. That pst file had errors, too, according to scanpst.

Next I created a new pst file in Outlook using File > New > Outlook Data

File, closed the program, and scanned that file. The brand-new pst file had
errors too.

I ran chkdsk a couple of times throughout this process, and it always found no errors on the disk.

I've uninstalled Office 2003 and reinstalled it, but I had the same problem.

I've also uninstalled Office 2003 and installed Office 2000 on the XP

machine. Outlook 2000 ran fine, and its pst file was fine (no errors with
scanpst) after fairly extended use.

I could always stick with Outlook 2000, but I want to use Outlook 2003,

and I'm not sure what to do next.

 

[Clif]

I really didn't do anything special. I copied my Outlook 2000 file from my old computer to my new one, over a LAN, putting the file in My Documents\Outlook, which is where I normally keep my Outlook pst. Then, I renamed the original 2003 Outlook.pst file to Outlook.pst.original so Outlook wouldn't automatically load it, and I ran Outlook 2003. When Outlook said it couldn't find its pst file, I pointed it to the Outlook 2000 pst file I wanted to use.

The first time I loaded the Outlook 2000 pst file, I made a copy of my categories from the Registry on my old machine, which was running Outlook 2000, and pasted them into the Master Category list in Outlook 2003.

(I had planned to move a couple of custom toolbars and some vba macros over from Outlook 2000 to 2003, but I haven't gotten that far yet.

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

You mean you just overwrote the PST in one format with one in another?
No wonder.
Never overwrite a PST, even when they are in the same format.
You must expressly configure Outlook to use another PST.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

I really didn't do anything special. I copied my Outlook 2000 file from my

old computer to my new one, over a LAN, putting the file in My
Documents\Outlook, which is where I normally keep my Outlook pst. Then, I
renamed the original 2003 Outlook.pst file to Outlook.pst.original so
Outlook wouldn't automatically load it, and I ran Outlook 2003. When Outlook
said it couldn't find its pst file, I pointed it to the Outlook 2000 pst
file I wanted to use.

The first time I loaded the Outlook 2000 pst file, I made a copy of my

categories from the Registry on my old machine, which was running Outlook
2000, and pasted them into the Master Category list in Outlook 2003.

(I had planned to move a couple of custom toolbars and some vba macros

over from Outlook 2000 to 2003, but I haven't gotten that far yet.)

 

[Clif]

I didn't actually overwrite one pst file with another (though what I did may amount to the same thing).

I renamed the original pst file (which I assume was in 2003 format), so Outlook would have to ask for the pst file's location when it ran. Then, when I ran Outlook, I pointed it to the Outlook 97-2002 format file I wanted to use (which was in a different location)

If doing this is causing the problem I'm having, however, what procedure do I need to follow to use my Outlook 2000 pst file?

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Renaming the old file is probably what caused the trouble.
The only supported method for doing this is to expressly configure Outlook
to use a different PST.
- Go to Tools > Options > Mail Setup > Data Files > Add...
- Add the PST you'd like as your new default, then Close > OK to exit the
Options dialog
- Go to Tools > E-mail Accounts > View or change existing e-mail accounts
- Select the PST you just added in the "Deliver New e-mail to the following
location" dropdown (it will most likely appear just below the current
default Personal Folders file) > Finish
- Exit and Restart Outlook
- You can now close the previous default PST (R-click on that pst folder
while in Folder View and select "Close <foldername> Folders"). If you have
any information in your former PST that you'd like to transfer to your new
default PST, you can drag and drop from one to the other before you close
the old one.

--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

I didn't actually overwrite one pst file with another (though what I did may amount to the same thing).

I renamed the original pst file (which I assume was in 2003 format), so

Outlook would have to ask for the pst file's location when it ran. Then,
when I ran Outlook, I pointed it to the Outlook 97-2002 format file I wanted
to use (which was in a different location).

If doing this is causing the problem I'm having, however, what procedure

do I need to follow to use my Outlook 2000 pst file?

 

[Clif]

Thanks for the suggestions. As preparation, I pointed Outlook 2003 back to its original pst file and ran Detect and Repair, asking Outlook to restore the default settings. After that was finished, I followed the procedure you suggested to use my Outlook 2000 pst file. Unfortunately, the resulting pst file had errors when I scanned it. I repaired the errors and ran scanpst again to make sure none were left

After adding a few appointments and tasks, I ran scanpst again, and it found errors in the file. I repaired those errors, added a few more appointments and tasks, and scanpst found errors again. This is exactly the behavior I was having before

I don't know if it's relevant, but my Outlook 2000 pst file gets a clean scan from the scanpst that came with Outlook 2000, but if I scan that same file with the scanpst that comes with Outlook 2003, the Outlook 2003 scanpst finds errors, mostly "missing required column" errors

Is there anything else you can think of that I could try

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

I had to clear my newsgroup cache and you stripped the rest of this post, so
I don't remember how this all started. As I recall, you'd already toasted
your PST by renaming it and changing PST formats instead of disconnecting
it. So, no, I don't know of anything else you can do. Inbox Repair Tool and
scandisk are the only things I know of that can repair a PST.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Thanks for the suggestions. As preparation, I pointed Outlook 2003 back to

its original pst file and ran Detect and Repair, asking Outlook to restore
the default settings. After that was finished, I followed the procedure you
suggested to use my Outlook 2000 pst file. Unfortunately, the resulting pst
file had errors when I scanned it. I repaired the errors and ran scanpst
again to make sure none were left.

After adding a few appointments and tasks, I ran scanpst again, and it

found errors in the file. I repaired those errors, added a few more
appointments and tasks, and scanpst found errors again. This is exactly the
behavior I was having before.

I don't know if it's relevant, but my Outlook 2000 pst file gets a clean

scan from the scanpst that came with Outlook 2000, but if I scan that same
file with the scanpst that comes with Outlook 2003, the Outlook 2003 scanpst
finds errors, mostly "missing required column" errors.

 

[Clif]

To get back to my original post, the problem I have is that Outlook 2003 is continually corrupting my pst file. This happens no matter how I migrate my Outlook 2000 data

Even more troubling is the fact that the original Outlook.pst file that Outlook 2003 creates during installation is always corrupt

In addition, if I use Outlook 2003 to create a new, empty pst file, that file is always corrupt, too

I've run chkdsk on my hard disk several times while I've been experiencing this problem, and the disk has scanned without errors every time

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Why are you convinced Outlook is creating corrupt PST file? I see no
evidence to that effect, and it's not a reported or known issue.
Outlook 2003 format PST's cannot be read by earlier versions unless you
expressly create one in the old format.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

To get back to my original post, the problem I have is that Outlook 2003

is continually corrupting my pst file. This happens no matter how I migrate
my Outlook 2000 data.

Even more troubling is the fact that the original Outlook.pst file that

Outlook 2003 creates during installation is always corrupt.

In addition, if I use Outlook 2003 to create a new, empty pst file, that file is always corrupt, too.

I've run chkdsk on my hard disk several times while I've been experiencing

this problem, and the disk has scanned without errors every time.

 

[Tom]

I've been having a very similar (the same?) problem since OL 2003... I
"converted" several user's PST files to the new unicode format (folowing
the "official" procedure), and while the new PSTs "seem" to operate just
fine, every day-or-two, without fail, one or more will be shown has
having errors by SCANPST. Let SCANPST fix the "errors," continue using OL
2003 just fine (no crashes, or problems), and invariably, SCANPST will
show errors within a few days.

I'm beginning to wonder if SCANPST is compatible with the new unicode
format?

 

[Clif]

In my testing, Outlook 2003 creates corrupt pst files in two key cases:

First, if I create a new Outlook data file with File > New > Outlook Data File, that file will be corrupt. (I can use either Outlook 97-2002 format or the new Unicode format. New files created in either format are corrupt.)

Second, the Outlook.pst file that the Office installation program creates is corrupt.

In both cases, Outlook itself has created the files and both are essentially empty, but scanpst finds errors in both.

My reasoning is that if Outlook 2003 can't create an empty pst file that isn't corrupt, it can't keep my working pst free of corruption, so the errors I keep finding in my working pst file must be caused by Outlook 2003.

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

I'm not sure what running IRT on an empty, unused PST means. Just because
errors are reported does not mean that the file is corrupt. The file just
may have not been configured yet. There is likely more to this story. As I
recall, you did not encounter actual problems with these PST's until made
Outlook start using these PST's in an unsupported fashion, like renaming its
default PST instead of expressly reconfiguring Outlook to use a different
PST, right?
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

In my testing, Outlook 2003 creates corrupt pst files in two key cases:

First, if I create a new Outlook data file with File > New > Outlook Data

File, that file will be corrupt. (I can use either Outlook 97-2002 format or
the new Unicode format. New files created in either format are corrupt.)

Second, the Outlook.pst file that the Office installation program creates is corrupt.

In both cases, Outlook itself has created the files and both are

essentially empty, but scanpst finds errors in both.

My reasoning is that if Outlook 2003 can't create an empty pst file that

isn't corrupt, it can't keep my working pst free of corruption, so the
errors I keep finding in my working pst file must be caused by Outlook 2003.

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Scanpst.exe often reports and fixes errors in PST's that still function
quite normally. It did so long before Outlook 2003. I've never seen it
report 0 errors in PST's I've used for more than a few days.

 

[Clif]

I've actually gone through the tests I mentioned on two different machines. On the first machine, I ran these tests after I started using my Outlook 2000 pst in Outlook 2003 and began encountering problems.

On the second machine, I ran the same tests on a brand-new computer with a brand-new installation of Office 2003 using the installed Outlook.pst file.

 

[Neil Jones]

My experience (see earlier post) is:

I upgraded from Outlook XP to Outlook 2003, and made no
changes to my existing PST file - Outlook 2003 appeared
to work fine with it to start, but after a while I
couldn't right-click on any Outlook item (e-mail,
calendar appointment etc), so I ran scanpst, which
reported and fixed errors. a second run of scantpst
reported no errors. However, after running Outlook, the
file soon became corrupted again (same symptons).

I tried creating a new PST in 2003 format (properly, via
Outlook), and imported everything from my old PST file.
However, I still keep getting the same problem, i.e. my
PST file seems to keep getting corrupted "by" Outlook
2003. My PST file is approx 600MB.

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Could you give the steps to repro these "tests" including how you created
these PST's and then configured Outlook to use them?
Also give the actual problems you are encountering with the PST files, not
just the IRT report.
I'm just not seeing anything like what you report.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

I've actually gone through the tests I mentioned on two different

machines. On the first machine, I ran these tests after I started using my
Outlook 2000 pst in Outlook 2003 and began encountering problems.

On the second machine, I ran the same tests on a brand-new computer with a

brand-new installation of Office 2003 using the installed Outlook.pst file.