Do you use the MS Outlook application to email friends and manage your day? Have you ever noticed that sometimes your MS Outlook application performs at a very slow rate and produces frequent error messages? If Outlook.pst is the name of the personal storage file then you have probably seen this error message: Outlook.pst cannot be accessed – 0x80040116.
This error is typically attributed to a damaged index of your file. If your file’s index were to get damaged, then accessing Outlook would be a task in itself. Not to mention that this issue will be accompanied by slow performance and error messages. Now it’s time that you scan and repair your PST file. Viruses, accidental shut down, software and hardware compatibility issues are the main reasons that corrupt your PST file.
Probably the safest way to fix your broken PST file is to use the scanpst.exe tool in your Outlook application. This is Microsoft’s Inbox Repair tool, which is the default tool to scan and repair PST files in Outlook. However, this tool is not very powerful and can only fix minor issues, typically associated with the corruption of the file header. The tool is not powerful enough to handle severe corruptions.
File exceeding the allocated size is a major source of the issue that causes corrupted PST file. Older versions of MS Outlook only have a maximum size of 2 GB per PST file while latter version can support up to 20 GB. Either way if the PST file exceeds the maximum size then you have to employ a cropping tool also known as 2 GB truncation tool. Only versions below and including MS Outlook 2003 have a maximum size limit of 2 GB. As soon as you exceed the size, the PST file will start acting weird and decrease performance.
The PST Crop Tool is helpful in removing unnecessary chunks from the PST file. However, the process of cropping files using this tool varies according to the version of Outlook you are using. Therefore, it is advisable that you follow the product documentation to have a smooth cropping process. If you need more help with Outlook PST issues, you can contact our online computer repair team for technical assistance.
Though Inbox Repair Tool is the default tool for PST repair it is incapable of handling major issues. Third party tools on the other hand, can help with Outlook PST issues much faster than the default tool.