Outlook Disaster Recovery

In a stroke of bad luck – or uncanny coincidence? – I had two clients this week who lost their hard disks and, subsequently, all of their email, contacts, calendar objects, and historical archive of email because Outlook’s database was located on their computer. I thought I’d take a couple of minutes to address how you could avoid the same fate.

When not using Microsoft Exchange Server, Outlook uses a Personal Folder (*.pst) file as a database. All of your email, calendar appointments, contacts, and other Outlook items are stored in this one file. Because of this, the information is vulnerable under two scenarios: the *.pst file becomes corrupted, or, the *.pst file becomes inaccessible or lost.

Repairing a Corrupted (or suspected corrupted) *.pst File

First, exit Microsoft Outlook. Then, look for a tool on your computer. Microsoft ships a tool with MsOffice 2003 called SCANPST.EXE. This is a thorough database analyzer and repair application for the *.pst format, and it will work with all *.pst formats from Outlook 2000 or greater. To locate SCANPST.EXE on your hard drive, just do a Search for Files and Folders on SCANPST.EXE.

Once it’s launched, you’re presented with a friendly dialog that prompts you for a file location. This is a little tricky because you need to know where your *.pst is, and usually it’s under a hidden path under Documents and Settings on your C: drive. An easy way to find this file is to again do another Search for Files and Folders, this time looking for *.pst. Look for the file with the most recent date, and, the Search will show you the path to the file. Use SCANPST to then Browse and target the file.

The options in SCANPST involve logging. If there is a corruption issue, diagnosing the issue with a log could help a technician resolve the problem by deleting a corrupted object. This is mostly of a technician’s interest so you can just leave the default setting of “Replace Log” alone.

When SCANPST runs, it’ll work through about eight phases of steps to validate the integrity of the *.pst file. This takes a little while, particularly if the *.pst is over 1 gb in size. Plan on about 15-20 minutes of just having SCANPST spin in the background while you work. During this time, you cannot be inside of Microsoft Outlook.

When SCANPST completes, it offers a friendly assessment of problems and asks to repair the problem. More details can be read under the DETAILS button if you have a keen interest in the problems that were found. Once the repair process is complete, SCANPST tells you so with a small pop-up dialog, then exits. You can now re-enter Microsoft Outlook.

Creating a Backup of Your *.pst File

Microsoft also provides a downloadable tool for making automated backups of your *.pst file. Once this applette is installed, it is available from Outlook by pressing FILE, Backup from the Toolbar.

The Outlook Personal Folders Backup dialog appears. This tool will perform a backup on your *.pst on a regular basis or on command. Its options allow you to configure the frequency and location target for the backup.

The options default to the *.pst file(s) currently connected to by Outlook. If you have two or more, they would also appear in this dialog. When choosing a target, think about targeting a folder off on your local hard disk: a network drive, for example, or, a Read/Write CD ROM. If you have dynamic media, like a jump drive or USB hard disk, these would also be good choices. The idea is to try to make a copy off your hard disk if at all possible. In a worst case scenario, a backup copy could be used to recover from a loss of the original *.pst file.

The reminders are kind of obnoxious; Outlook will prompt you every “X” days to run through this process. A 14 day cycle probably isn’t so bad.

And the backup takes place once you exit Outlook; it doesn’t immediately happen which can kind of be disconcerning. When you do, the backup copy dialog is shown.

Naturally, running a full backup of your hard disk is also sufficient in copying the *.pst for disaster recovery. However, where low-tech options are perhaps needed to provide some degree of recovery, this isn’t a bad solution, particularly for small business or individuals. Just take a few steps of added precaution to save a little bit of sanity you have left.

R

Russell Mickler works a technology consultant in Battle Ground, WA, USA. With over thirteen years of experience, Mickler holds a CISSP, MCSE, a Masters Degree in Information Technology, and is pursuing his Doctorate at Walden University. His website can be found at www.micklerandassociates.com; he can be contacted at mickler@micklerandassociates.com.

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