[Fixed] Microsoft Outlook Inbox Repair Tool Not Responding Issue
Microsoft Outlook is among the most popular email clients used worldwide by individuals and organizations alike. However, it has one issue. Its mailbox file i.e., PST is highly prone to corruption. Of course Microsoft provides Inbox Repair Tool, also known as Scanpst, an inbuilt utility to fix the problems with PST files. However, users often complain about this Microsoft Outlook Inbox repair tool not responding issue.
If you are unsure how to locate and work with the Inbox Repair Tool (scanpst), you should follow these steps:
Close Outlook and locate scanpst that is typically found in this location: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\. There will be a folder containing a number along like Office16, Office13, etc. Open this folder (if you are using the 2019 or 2016 version of Outlook, then you will find the Office folder within a root folder).
- Double click on the SCANPST.exe application to run it.
- Click on the Browse button and select the PST file that is giving your problems.
- Then, hit the Start button to let the tool check for possible issues in the file.
- After that, click the Repair button if the issues are found and you need to fix it.
Once the process completes, simply open Outlook to check if the problematic PST file is fixed or not.
Reasons & Limitations Behind Microsoft Outlook Inbox Repair Tool Not Responding?
Below are some reasons and limitations related to the Inbox Repair Tool:
- Unable to repair Outlook PST files large in size.
- Fails to repair severely corrupt files
- Cannot recover deleted Outlook emails
- The inbox repair tool cannot fix the “Unknown error 80040801”
- Fails to locate scanpst.exe
- Taking a lot of time in repairing the corrupt files.
- Unable to detect the corruption reasons
How to Fix Inbox Repair Tool (ScanPST) Not Responding Problem?
Since there are many reasons behind Inbox repair tool stop working, there exists several solutions to fix this issue. We will take a look at all of them below:
Ensure that You are Running the right ScanPST tool
When the system has multiple Office installations, you may very well be running the tool meant for a different installation. Below is the default location of the tool associated with multiple Outlook versions:
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In Outlook 2007
- C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\
- C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office12\
MS Outlook 2010
- C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\
- C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\
MS Outlook 2013
- C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office15\
- C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office15\
- C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\office15\
MS Outlook 2016 & 2019
- C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office16\
- C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\
- C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office19\
- C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office19\
Once there, find and launch SCANPST.exe to run the Inbox Repair tool.
Confirm Size of PST File
Notice if the size of your PST file exceeds 2GB. If they are, the scanpst.exe tool (inbox repair tool) will not be able to process them. So, you will need to compact the file size and make it smaller in size to work with it in a better way.
Close Microsoft Outlook & All Running Programs
Close all running programs to stop Inbox repair tool from freezing. If it’s still persisting, restart the computer and then try to run the Inbox repair tool without opening any mail application.
Repair Outlook program
You can try repairing the Outlook program:
- Go to Control Panel | Programs | Programs & Features
- After that, select the Microsoft Office application from the list of programs and click the Change
- Click the Repair button and proceed to repair the installation.
- Then, try and run ScanPST to see if the Inbox Repair tool not responding issue still persists.
You can also try re-installing MS Outlook: Sometimes, updating the Office program or re-installing Outlook can fix the issue. However, consider this as the last alternative when everything fails. Also, make sure to backup the PST file before reinstalling the Office Outlook application.
Create a New PST
If you are able to open the PST file in Outlook, then try and create a new copy of this file. To do this, copy the data from the old profile to the new one with the same structure and data. It may help you in overcoming the damage done to your PST file.
Is the Inbox Repair Tool Still Not Working – Get an Alternative
If all the aforementioned steps are unable to fix your problem then your ScanPST tool may very well be corrupt. Also, the corruption level of the PST file may exceed what the Inbox repair tool can handle. In such situations, it is better to go for an alternative that will directly circumvent this problem.
SysTools Outlook PST Repair Tool is the best alternative to the Inbox Repair tool. It provides a lot of advantages. In fact, many users choose this program over the ScanPST tool even if its running properly.
Some key features of the program:
- Repair files regardless of the corruption level
- Fix large PST files without any hassle
- Recovers the deleted data or lost data, if required
- A friendly GUI to help non-tech users run the tool
- Supports Outlook 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007 & 2003
- Supports OpenPGP & S/MIME encryption
Video Tutorial of the Tool
Below is the video tutorial that showcases the complete working of the tool using the “Advance Scan” mode.
Final Thoughts
In this write-up, we discussed multiple reasons and limitations of the Inbox repair tool not responding problem. We also provided proper step-by-step instructions to help fix this issue. however, even after all these steps, if the problem still persists, then you can use the aforementioned professional alternative to repair your PST file. This way you can circumvent the Inbox repair tool not working issue by using a much better alternative.
