Error message when you start Outlook 2007 in Windows Vista: "<FileName>.pst file could not be opened"

View products that this article applies to.

Expand all | Collapse all

SYMPTOMS

When you start Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 in Windows Vista, you receive the following error message:

FileName.pst file could not be opened. The file may not be compatible with this version of Outlook or it may be corrupted.

Back to the top

CAUSE

This problem occurs when all following conditions are true:

You used the Backup Status and Configuration program to back up the mail file.
You recently used the Backup Status and Configuration program to restore the mail file from backup.
The mail file is in an encrypted folder.

Back to the top

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, use the Inbox Repair Tool (Scanpst.exe) to repair your personal mail file. To do this, follow these steps:

Exit Outlook 2007.
Click Start
Collapse this imageExpand this image
, and then click Control Panel.
Click User Accounts and Family Safety or User Accounts.

Note If you do not see User Accounts and Family Safety or User Accounts, go to the next step.
Click Mail.
Click Data Files, click Personal Folders, and then click Settings.
Note the text in the Filename box.

Note If you cannot view all the text, click in the Filename box, and then press the RIGHT ARROW key repeatedly.
Click OK, and then click Close two times.
Click Start
Collapse this imageExpand this image
, type %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Office\Office12\ in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER.
Double-click Scanpst.
In the Enter the name of the file you want to scan box, type the path and file name of the Outlook .pst file that you noted in step 6.
Click Start.
When the Inbox Repair Tool finishes, click OK.

Back to the top

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

Back to the top

MORE INFORMATION

For more information about errors that occur when you start Outlook, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

830307 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/830307/ ) You receive an error message when you start Outlook

Back to the top