The file cannot be opened message in Outlook – Outlook Data File (.pst and .ost), there’s an easy way to get things back to normal. Many people see error messages when they try to open Outlook, often because the files are corrupted.
The file cannot be opened message in Outlook
The first thing to try when Outlook isn’t working is to restart your computer and try again. This often helps. If it doesn’t, then try starting Outlook in Safe Mode.
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Start Outlook in Safe Mode
One of the reasons Outlook 2016 might fail to launch might have to do with the extensions installed. To find out for sure, start the program in Safe Mode. Safe Mode disables all extensions.
To start Outlook in Safe Mode, just click the WinKey+R, type outlook /safe in the dialog box, then hit Enter. If Outlook starts in Safe Mode, it’s because of an extension or one of the extensions. To fix the problem, you’ll need to disable the problematic extension.
Repair the Outlook data file
The Inbox Repair Tool from Microsoft can help you recover lost or corrupted data from Personal Folders or .pst files. It can even retrieve items from an offline folder or .ost file. The OST Integrity Check Tool can help you fix corrupted .ost files.
To fix the Outlook Inbox folder in Outlook, close the software and go to the following location. The next step is to open SCANPST.EXE and select the Outlook Data File you want to scan.
A new log file is created with every scan, but you can turn off automatic creation of log files in the Options area. You can also attach results to an existing file. Choose to kick-start the scan. If the scan comes across errors, select Repair to begin fixing them.
For those who don’t know, a scan creates a backup file while the repair process is running. If you want to change the default location or name of the backup file, you can add a new name in the “Enter name of backup file” box, or browse and choose the name you prefer to use. Once the repair is done, just start Outlook with the Outlook Data File that was fixed.
Hello, My name is Shari & I am a writer for the ‘Outlook AppIns’ blog. I’m a CSIT graduate & I’ve been working in the IT industry for 3 years.