Free Way to Access Corrupt PST File Contents Without Outlook

Whenever users log into their Outlook accounts, they are actually taking a peek at PST files which contain emails, attachments, tasks, etc. Open PST file without Outlook is the most feasible way to access the data saved within them, but it is not the only way. But what if your PST is corrupt and not able open Outlook.  However,  in this case, other freeways can be used to access PST file data. This post is dedicated to discussing such methods.

One of MS Outlook’s best features is that it can serve as the interface for multiple email accounts. Users can add and configure their different email accounts within a single Outlook interface for a one-stop solution to their communication needs. And the application derives this capability from Personal Storage Table (PST) files.

PST files and the need to read them without Outlook

Outlook saves all mailbox data (emails, attachments, notes, journals, contacts, calendars, etc.) about a particular email account within a PST file. That essentially means that if a user has more than one email accounts configured with Outlook, the data related to each account will be saved in a separate PST file on the system. So if there are 5 accounts configured, there would be at least 5 PST files. Usually, PST files can be viewed most efficiently within the Outlook interface, one at a time.

There are scenarios in which PST files would need to be opened directly:

• If Outlook not responding or Outlook not Working when a user needed to access mailbox data urgently
• If a user is trying to view PST file on a system that doesn’t have Outlook installed
• If a PST file is badly corrupted and isn’t opening within Outlook but has important data saved within it which must be salvaged

In all such situations, reading the PST users needs some workaround that doesn’t involve Outlook. The next section discusses such easy workarounds using which it is possible to read PST without Outlook.

Need to view PST file without Outlook? Try these tricks

Convert PST messages into MSG format

The simplest of methods involves simply dragging the mail that you want to view directly to the desktop or any other location. Such action automatically converts PST format message to MSG format, which can be viewed using a simple editor application like EditPlus or Notepad++. However, you must note that this involves some involvement of Outlook since you need to select and drag email through it.

Save PST messages as TXT or HTML format.

This method also involves Outlook, but once converted to HTML or TXT format an email message can thereafter be viewed directly without Outlook. For this:

1. In Outlook, select the email that you wish to convert.
2. From the Outlook File menu select Save As
3. Choose HTML or TXT as the output format.
4. Click on the Save button.

3. Import PST into Gmail

If all you have is a PST file and don’t have the option to involve Outlook at any step, import your PST file into Gmail to read PST without Outlook. This process uses the Google App Migration Tool and requires you to follow the steps mentioned by the tool. This is claimed to be quite an efficient method of performing the import operation, but it might be a bit technical for people to understand some of the tool’s instructions.

Use a reliable free PST viewer application.

Probably the best technique with which you can easily check the contents of a PST file without having to import it into Outlook, Gmail, or any other application is using a reliable and free PST viewer application. There are many such tools available that allow you to complete this action with ease. Among the best ones is the Stellar Viewer for Outlook. This free tool comes with many bonus capabilities:

• If the PST file you’re trying to view is damaged or corrupted, this tool will allow you to scan the corrupt file, view all mailbox items (emails, contacts, journals, calendars, tasks) and save individual emails
• While displaying mailbox items for preview, the software preserves all Outlook folders’ original hierarchy and even displays mailbox items that have been deleted recently.
• If you’re unaware of the exact location of PST file on your system, this software gives you the option to ‘Find’ the PST file on the hard drive.
• It includes many advanced filters to allow you to search for the required emails to be viewed. Common search criteria include ‘Subject’, ‘From’, ‘To’, & ‘Date.’

Conclusion

As you would have concluded, Stellar PST viewer is the easiest, most efficient and accurate way to Open PST file without Outlook. It even lets you scan and preview corrupt PST files. Once you’ve reviewed the data saved in corrupted PST files if you wish to repair them to recover that data, use Stellar Repair for Outlook software.

It scans corrupt files and facilitates mailbox preview and repairs corrupt PST and enables you to recover mailbox items selectively. Moreover, using this PST repair software, you can save the scanned and previewed PST files on your system so that you don’t need to run a scan on them every time you wish to preview. If you keep both these products handy, you can ward off up to 90% of PST file troubles.

Also Read:

Outlook Slow?

Scanpst.exe Fails?

Outlook Not Working

how to repair corrupt PST File?

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About The Author

Eric Simson

Eric Simson is an Email Platform Consultant and is associated with Stellar Data Recovery from last 6 years. He writes about the latest technology tips and provides custom solutions related to MS Outlook, MS Exchange Server, Office 365, and many other Email Clients & Servers.