In this segment, we will be discussing the scope of recovering permanently deleted emails and other items of Outlook PST files. Before moving on, let’s have an overview of terms we will be frequently using while talking over the possibility to recover deleted emails from Outlook PST file.
Soft Deletion: Okay, so you simply select the mail, right click on it and chose the delete option. This way, the mail will be moved into the “Deleted Items” folder. If in case you find the need to get back the mail, just select it, right click on it and choose “Move to Folder” option where target ‘Folder’ will be decided by you.
Hard Deletion: Then, there is a next stage to soft deletion, i.e. the mail is being residing in “Deleted Items” folder and you find it wastage of PST file space. So what you do is just remove it from Deleted Items folder.
OR
You selected the mails from mailbox and Shift + Delete them. In this case, the messages won’t be passed to the special folder called “Deleted Items” but will get permanently deleted from PST file.
How To Restore Permanently Deleted Emails Outlook:
a) Using Hex Editor: When Outlook is connected with a POP3 or IMAP email account, deleted items can be recovered by using Hex Editor and Scanpst.exe (Inbox Repair Tool). Follow the steps mentioned below to get back hard deleted emails from Outlook PST file:
1. Make a copy of PST file from which emails has to be recovered. This is done as a precautionary measure so that if anything wrong happens, the original file is still available to take an alternate step. The default location of PST file is:
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| PST File Location |
3. Open PST file in hex editor from which hard deleted emails have to be recovered.
4. Select position 7 to 13 and delete them. When you do this, the following characters in the hexadecimal system will be deleted: 00007, 00008, 00009, 0000a, 0000b, 0000c, 0000d, 0000e, 0000f, 00010, 00011, 00012, 00013
5. Once this is done, open Scanpst.exe file in your system. Please note that location of this application varies according to the version of Windows and Outlook used. Here is a table illustrating the location of scanpst.exe:
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| Scanpst.exe Location |
6. Open the application and click on “Browse” button to select the PST file (select the file that has been edited with Hex Editor)
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| Scanpst-Select-File |
7. Click on Start button to initiate the repair process (The main job of scanpst.exe is to rebuilt distorted structure of PST file).
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| Scapst-Checking-File |
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| Scanpst-Report |
Once the repair process is complete, the PST file can be opened in Outlook and you will notice that all permanently deleted emails have been recovered.
Important to Note: For using this method, you should have expert hands on hex editor. Incorrect editing in PST file could result into following error:
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| PST Error |
On making an attempt to repair this file with scanpst.exe, following error appear on screen which clearly states that this file cannot be repaired using inbox repair tool.
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| Scanpst Error |
You can Open it, Copy it at desired location, and Restore it (The existing version of the file will be replaced by the selected one). It is recommended to copy it at a location, rename it, and open in Outlook. This can help to get back deleted items which can further be moved to desired folder of any PST file.
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iii) Using Third Party Recovery Tool: To recover shift deleted mails from Outlook, the option is you can opt for commercial solution. Some famous names such as SysTools Outlook Recovery gives option to recover PST items that are permanently deleted.
Meanwhile, it has to be noted that PST file is not auto-compacted by Outlook or manually by the user. This is because on compacting PST file, the free space created in file due to deleted items gets deleted and thus there is no scope to recover data.
Actually, the process of compacting PST file is a time-consuming process. So, when we delete any items (say email, calendar, or contact), a white space for every item gets created. When PST file has 4 percent white space of its original space and Outlook is ideal, it compact PST file. However, a user has option to compact PST and if this is done, the PST file is considered to be overwritten and thus there is no scope of recovering deleted items.
Therefore, when PST deleted items recovery tool is adopted, ensure that PST file is not compacted. Also, the benefit of investing in a third party tool is they can prove helpful in scenarios where PST files are inaccessible and errors restrict their opening.