MS Outlook Inbox Repair Tool Not Working and Responding

Inbox Repair Tool (ScanPST.exe) is the inbuilt utility of Microsoft Outlook to scan the errors. It scans the possible errors in MS Outlook PST files at early stages. Generally, it works in minor corruptions and repairs header corruptions only. As it is an inbuilt and free utility so people prefer this tool for repairing PST files. But sometimes the inbox repair tool does not work and responds and you might be not able to repair the PST file. Therefore, here you can see the reason why ScanPST.exe stops working and does not respond. You can even check the methods to resolve the Inbox Repair Tool problems.

Why does the Inbox Repair Tool Crash During Repair?

Below are some specific reasons which cause the failure of Scanpst.exe. You can go through the 

Major Corruption in PST File

As I’ve told you that the scanpst.exe utility can fix only minor corruption issues. You can use this utility to fix header corruption and for resolving the issue of missing emails. But, when corruption is big in size then the Inbox Repair Tool not work and responds.

Increased PST Size

The big size of the PST file can also cause problems. If the size of PST is more than 2 GB then it becomes difficult for the Inbox Repair utility to resolve the issue. In such a case it is required to split the PST file into small files and then try to fix the issue using the scanpst.exe utility.

Corruption in Body of Outlook PST

The Inbox Repair Tool stops working and doesn’t respond if the body part gets corrupted. It becomes impossible to remove the corruption of the PST file using the scanpst.exe utility tool. You can use this tool if only the header of the file gets corrupted.

Add-ins Intruding into Functionality

Add-ins are intended to add an extra bit of functionality to Outlook. But, sometimes the functionality of Outlook starts behaving oddly due to these ass-ins. It is recommended to never use the add-ins as they are not usually malware but they can make the working of Outlook conspicuously bad.

Outdated Outlook Version

Outdated Outlook versions can create a performance issue and the Inbox Repair Tool Freezes during the repair. As the old Outlook versions restrict the size of the PST file, it also creates issues while handling corruption in those PST files using the scanpst.exe utility.

When ScanPST.exe Stops Working and Not Responds

You can follow the methods given below to resolve the Inbox Repair Tool not working and responding issue when it freezes or crashes during PST Repair. 

Create a New PST File

Sometimes, when you open a PST file, Outlook does not show the file content. Also, the inbox repair tool is unable to fix the issue. But it does not mean that you can not retrieve the data of the file. You can copy the data of the file to a new PST file. It may fix the issue, and you can see the desired outlook output.

Install the Updated Version of Microsoft Outlook

The Inbox Repair Tool comes with its corresponding Microsoft Outlook. If these two are in different versions, the tool will not repair the PST files and show a not responding error message. You need to update the version of Microsoft Outlook and its inbuilt PST repair tool.

Check the Size of the Existing PST Files

Inbox Repair Tool has a size limitation. As it is difficult to fix and Repair Oversized Outlook PST File, It can not repair a PST file larger than 2GB. So, you should maintain the size of the PST file to 2GB. Otherwise, the tool shows Outlook Inbox Repair Tool Not Responding.

Alternatives to the Inbox Repair Tool (ScanPST.exe)

If you need to repair corrupt PST files and restore all its items then you will have to go for a professional tool that repairs PST files of all MS Outlook versions such as 2000, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. Sysinfo Outlook PST Recovery Tool is one of the best options to repair corrupt PST files. This is the complete user-friendly solution with great GUI and salient features like Restore all Outlook email items at once in very less time, no file size limitations for PST recovery, and Recovered PST files’ data into multiple formats like PST, MSG, MBOX, DBX, and EML and compatible with all the versions of Microsoft Windows Operating Systems.

Conclusion

We have described the reasons for Inbox Repair Tool not working and responding issue. You can check its Alternatives in detail as well as a Professional Automated tool to repair corrupt PST files. Thus, if ScanPST.exe crashes or freezes, the user can still get access to their Outlook with an alternate repair tool.