How CRC Errors Can Make Outlook PST Files Inaccessible
Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) is an error-checking code that is used to determine if there are any errors in a particular file. Many Microsoft applications including Microsoft Outlook employ CRC to understand if any of the files they are using contain errors. Microsoft Outlook stores all important data such as email messages, calendars, contacts, address books, appointments, journals, notes and so on in personal storage files (PST files). Occasionally, while trying to open folders in Microsoft Outlook and access data from these PST files, you will come across error messages that seem to indicate CRC errors in the file. These errors could mean that there is a problem with the PST files and that you may need to repair PST files before being able to work with them.
For example, when you are working with your Outlook PST file ' particularly after you have finished downloading your mails, you might encounter any of the following error messages.
· 'File pathfilename.pst could not be accessed. Data error. Cyclic redundancy check' -
In this error message, the path refers to the location of your PST file while filename.pst is the current PST file that you are using.
· 'Data error (cyclic redundancy check)' -
You encounter this error message when you try to view the downloaded emails.
· 'Error 0x
You get this error message when you click on the Deleted Items folder and try to view the messages stored in them.
All these error messages typically arise because of CRC errors that have crept into the PST file or in the hard drive itself. If there are errors in the PST file, you may need to repair PST files but before that, you may need to determine where exactly the problem lies ' within the file or in the hard drive.
To do so, try copying the file from its current location to some other location on your hard drive. If the copy works, then this would indicate that there is no problem with the file itself and you can continue working, at least temporarily, from the new location till the problems with the current location are sorted out. On the other hand, if the copy does not work then the PST file is located in some bad sectors of the hard disk. This could mean loss of some data and you may have to carry out a PST recovery in order to recover the data lost.
Before you try to repair PST files, you should take a backup of the present PST file. This will ensure that you do not lose any further data than what you may have already lost. Sometimes, recovery processes do not work smoothly and may end up corrupting PST files so much that no data recovery is possible. Having a backup file ensures that you minimize the loss of data.
Once you have taken the backup, you can use powerful recovery tools such as Advanced Outlook Repair from DataNumen to scan the damaged PST file and recover as much data as possible from it.
