How to Recover/Reset Lost or Forgotten Outlook PST Password

Outlook is the most widely used email platform preferred by all corporate professionals over the world. MS Outlook has gained popularity because of its compatibility, the user-friendly interface, and limitless convenient features. The handling of mails, calendars, journals, notes and entries are all managed by a single Outlook. All the items of the Outlook, such as mails, calendars, journals etc. are saved in the Outlook data file which is popularly known as PST.

Be it any file in the system of your office, one cannot bear the unwanted usage or leakage of the private or crucial information contained in it. For a communication between two corporations, it can also occur overseas. For this, today’s era is dependent upon the emails for communication. Thus, in order to protect that confidential exchange of information, there is a great need to protect those electronic files with the password. 

In the same way, locking of Outlook PST files with a password is important. Password protection of PST files is thus an important feature of Outlook as it will prevent an unauthorized user to access your PST files.

Locking your PST files with a password in Outlook:

Step1: Open Outlook and go to File tab > Data File Management.

Step2: A dialog box named Account Settings dialog box will open. Now, on the Data Files tab, select the Outlook data file and click Settings.

Step3: A Personal Folders pop-up box will open, click Change Password.

Step4: Enter password and now click OK to confirm it.

This task will protect your PST files but have you ever imagined of forgetting your password due to any reason? It may be forgotten or if you have noted it down somewhere then it may have lost. This will ultimately not permit you to open your PST file. PST password is also case sensitive and if you are trying to open a password protected PST file without an incorrect password, then an error saying “The password you have typed is incorrect. Retype the password” will be prompted again and again.

PLEASE NOTE: Always check yourselves while entering the password that the CAPS LOCK key is not open. To avoid forgetting passwords, always prefer writing passwords in a diary or a notepad. 

These precautions are less likely to be taken and thus people go for a free utility from Microsoft called “pst19upg.exe” that removes the password from PST file. Use SCANPST.EXE with PST19UPG.EXE if you have an older version of MS Outlook and trying to remove the password on PST files. The process is as follows:

Step 1: Create a backup or a duplicate copy of PST file on which you will work.

Step 2: Now run SCANPST.EXE and click on Repair.

SCANPST.EXE locations according to different Outlook versions:

MS Outlook 2016: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office16\

MS Outlook 2013: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office15

MS Outlook 2010: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14

MS Outlook 2007: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12

MS Outlook 2003: C:\Program Files\Common Files\System\MSMAPI\<locale ID>

In MS Outlook 2002 or XP: C:\Program Files\Common Files\System\MAPI\<locale ID>\scanpst.exe

Step 3: Press Windows Key+R to start Command Prompt.

Step 4: Enter the file path and your PST name to PST19UP and press Enter.

Step 5: A command will say “C:My Documentspst19upg.exe”- Outlook.pst.

Step 6: A new PST file will be made as “filename.psx”.

Step 7: Now rename the original PST file.

Step 8: In the command Prompt, and type “pst19upg.exe- filename.psx” and press Enter.

Step 9: A password-free PST file will now be created.

Step 10: Run SCANPST.EXE again and click on Repair.

Step 11: Open MS Outlook program and open the PST file.

The above stated is a manual way but in some cases it doesn’t work like:

·        Doesn’t works for a Unicode PST file.

·        If created a backup while using SCANPST.EXE, then this tool won’t work.

In the failure of these situations, go for third party PST password recovery tool that will restore your lost or forgotten PST password. Stellar offers an advanced software application named as Stellar Phoenix Outlook Password Recovery too (http://www.stellaroutlooktools.com/pwd/outlook-password-recovery.php )that easily unlocks your password-protected PST files.

Stellar Phoenix Outlook Password Recovery is independent of the complexity and length of the lost PST password and the software is designed to recover their lost passwords with ease.