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However, if your email server supports ONLY a POP3, auto account setup will create a POP3 account. More often than not, it’s caused by either a corrupted Outlook profile or a change in the data file’s location. And though an error Outlook profile repair and recovery steps message might look worrying, you may be able to fix the problem.

Fixing 'Outlook Data File Cannot Be Accessed' Error on PC

In that window, ensure the "Documents" folder is not enabled to sync to OneDrive. Timothy Burlee is a content writer for Secure Data Outlook data file cannot be accessed Recovery Services. He specializes in various topics in the data industry, including data recovery technology, storage devices, and digital forensics.

It can recover all the mailbox items from the corrupted file and save them to a new PST file, which you can import into your Outlook profile.If you moved your data file or its location changed somehow, Outlook might not be able to find it.You may need to move the Outlook data file back down from OneDrive.MS Outlook stores all the information related to your email account both online and in a local file on your computer.Sometimes, data files get corrupted in a way that none of the methods above can help.You can use the Inbox Repair tool (SCANPST.EXE) to diagnose and repair errors in your Outlook data file.The Inbox Repair tool creates a backup file with the same name as the original, but with a .bak extension, and saves it in the same folder.Our Outlook Express file repair software is designed to help you repair your files and recover your data, so you don’t lose access to anything you need.If your email server supports both IMAP and POP3, auto account setup will create an IMAP account by default.

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To make sure this is not the case, try opening Outlook and see if it found the data file. Then, in the next window, make sure you're on the tab marked "Sync and backup". On the righthand side of the window, choose the button to "manage backup".

What Our Users Say

If repairing the file doesn’t solve the issue, you can try creating a new Outlook profile and adding your existing file to it. This could help if you’re dealing with configuration issues but the file itself is okay. I successfully moved my Outlook PST files onto my new computer. The issue I got caught on relates to the required steps in Outlook to switch files. I am transferring all my files from a Windows 10 PC to a new Windows 11 PC and am having issues moving my Outlook .PST files for POP accounts.

Repair Outlook Data Files (.pst and .ost)

From single external hard drives, SSD’s, mobile devices to enterprise NAS, SAN, and RAID failures, we are ready to help recover from digital disasters, anywhere. When you want to replicate a copy on the cloud, manually copy the PST in the OneDrive folder. This will result in one copy in the folder in OneDrive being used for backup purposes, and another copy in your Outlook client that can be kept open by Outlook. Outlook 2013 and 2016, users of both have reported this issue.

On the other hand, accounts through disable faulty add-ins in Outlook Office 365, Exchange Server, Outlook.com, and IMAP store information offline in Outlook data files (.ost files). One of the major reasons for the "Outlook data file cannot be accessed" error is corruption in the Outlook data file (PST). You can repair the corrupted PST file using the built-in Inbox Repair tool (also known as SCANPST) in Outlook. That is almost definitely the problem and it's very common unfortunately. You need to configure your OneDrive to not back up the directory where your Outlook data file resides. It is not possible for Outlook and OneDrive to both try to access the data file at the same time.