SCANPST is a utility published by Microsoft for repairing Outlook PST files. Unfortunately, the SCANPST utility does not have any command-line interface so you can only control it interactively from the GUI. Since SCANPST can take a long time to run and because it requires user input while running, this can be a big waste of time.
CSCANPST is tool that will let you use SCANPST from the command-line, making it possible to write batch files that will run SCANPST unattended.
To save time. Even if you only have a single PST file, every time you run SCANPST you have to sit and watch it run so you can respond to the pop-up dialog boxes that it generates. By contrast, with CSCANPST, you can start the process and then go get a cup off coffee; it will run until it is done without needing any additional input from you.
If you have multiple PST files, you can even use a batch file to automatically run SCANPST on all of them with just one step. Again, you can start the process and then let it run until it is done while you do something else. This is much better than having to manually launch SCANPST on each PST file individually and watch it run.
The CSCANPST.EXE executable takes two parameters. The first is the fully qualified path to a SCANPST.EXE executable. The second is the name of the PST file to scan.
Once launched, CSCANPST will load SCANPST and send it the requested filename. It will respond to SCANPST input requests until either the file is repaired or there is an error.
On exit, CSCANPST will set the DOS errorcode to one of the following values...
| ErrorLevel | Meaning |
| 0 | Scan completed successfully. Any errors in the PST file were repaired. |
| 1 | Another copy of SCANPST is already running. Quit out any running instances and try again. |
| 2 | User canceled the scan. |
| 3 | Error opening the specified PST file. |
| 4 | File already in use. Make sure Outlook is not running. |
| 5 | Could not find the specified PST file. Check that you specified the correct directory and filename. |
| 6 | File type not recognized. Make sure the specified file is an Outlook PST file. |
CSCANPST will always answer "yes" when SCANPST asks to make a backup file. It
will always use the default file name for the backup file (typically the PST
name with a .BAK extention).
CSCANPST will append a line to the file called "CSCANPST.LOG" with details of the scan. If the log file does not exist, it will be created. The appended line will show the file scanned and outcome. Possible outcomes are...
|
ERROR: User canceled |
| ERROR: Could not open file |
| ERROR: File already in use |
| ERROR: File not found |
| ERROR: File type not recognized |
| No errors found |
| Minor inconsistencies repaired |
| File repaired |
Entering this command will scan the specified PST file and return to the command prompt...
CSCANPST "C:\Program Files\Common Files\System\Mapi\1033\scanpst.exe" "C:\Documents and Settings\User Profile\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook\Archive.pst"
Here is a short batch file that will scan the two specified PST files and then report the results...
del CSCANPST.LOG CSCANPST "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\SCANPST.EXE" "C:\Outlook\main.pst" CSCANPST "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\SCANPST.EXE" "C:\Outlook\work.pst" CSCANPST "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\SCANPST.EXE" "C:\Outlook\Spam.pst" type CSCANPST.LOG
Here is an example of the output in CSCANPST.LOG after running it on my computer (I have a lot of PST files)...
Launched on C:\Users\josh\Documents\Mail\archive.pst...File repaired Launched on C:\Users\josh\Documents\Mail\mail2005.pst...No errors found Launched on C:\Users\josh\Documents\Mail\Mail2006.pst...No errors found Launched on C:\Users\josh\Documents\Mail\Mail2007-B.pst...No errors found Launched on C:\Users\josh\Documents\Mail\Mail2007.pst...No errors found Launched on C:\Users\josh\Documents\Mail\Mail2008-A.pst...No errors found Launched on C:\Users\josh\Documents\Mail\Spam-062808.pst...File repaired Launched on C:\Users\josh\Documents\Mail\Spam-0805.pst...No errors found Launched on C:\Users\josh\Documents\Mail\Spam.pst...No errors found Launched on C:\Users\josh\Documents\Mail\spam20080908.pst...No errors found
Q: How can I find the location of my SCANPST.EXE?
A: You can do a Windows file search for "SCANPST.EXE".
Alternately, check out this
helpful page.
Q: How can I find the location of my PST files?
A: You can do a Windows file search for "*.PST". Alternately,
check out
this helpful page.
Q: How does CSCANPST work?
A: CSCANPST is written in the surprisingly handy
AutoHotKey language. It basically runs
the SCANPST.EXE then watches for certain strings of words in windows that
SCANPST generates. Based on what it sees, it pushes the right buttons to make
SCANPST complete its job.
Q: SCANPST poped up a message that CSCANPST does not seem to be
responding to.
A: CSCANPST responds to every error I could make happen, but there may be others
that only happen in situations that I could not create. If you ever see one of
these, please email me and let me know and I will add that case to CSCANPST. A
screenshot showing the exact wording on the pop-up message would be very
helpful.
Q: I am using a non-English version of Office and CSCANPST
doesn't seem to work.
A: Yes, CSCANPST actually looks at the text inside the SCANPST
windows to know what to do and when to type, so it will not recognize what is
going on in windows that have non-English text. Probably the easiest solution is
to find a English version of the SCANPST.EXE executable and run CSCANPST using
that. Note that you do not need to install Office in English or even overwrite
your existing SCANPST, just get an additional copy of SCANPST in English and use
that only from running CSCANPST.
Q: How much does CSCANPST cost?
A: TSMADUMP is free. I do ask that you do not redistribute it- instead, please
send people to this webpage so they can download it themselves. It would also be
great if you could send an email to me at the support address below so that I can let you know about any updates to the
program.
Q: Isn't there an easier/better way to do this?
A: Not that I could find. It does seem like Microsoft could have very easily
added a few command-line parameters to SCANPST, but they didn't. Of course the
day after I finished CSANPST I found
this page. It is very similar to CSANPST, but I think (now that I already
made it) that mine is a bit better documented.
If you really love CSCANPST, you can express your gratitude though a tax-deductible donation of any size to my favorite charity, The Aasha Foundation. They spend zero on administration and fundraising, so every dollar you give goes directly to helping the orphans.
Q: What is your relationship to Microsoft, makers of SCANPST?
A: None, except that I am a user of their program.
11/3/2008 - First published
11/24/2008 - Fixed broken links and formatting errors that Expression somehow
messed up. Sorry.
For support, please email me at...
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