How to Unlock Password Protected Outlook PST file?

Here, in this blog, we will discuss two possible solutions about how to unlock password protected PST file and one third-party tool which will make the entire process quick and easy.

Microsoft Outlook has become one of the most popular email clients providing its services to everyone. It saves all the data in PST file format and when synchronizing with Exchange Server it saves data in the OST file format. The user generally secures their PST files by application of a password. But there are chances that you forget or lose the password of PST files due to any reason. In those scenarios, you will not be able to access your PST files which means you won’t be able to read your emails, calendar, contact, etc. If you are in a similar situation and looking for a solution, then you are in the right place.

Two Methods to unlock password-protected PST file:

These are the two methods that you can use to unlock password-protected PST files.

#1. Step to Crack PST File Password by Using Microsoft Outlook 2010

• Open MS Outlook 2010, go to files > Account Settings > Account Settings.

•  “Account Settings” windows should appear. Go to, “Data Files” now select the path of the PST file and click on “Settings.”

• After doing that a new window will appear as “Outlook Data File”. Navigate to the “Change Password.”

• In the last step, enter your new desired password and lastly “OK”

Following the above steps should reset your PST file password.

If you are looking for a solution to export THUNDERBIRD EMAILS TO OUTLOOK on a new system, then do give a read to this article as well – How to export Thunderbird to Outlook

#2. How to crack PST password using Microsoft Free Utility ‘pst19upg.exe’

Encrypting the PST files is a cool way to protect them but if you lost or forget your password. Anding losing your password means losing your data, which is not good for a professional point of view. So apart from method 1, you can use Microsoft Free Utility ‘pst19upg.exe’. It can remove password from the PST file and you can download it from their official site. After downloading follow below steps to unlock password-protected PST files.

1.  Firstly, close your Microsoft Outlook application.
2.  Now, the location of the scanpst.exe tool, which comes as pre-installed utility along with MS Outlook. You can find scanpst.exe in these locations:
   • 2002 and XP Microsoft Outlook: C:\Program Files\Common Files\System\MAPI\\scanpst.exe
   • 2000 Microsoft Outlook: C:\Program Files\Common Files\System\MAPI\\NT\scanpst.exe
   • 97/ 98 Microsoft Outlook: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Windows Messaging\scanpst.exe
3. Launch it and click on the “Repair.”(Note: Create the backup of PST files before starting this process).
4. Open CMD prompt. To open the command prompt, click on “Start window key” > “Run” or press “Window Key” + “R”.
5. Copy the path of the PST file into the command prompt.
6. Doing so will generate a PST file named as “abc.psx”, abc represent your file name.
7. Now rename this PST file to your old PST file.
8. Now type “pst19upg.exe-newfilename.psx” in command prompt and enter.
9. When everything happens perfectly, you’ll have a password-free PST file.
10. Lastly, run Scanpst.exe and repair freshly PST file.
11. Now open MS Outlook application and check whether is the file is safe.

The drawback of pst19upg.exe:

This free utility comes with a limitation. It is only functional in Microsoft Outlook 2003 and earlier versions. This means you can not run it into MS Outlook 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, and 2003. Also, it can only eradicate passwords from ANSI PST type, not from UNICODE PST.

Outlook Password Recovery Tool

It is the best, and most cost-effective solution to unlock all passwords protected MS Outlook PST files. No matter the password is long or complex the password is it will crack it with a few clicks. It is a user-friendly, fast and very efficient tool. It can effectively unlock the PST files which are created on ANSI and UNICODE created on MS Outlook 2016 and for lower versions as well.

Conclusion

In this blog, we have discussed how to unlock password-protected pst file using two methods and a third-party tool. The manual methods are time-consuming and work only for MS Outlook 2003 and older versions. Therefore, I would recommend using the professional PST password recovery tool to unlock PST files from MS Outlook 2019/2016/2013/2010/2007 or older versions.

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