Get Rid of “The Path Specified For The File .PST Is Not Valid” Error
Sometimes most of the Outlook users are not able to access or fetch PST data file, then it means that there is some error or bugs in their Outlook PST file. And suddenly they got an invalid path error message on their screen “The path specified for the file Outlook.pst is not valid.”. If you are one of them who is searching for a solution for that, so here you will get the solution.
Before we move to its solution, let’s explore this error & it’s root causes.
The “Microsoft Outlook the path specified for the file PST is not valid” error can appear in any Outlook version 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, 2003. Generally, it occurs when the MS Outlook can’t find the PST data file to load the Outlook profile. Apart from this, there could be many reasons for getting these error messages which are mentioned in the next section.
Possible Reasons for Getting “The path Specified for the File Outlook.pst is Not Valid” Error
- When the Outlook data file gets corrupted.
- Inappropriate export and import of PST files.
- Sharing information with multiple users over the same network.
- When the PST file location is changed or the file is removed intentionally or accidentally.
- PST file is moved from the original location, but the exact location where it is moved is not known.
- PST file gets corrupt due to its large size.
After knowing the root cause of the error, let’s dive into its solution.
Manual Methods to fix the path specified for the file .pst is not valid
You can try these manual tricks to troubleshoot the error the path specified for the file .pst is not valid outlook 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, 2003.
Solution 1: Restore Deleted Items From Recycle Bin
When the Outlook PST file is accidentally deleted then you can restore those deleted items from the recycle bin and fix the “The path specified for the file .pst is not valid” Outlook.
- Go to the Recycle Bin folder.
- Locate the Outlook PST file.
- Check whether the PST file is restored at the original location.
- Now, close all opened windows and start MS Outlook application.
- Import your PST in the current profile.
Solution 2 : Set Original PST File As Default One
Sometimes Outlook PST files are removed by the users, in that case, users must know the current location. For this follow the steps carefully:
- Go to the control panel>>click Mail.
- Click on Data Files>you will receive the same error message that you get while opening Outlook.
- Click OK and then Cancel to continue.
- Select the PST file that you want to use as default and “Set as default”.
- Delete the current PST file and restart your MS Outlook.
Solution 3 : Use ScanPST.exe Utility
In order to fix ‘the path specified for the file .pst is not valid Outlook error, users can try Inbox Repair Tool known as ScanPST.exe. Follow these instructions to run the tool :
- At first, locate ScanPST.exe based on your Outlook version.
- After locating it, double-click on it to launch.
- Once it launches successfully, a window will be open on your screen in which you have to input the name of the PST file.
- Click on Browse button to choose desired PST files.
- After that click on ‘Start’ button to initiate Repair procedure.
- If any error founds on your Outlook then you must click on the Repair button.
However, if you tried all these manual approaches to fix the issue and none of them work for you. Then it means that your Outlook PST file is highly damaged or corrupted. So, in that case you have to use some third party tool to repair those corrupted files.
You can easily fix this error with the help of Outlook Recovery Tool. This utility is specially designed to repair all kinds of Outlook data file errors. It can easily repair files and recover the deleted data.
It is reliable and faultless software to repair the entire mailbox items such as emails, attachments, contact, calendars, notes, tasks, etc.
Final Verdict
In this guide, we have explained reasons and solutions for “The path specified for the file .pst is not valid”. Given methods will help you to resolve this issue.
