Outlook Archive PST File is Not Empty but Old Emails Don’t Show Up

In this blog given manual solution to resolve Outlook 2016, 2013, 2010 & 2007 archive.pst file is not empty but old emails don’t show up, when clicking archive pst results.

Despite the fact that Outlook is one of the popular email clients, it has few major pitfalls. This might sound to you a bit odd, but it’s true. Microsoft Outlook client is prone to errors and issues which you might experience at times. Sometimes an uncommon situation may take place where you find that the Outlook archive PST file isn’t empty but you can’t see the old emails in it. Have you ever faced a situation like this before? I’ve seen a lot of Outlook users posting their questions regarding this specific problem. But I haven’t found any article discussing this problem and providing its solution. So in this article, we’re going to discuss this problem in detail and also learn how to troubleshoot it.

Outlook Archive PST

Let’s first understand what actually an Outlook archive PST file is. An Outlook data file (PST or personal storage table) has a certain size limit, i.e. 2 GB for ANSI PST and 20 to 50 GB for Unicode PST. Generally, there’s no way to stop getting email messages anytime soon. This increases the size of the Outlook mailbox day by day. And at one point in time, the mailbox reaches its maximum size and starts creating troubles for Outlook users. The situation becomes even worse when the mailbox crosses its maximum size limit. Because whenever this happens, the PST file is likely to corrupt sooner or later.

 Also Read: How to Repair Oversized PST File Issue in Outlook

To overcome this problem, Outlook provides you a built-in Archive feature that helps you keep the mailbox from filling up. How? By using this feature, you can comfortably move the old mailbox data to an Outlook archive PST file. It’s separate Outlook data file that can easily be opened in the Outlook client at any time. In this way, you can manage the Outlook mailbox size without deleting any data.

How to Create Outlook Archive PST?

There are two ways to create Outlook archive PST file. Either you can configure the Outlook Auto Archive feature to move the old emails and other data automatically to a separate archive folder at a regular interval. Or you can do this manually. In Outlook 2007 and earlier versions, the Outlook Auto Archive feature is enabled by default for these folders:

• Calendar, task, and journal items older than 6 months
• Sent items and deleted items folders older than 2 months

For Inbox, Drafts, Notes, and other mailbox folders, you should enable the Auto Archive feature manually. This is how you can do that:

Step 1: First, open the Microsoft Outlook client. Now click Tools>Options.
Step 2: On the Options dialog box, click the Other tab >AutoArchive... button.

Now you can configure the AutoArchive settings.

But in Outlook 2010 and later versions, you have to configure this feature for all the mailbox folders manually. Let’s find out how to do that in Outlook 2010:

Step 1: First, open the Microsoft Outlook client.

On the task bar, click File tab >Options.

Step 2: On the Outlook Options dialog box, click Advanced>AutoArchive Settings.

Step 3: On the AutoArchive dialog box, check the Run AutoArchive every option.

Now you can see the settings you need to configure here.

Step 4: Once you’re done with that, you can simply OK to start the archiving process. This will take just a few minutes.

An uncommon issue you may encounter

Outlook client is prone to errors and other severe issues. Sometimes you may face a situation where you can’t see the old email messages, though the Outlook archive PST file ain’t empty. This is quite an uncommon issue which often faced by Outlook users.

The primary reason behind this problem might be the “Outlook settings”. So before you can try anything else here, you should better check the default Outlook settings. But if it’s not about the Outlook settings, then corruption might be causing this issue. First, let’s start with the “Outlook Settings”.

Problem with Outlook Settings

Maybe you should try to change the current view to IMAP message. See how you can do that:

• First, open the Microsoft Outlook client.
• On the taskbar, click the View tab.
• In the View section, select Change View option.
• Click the IMAP Message in the context menu.

You’re done. Now check if you can see the old emails. If you still can’t see them, maybe you should check the filter settings and remove all the filters applied to the message box. See how you can do that:

• First, open the Microsoft Outlook client.
• On the taskbar, click the View tab >Current View>Customize Current View.
• Click Filter… tab >Clear All >OK.

Now it’s time to verify whether you can see the emails or not. If the real problem ain’t associated with the “Outlook Settings”, maybe it’s corruption.

 Also Read: How to Recover Lost or Deleted Emails in Outlook

How to Repair PST File?

If the Outlook archive PST file is corrupt due to any reason, you should repair it. Maybe it’s corruption that keeps the old email messages from being shown. The Inbox Repair tool (scanpst) is the best way to repair PST file without using any 3rd party tool. It’s a freeware utility comes as a built-in repair tool in Microsoft Outlook client. It gets installed by default on the local system where the Outlook client is installed. By using the scanpst utility, you can successfully scan PST file for errors and fix them with ease. Before you can run the scanpst utility, you must locate its executable file. Refer to this article to know more the scanpst utility, its location, and how to use it – SCANPST Location – Locate the Inbox Repair Tool

If the corruption is severe, the scanpst utility may not work for you. It can only handle minor corruption issues. In such a situation, you should look forward to a professional solution. Get Outlook Repair tool provided by  Aryson Technologies. It’s an advanced way to deal with a corrupt PST file and restore the mailbox content as much as possible into a new PST file. Download its demo version for free evaluation. By using the demo version, you can scan the corrupt PST file and check the preview of your mailbox content before purchasing the software.

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