I have an issue with trying to make a copy of Outlook's "archive.pst" file in that it keeps failing a CRC check when I attempt to copy it using Windows Explorer.

To make a long story short this is a laptop (Latitude D820) running Windows XP Professional SP3 and using Outlook 2003. Outlook 2003 is set up with one POP3 email account and over the weekend my boss dropped the laptop from about two and a half feet up onto a hardwood floor while the laptop was running and while Outlook was open on the computer. From discussion with him the system continued to run but gave him a "really really bad error" (his description) and told him to restart the computer. Since restarting the computer everything is incredibly slow. After getting it this morning and looking at it the Event Viewer is reporting numerous bad blocks on the hard drive and I am replacing it but right now I am trying to back up some data and of course the Outlook data files are part of that. The "outlook.pst" file is 583MB and the "archive.pst" file is 2.2GB with about 3 years of old semi-important/important emails sitting in it.

I managed to copy "Outlook.pst" and "extend.dat" but when I try to copy "archive.pst" it gets to about 95% and then gives an error that it couldn't copy the file due to it failing a CRC check. My guess is that since Outlook was open when the system hit the floor the "archive.pst" file got corrupted in the process.

I have tried copying it with Windows running in Safe Mode with so success. I have tried putting the hard drive in an external enclosure and copying it onto another laptop with no success and right now I am actually running GRC's SpinRite on the drive to see if that will possibly correct that area of the drive enough to let me copy the file; but SpinRite could possibly run for hours or days yet.

Is there another way that I should go about this or does anyone have any recommendations for trying to recover this "archive.pst" file?

CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) errors are indicating errors with a specific file  and in lot of cases with your hard disk. It doesn't indicate a problem with Outlook  itself but a problem with the place on the hard disk where your pst-file is located.  When this occurs after you have just copied the pst-file (on disk, from network,  from CD, by download) you should first verify that the original source still works  and try to copy it again. If this has happened "all of a sudden" like in that it  still worked yesterday, the issue can be either software based or hardware based. See:

http://www.howto-outlook.com/faq/crcerror.htm

Causes, consequences and soltutions for corrupted .pst file... 
- This happens when Outlook is not closed properly. Sometimes, an add-in will keep Outlook open in the background and you won't know it.  
Then, when you reboot or shut off your computer and go back into Outlook, it will tell you it is corrupt. 
- Most think that because a .pst file is local that the only limit is that of the hard drive. This is not true, you have a limited size that your .pst file can get to be. It's best not to push the limit or you will eventually have a headache trying to resolve it. I've noticed that a lot of people forget their Deleted Items folder, remember this counts against your .pst file so clean it out on a regular basis. 
- Create another .pst file, or an archive.pst. Where as size is the number one corruption, other things such as add-ons and/or viruses can cause .pst files to become corrupted. As long as you use common sense then issues like this can easily be avoided. 
- If nothing helped make use of third party software Recovery Toolbox for Outlook https://fixoutlook.recoverytoolbox.com/

Causes, consequences and soltutions for corrupted .pst file... 
- This happens when Outlook is not closed properly. Sometimes, an add-in will keep Outlook open in the background and you won't know it.  
Then, when you reboot or shut off your computer and go back into Outlook, it will tell you it is corrupt. 
- Most think that because a .pst file is local that the only limit is that of the hard drive. This is not true, you have a limited size that your .pst file can get to be. It's best not to push the limit or you will eventually have a headache trying to resolve it. I've noticed that a lot of people forget their Deleted Items folder, remember this counts against your .pst file so clean it out on a regular basis. 
- Create another .pst file, or an archive.pst. Where as size is the number one corruption, other things such as add-ons and/or viruses can cause .pst files to become corrupted. As long as you use common sense then issues like this can easily be avoided. 
- If nothing helped make use of third party software Recovery Toolbox for Outlook https://fixoutlook.recoverytoolbox.com/

• Marked as answer by GalteroMarino 10 hours 55 minutes ago

Causes, consequences and soltutions for corrupted .pst file... 
- This happens when Outlook is not closed properly. Sometimes, an add-in will keep Outlook open in the background and you won't know it.  
Then, when you reboot or shut off your computer and go back into Outlook, it will tell you it is corrupt. 
- Most think that because a .pst file is local that the only limit is that of the hard drive. This is not true, you have a limited size that your .pst file can get to be. It's best not to push the limit or you will eventually have a headache trying to resolve it. I've noticed that a lot of people forget their Deleted Items folder, remember this counts against your .pst file so clean it out on a regular basis. 
- Create another .pst file, or an archive.pst. Where as size is the number one corruption, other things such as add-ons and/or viruses can cause .pst files to become corrupted. As long as you use common sense then issues like this can easily be avoided. 
- If nothing helped make use of third party software Recovery Toolbox for Outlook https://fixoutlook.recoverytoolbox.com/

• Marked as answer by GalteroMarino Sunday, April 05, 2015 8:32 PM

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