Ok,,i installed a new pc for someone here. their old pc is a not option. i have their archive.pst file saved, how do i get into his new Outlook 2013 ? when i try to add it as a data file , i get a message saying not a valid outlook da

Hi,

How did you add it as a data file? Did you choose it as the default data file? If this is the case, please try opening the PST file directly to see if you will get any error message. To do this, click File > Open & Export > Open Outlook Data File... If you can open the PST file successfully, we can just drag/drop all emails from the archive.pst file to your Inbox.

If above doesn't work, please try using the Inbox Repair Tool to scan and repair the archive.pst file and then test the issue again. See:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/272227

Please let me know the result.

Regards,

Steve Fan
TechNet Community Support

Steve, i cant add it at all...i get the message saying its not a valid outlook file. i tried doing an import and adding as a pst file.

Thank you for the update, Steven. Have you tried using the Inbox Repair Tool as I suggested above? This issue may happen if the PST file is corrupt. Please try using the Inbox Repair Tool to repair the PST file until there is no error can be scanned in it.

Hope this helps.

Regards,,

Steve Fan
TechNet Community Support