Many Outlook users normally believe in just working with Outlook without knowing its structure, file format, technical details or preventive measures. It is important to know these details as sometimes major problem arises due to neglecting these small issues.
Being an outlook 2007 user, I usually keep myself updated about this email application. So that I would be able to fix small issues myself. Recently while working with Outlook, I encountered one specific error message which was related to the compatibility of Outlook versions. Error message is mentioned as below:
The file file_name.pst is not compatible with this version of the Personal Folders information service. Contact your Administrator.
Or
Outlook.pst is not compatible
Basically, Outlook versions are divided based on two formats. One is ANSI which includes Outlook 2002 and its earlier versions and Unicode which includes 2003, 2007, 2010 and 2013. So I was sure that this error message is related to this format.
Now let me explain how I faced and finally resolved this error. I had to format and reinstall new operating system into my PC. So I took the backup of all files including the Outlook 2007 files and transferred to my Dad’s computer system. Before formatting, I copied all the data and tried to open my Outlook 2007 PST file in to the Outlook installed in this system. But unfortunately, I received the above-mentioned error.
The reason was that the version of Outlook installed into this system was 2002 which was ANSI based. As 2007 is Unicode based so this type of file can’t be opened directly into ANSI based Outlook. However, I searched for the solution and found that there are certain steps through which this error can be removed and file can be opened.
Here it is necessary to copy the content of Outlook 2007 file to a non-Unicode file that is to ANSI based file. To do this I followed the below-mentioned steps:
1. Open Outlook and Go to File -> Data File Management and click Add.
2. Select Outlook 97-2002 Personal Folders File (PST) and click OK all three times. This will create an ANSI based file. Click Close.
3. Click Folder List in bottom of navigation pane. This will show the new PST file.
4. Now drag the data of 2007 based PST file into this new PST file. Or Import/Export the PST file data into new file.
5. Now right click on navigation pane and click Close “file_name”.
As a new ANSI file has been created, so I got success in using the Unicode based file in ANSI based version. Thus it finally stopped displaying the error message.
However, during this entire process, it is also necessary to consider the fact that there are pretty good chances of corruption of PST file. So if any point in time, if it shows the corruption of file then opt for a repairing tool.
In this regard, an automatic PST file repair software like Stellar Repair for Outlook works remarkably. As it finds out the infected areas of PST file through deep scanning and then instantly repairs the corrupt PST file. Once the repair process gets completed, you can recover all PST file objects back to your mailbox.
So keep in mind the above steps and things to take care about PST files while working with Outlook.
