Smallvoid.com

The personal folders file (.pst) contains all local Outlook folders, such as Calendar, Inbox, Contacts, Tasks, Sent Items, Outbox, Deleted Items, and user-created folders.

The simple way to backup/restore the .pst file is to use the Personal Folders Backup utility.

Find the location of the .pst file to allow backup of the file:

1. With Outlook98 or Outlook2000, make sure you have View / Folders selected.
2. Right click on Personal Folders and select Properties.
3. Click on the Advanced button.
4. Under Filename, it will show the path and name of the current PST file.

More info MS KB Q184817
More info MS KB Q196492
More info MS KB Q287070

Change the default location of the .pst file:

1. Start Outlook.
2. On the File menu, click Data File Management.
3. Select the old .pst that longer should be used, and then click Remove.
4. Click Add, select Personal Folders File (.pst), click OK, and then select the .pst file you want to use as the new primary file.
5. Click OK.

More info MS KB Q257831
More info MS KB Q291636
More info MS KB Q300593
More info MS KB Q830336
More info MS KB Q832925

Using the Inbox Repair tool to repair a broken .PST file:

1. Search for the file scanpst.exe (Usually found here drive:\Program Files\Common Files\System\Mapi\1033\scanpst.exe)
2. Run scanpst.exe and point it to the damaged .PST file and press Start.
3. When the scan is completed, check Make a backup of scanned file before repairing and press Repair.

More info MS KB Q197316
More info MS KB Q287497
More info MS KB Q329910

Credits OneComputerGuy.com