Using scanPST on exported PST's from Purview

Question

Using scanPST on exported PST's from Purview

Richard Lund 0

Hi all

I'm exporting PST's from the Microsoft purview centre and i have noticed the EVERY pst i check has items listed as "items needing repair"

from googling and reading i think this is considered normal. In addition the PST's I have have checked open in Outlook without issues.

my question is, will every PST checked by scanPST show 'items needing repair'? If this is the case, i can ignore unless my 3rd part review tool flags an issue or i cant open the PST in outlook.

2 answers

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Answer 1

Vergil-V 1,955 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi @Richard Lund
Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Learn Q&A!
Based on your description, I understand that your PST file prompts for repair when running Scanpst.exe. From my own testing with PST files from both Microsoft Purview and Classic Outlook, I can confirm your observation is accurate. Even after clicking "Repair," Scanpst continues to report the same number of errors,

If your PST file still opens normally in Outlook and functions without any noticeable problems, it's generally safe to ignore the Scanpst results. However, I recommend sharing your experience through the Microsoft Feedback Portal. This helps bring the issue to the attention of developers and other community members who may be encountering similar behavior.

If you have any updates or further questions, please feel free to reach out. We're here to help!

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Vergil-V 1,955 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-08-11T09:13:27.07+00:00

Hi @Richard Lund
Based on the publicly available official Microsoft documentation, I found some insights in the article How to repair personal folder file (.pst) - Outlook | Microsoft Learn that may partially address your question regarding why ScanPST reports that items in a PST file exported from Microsoft Purview need repairing.

The article notes that PST files may require multiple ScanPST runs to fully repair, and in some cases, certain errors may not be repairable at all.

Additionally, the image below from the article explains how ScanPST validates and corrects errors. If it encounters a block that is unreadable or slightly inconsistent, it flags it as an error, even if Outlook can still read the file without issues.

I understand this may not fully answer your question. As forum moderators, we don’t have access to internal systems or backend diagnostics to investigate further or provide deeper technical explanations.

I hope this helps clarify your situation. Please feel free to ask if you have any other questions.
Richard Lund 0 Reputation points

2025-08-11T09:18:53.7833333+00:00

Hi

Thanks for the reply.

I have been told by the Microsoft Premier support team, the purview team specifically, that they see the exact same results. when a PST is exported they run SCANPST and it flags errors. They have tried it multiple times and on data from different tenants and they experience the same thing.

So far they have commented that they believe this is expected and normal behavior. i am waiting to hear back on the confirmation.
Vergil-V 1,955 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-08-11T09:45:04.4333333+00:00

Hi @Richard Lund
Thank you for your prompt reply.
I truly appreciate you sharing the insights you received from the Microsoft Premier Support team. This adds another layer of confirmation regarding the ScanPST tool flagging errors in PST files exported from Microsoft Purview.
I hope you receive official confirmation soon. I’ll continue checking for any publicly available documentation that addresses this issue, and it would be greatly appreciated if you could kindly share an update with us once you receive confirmation.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to reach out. We're here to help.

Answer 2

Thank you for the reply

'From my own testing with PST files from both Microsoft Purview and Classic Outlook, I can confirm your observation is accurate. Even after clicking "Repair," Scanpst continues to report the same number of errors'

i think my question is, why is it doing this? PST's exported from Purview work fine, i can open them, index them and the data seems fine but for some reason SCANPST is saying they have errors. for my own sanity I'm trying to understand why this is the case even if it is expected behavior (which i have not yet been told is the case) - i am aware that teams messages can cause this however even if i omit teams chats i still get plenty of items saying they need repairing. It just seems odd

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Using scanPST on exported PST's from Purview

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