Facing Issue While Deleting Ghost PST In Outlook: Check Out Here!
User Query :-“I am having an archive PST and I am trying to close that file by right-clicking on it but it is not closing. Unfortunately, an error also occurred that is “the operation failed. An object could not be found.” When I try to close archive PST file by click on the Properties button, again the same error encounters. I upgraded Outlook to resolve it but nothing happened. I stuck badly in this situation as I am not able to open my PST file. And I found a Ghost PST file created. I tried to remove Ghost PST but failed. How can I delete Ghost PST in Outlook? When I trying to do it, I am coming across from issue while deleting Ghost PST in Outlook account. Is there any way to resolve this Ghost PST problem?”
Struggling with Ghost PST Issues
Are you also struggling with a similar problem? Want a reliable way to fix it? Do not worry, fortunately, you are landed on the correct page. In this blog, we are going to discuss the concept of Ghost PST and how one can remove or delete Ghost PST in Outlook without any data loss or damage.
Most of the time, in Outlook, the Ghost PST file is created by upgrading Outlook and not makes a new profile. It generally reflects that the Microsoft Outlook profile is corrupt. However, one can create a new profile, but what if the user wants to rescue an old profile. To resolve issues in deleting Ghost PST in Outlook 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, 2003; the user can implement the manual as well as automated approach is given in the coming section.
Fix Issues in Deleting Ghost PST in Outlook – Registry Editor
This is a profile problem and upgrading rarely fixes profile problems. Sometimes, users decide to create a new Outlook profile. But if it does not work, then the user can try to remove ghost PST entry from the registry. Here, we are going to explain how one can delete ghost PST in Outlook to fix profile issue. The user just can make use of keys within the profile key.
- First of all, you need to open Registry Editor by pressing Windows Key + R. Next open Run dialog box and type regedit
- Now, you have to find your profile
- For Outlook 2016, the profile key is at:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\Profiles
- For Outlook 2013, the profile key is at:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\15.0\Outlook\Profiles
- For Outlook 2010 and older version, the profile key is present under the Windows Messaging Subsystem.
- For Windows 2000/XP/Vista/Windows 7 or 8, the profile is available at:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Windows Messaging Subsystem\Profiles
Remove / Delete Ghost PST
After expanding your profile key, you will see a screen similar to the image given below. If the user is having more than one profile, he/she will be able to see each one.
- Now, when it comes to registry keys, then each PST has two registry keys. On the other hand, Ghost PST only have one registry key. One has to find and delete the key associated with Ghost PST to remove it from the profile.
- If the ghost PST has a unique name, then you can locate the key without any hassle. But when it is a ghost of the default PST then you need to guess. If the guess is wrong, then you need to create a new profile.
- You have to press F3 and search for the display name of the ghost. You will be able to see the name in your folder tree. In Outlook 2003 and 2007, the PST name is stored in binary format. So, one has to search for 001e3001 and double-click to know the value for the PST name.
- If the ghost is not a duplicate of another folder, then you can delete the key after finding the name. Otherwise, you have to identify all the keys associated with the PST before deciding which one to eliminate.
So you can follow this method to remove Ghost PST in MS Outlook account without in issues. And the above-described steps will help you to delete Ghost PST in Outlook without facing any problem.
What To Do If Duplicate Ghost PST Are Identified?
When such a situation arises, in which the ghost PST folder is duplicate, then the user needs to locate all of the keys for that folder name and find out which one belongs to the ghost PST in Outlook. The valid PST will have two keys with identical entries. The user can refer to the screenshot given below where the value in 001e3001 is the PST name.
In Outlook 2007, the PST name is stored in binary format, so the user needs to search for 001e3001 and double-click on the value to look for the PST name. The file path in binary format is stored as 01020fff.
The ghost PST in Outlook has just one key. Once you find all the 3-keys, delete the one which is duplicated. Normally, the good keys are close to each other. So, here you need to guess which duplicated key belongs to the ghost PST. So this way you can delete ghost PST in Outlook account. And now you can check in the registry, whether you have removed ghost pst in Outlook data storage location.
What If You Guessed A Wrong Duplicated Key?
If the user is not able to predict the right key then he/she has to make a new profile. Sometimes, due to the issues created while deleting Ghost PST in Outlook, the original MS Outlook data file cannot be accessed by the user.
Is There Any Reliable, Safe & Efficient Way To Deal With Ghost PST File?
Yes, the user can opt for SysTools Outlook PST Repair Tool. With this utility, the user can repair major corrupt data in PST files and extract data as a healthy PST file. The software is capable to recover emails, contacts, calendars, notes, tasks, journals, etc. into multiple file formats such as PST / EML / MSG / PDF / HTML or Office 365. Here in these scenarios if you have deleted a wrong key while deleting ghost PST in Outlook account, then it will difficult to access data in it. In such cases you can go for this tool, it will help you to recover emails from Outlook PST file. It can fix and restore data items like emails, contacts, calendars, tasks, notes, journals, etc. along with attachments without any data loss. Download the software for free trial version.
The user can easily preview the data associated with the lost data items in PST file after the recovery in red color and it can be extracted into the desired format. The software is integrated with the Quick and Advanced Scan option. The Quick Scan option lets the user eliminate minor corruption issues associated with PST file. Whereas, Advanced Scan option allows to remove major corruption issues in the PST file.
Final Words
It becomes difficult for the user to deal with Ghost PST issue. Due to the creation of Ghost PST file, the user is not able to work with Microsoft Outlook 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007 accurately and PST files also become corrupt. Thus, in the above section, we have explained the manual approach to delete Ghost PST in Outlook account. Sometimes, while removing ghost PST using the manual method, users may face data loss and other catastrophic conditions due to Outlook error and issues. Thus, to delete Ghost PST file from MS Outlook account, you must be careful. And in case if you face any data loss after the process, you can use a reliable Outlook data retrieval tool. With the above-discussed tool, the user will be able to recover lost PST data items while deleting Ghost PST in Outlook account without any issue.