Remove Forgotten Password from PST File in Outlook

PST file locked with password and you forgotten the PST file password. Now looking for a solution that can help you accessing password protected PST file. Don’t worry, this post will help you for the same. Let us understand the all possible ways to remove forgotten password from PST file of Outlook 2021, 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, versions.

Applying a password to a PST file is vital to ensure digital privacy and restrict unauthorized access. More importantly, applying a password to the PST file is the best way to secure mailbox data. But it turns worse if you forgot the password that you used to apply to the PST file. In this situation, you will get a PST file that keeps asking for a forgotten password error. 

Unfortunately, Microsoft Outlook does not provide any direct way to either remove or bypass the PST file’s forgotten password. But we made it possible for you in this write-up. Get clear and step-by-step guidance to remove the forgotten password from the PST file. So, lets jump to the solution part directly.

Table of Contents:

1. Recover password from PST file using the command prompt
2. Remove PST file Password via Outlook Interface
3. Limitations of Manual Techniques
4. Alternate approach to remove PST Password

Free Ways to Remove Known Password from PST File

Microsoft Outlook itself provides options to remove the password from the PST file, change the PST file password, and reset the PST password. But for this, you must be aware of your old password. Consider the steps below if you are aware of your old password that you applied to your PST file. On the other hand, if you have forgotten the password that you applied earlier to the PST file, use the professional solution.

Method-1: CMD Commands to Recover PST File Password

PST file locked with a password don’t worry. Follow the steps below to remove the password from the PST file in Outlook for all versions below. This requires technical knowledge.

• Make a replica of the PST that you want to work with, and close the Outlook application
• Run Scanpst.exe, an inbuilt utility, and then browse the specific PST file
• Launch the command prompt by holding the Windows + R key together
• Paste the file location to pst19up and your PST file named as pst19up.exe- filename.pst, and press the Enter key
• The command line seems like C:\My Documents\pst19upg.exe- x outlook.pst. This will generate a copy of the PST file known as filename.psx
• After considering this copy, rename the original Outlook PST file with a different name
• Now, at the command prompt, type pst19upg.exe- filename.psx and click the Enter key
• After that, a new password-free PST will be created. Again, you can launch MS Outlook and open the PST files

Methods-2: Remove PST Password from Outlook Interface

The user will find this option in all Outlook versions. The option may be different in different Outlook versions. Before performing these steps make sure you know the PST password that you applied before. Follow the instructions carefully.

• Launch the Outlook application and go to the File tab
• After that, choose Account Settings>>Account Settings option

• Select the Data Files tab and decide the PST file for which you want to change the password and then click Settings.

• Then, hit Change Password to apply a password to the PST file under the Outlook data file pop-up box

• Now, you can set a New Password to protect PST files and press the OK button to verify it.

Remember: Keep in mind that the password should be between 15 characters or less than 15 characters.

Limitations Faced While Implementing Free Ways

With all the above steps, you can remove the password from Outlook PST files. But, there are some drawbacks to performing the manual solution. Some of them are listed below:

• You should be aware of the old password. 
• It can not help if you forgot your old password.
• When performing the manual solution, you need to select each PST file at a time to remove the password.
• Microsoft Outlook installation is necessary to unlock the Outlook PST file.

Professional Way to Remove Forgotten Password From PST File

To overcome all the shortcomings of the manual approach, SysTools developed a reliable PST Password Remover Tool. It is designed in such a way to recover all types of passwords: Lengthy and Multilingual. It is capable enough to recover forgotten passwords from bulk PST files at once. The best thing about this tool is that reset the PST Password from a protected file with no supported email client. Perform the following steps of the tool to bypass the PST file password issue:

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• Download and launch the software on your Windows system, and click the Add File/Add Folder option. For multiple PST files, choose the Add Folder option.

• Locate the PST File that is protected by a password and you forgot the password.

• Now, you can view the status of the Password Protected .pst file. If the browse PST file is protected by a password, then this software will show the locked icon.

• Finally, the status report is generated to remove the password from all PST files. Click on the Remove Password button at the bottom.

This software makes the password removal process quite easy and secure. A free demo version of this utility is also available to test its functionality and features. It is the recommended software for removing forgotten passwords from PST files, even without logging into the Outlook interface. The tool requires only a PST file, it doesn’t matter that. Using which Outlook version or profile, the PST file is created. It will easily remove the password from the PST file and help in seamless access.

Do you know Outlook itself stores the PST file password that the user can check? Let’s understand the actual meaning of this:

Where Can I Find Outlook Data File Password?

Outlook is a widely used and popular email application because of its advanced email management options. Along with this, Outlook is proficient at managing the Outlook data file password. In the section below, I will explain how a user can find the Outlook data file password. Let’s start exploring:

For Outlook 2003 and Below Versions 

Outlook 2003 and its earlier versions allow users to change or recover the Outlook data file password directly. For this, the user can follow the steps: 

• Launch Microsoft Outlook and hit File > Data File Management.
• Select the Password Protected PST File and Hit Settings > Change Password.
• Now the user can either add a new password or leave it blank to remove the password. 

For Outlook 2007 Version 

If you are a Outlook 2007 version and want to know where you can find the Outlook data file password. But to perform the below steps to you must be aware of the old password. Follow the steps below: 

• Launch Microsoft Outlook 2007 and Hit File > Data File Management.
• Select the Password-Protected PST File and Hit the Settings Option
• A pop-up will appear, hit on Change Password 
• Here, provide the current password and then apply a new password, or you can leave it blank to remove the password. 

For Outlook 2010 and Later Versions

Microsoft discontinued the built-in option to recover or change the password applied to the Outlook data file. So, a user cannot recover the password applied to the PST file. So, it is not possible to find the PST file password using the Outlook dashboard.

Time to Conclude

Most of the time, it happens with users that they set the password to the PST file, and now they want to remove the password from the PST file. Thus, in this blog, we have discussed a manual solution to unlock the password of the PST file. Multiple ways are listed in this writeup, It depends on you which solution you opt to fix the PST file asking for forgotten password error.