Before we can examine PST recovery as a part of Microsoft Outlook file recovery we must first have an idea of exactly what a PST file is. Microsoft Outlook uses this unique file type as a means of storing all of the Outlook emails, settings and customizations. These may include messages, calendar functions and other scheduling. The PST file is an early text based database that allows for a large amount of information to be stored in a relatively small space. This is accomplished by the information sharing attributes. These attributes must be assigned to messages and other Outlook functions whenever that data is called forward.
Programs developed for PST recovery specifically address corruption to file creation tables within the database. These programs designed to recover Outlook PST messages do so by repairing or more precisely replacing the damaged instructional information within the PST file. This replacement is made by using a scripted comparison of the corrupted file to a known valid application.