Open Old PST Files without Outlook in Windows – Simple Techniques

There are number of organizations that keep their data as a backup from security point of view. That data can even be very old. If we talk about email data, then there are number of organizations which are using Microsoft Outlook as an email client for sending and receiving emails. Now, the problem comes when a user does not know how to open old PST files without Outlook. Due to the old PST backup, it is difficult to open and read data from PST file. Therefore, this question strikes in many user’s mind. Let us have a quick glance on user-queries asked by different users:

“I am having large number of old Microsoft Outlook mails stored in PST file. But, out of those multiple mails, I need to view an important email on urgent basis. So, if I’ll start finding it using the Manual Approach, then it will consume ample of time and will become very complex. But, I need that need that email urgently anyhow. Is there anyone who can suggest me any other alternative solution to open old PST files without Outlook in a reliable manner. Thanks!!”

“I am currently working in a company which works in the domain of digital forensics. So, I have found some evidences which were kept in Outlook PST file. I had searched about these files on Google and then I came to know that this file format is supported by Microsoft Outlook. But the problem, which I face is that I want to access data from Outlook file. I don’t want to install Microsoft Outlook as its maintenance is very costly. Is there any solution to solve this problem. Thanks in Advance!!”

Open Old PST Files without Outlook Manually

In today’s era of technology, every user has multiple browsers installed on their systems including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, etc. Using these browsers, users can easily access any Outlook email in the absence of any specific email application on their browser. A single Outlook mail is stored with .msg file format which can be accessed using browsers. But for this, users are required to have the that mail in HTML format as browsers only support this format. Select the mails and change the file extension to .html by just right-clicking on the file and then simply clicking on Save As option and select HTML format to open old PST files without Outlook. Now, open HTML page with any browser of your choice. Now, you can easily access all the contents of the PST file.

Limitations of Manual Approach

There are number of limitations associated with manual approach. Some of these drawbacks are listed:

• It is difficult to open multiple emails at the same time. This technique can only open one email at a time and it will consume a lot of time to open old PST files without Outlook.
• It is simply next to impossible to view attachments in the browser. HTML file will not save any attachments with the email.
• The Manual Approach to open old Outlook data files is quite lengthy and complex as compared to the Automated Alternative approach.

Alternative Approach to Open Old PST Files without Outlook

Above-discussed approach is quite easy and simple to perform. But due to the limitations associated with this approach, users cannot open old Outlook data files without the presence of Outlook. So, users are always suggested to go for any alternative third-party tools to access their Outlook data files in the absence of MS Outlook. One such tool is SysTools PST File Viewer Software is recommended as one of the best approaches to open old Outlook files. Moreover, this utility is available free of cost with some of the unique features. This software allows users to view both healthy and corrupted Outlook Data Files.

Conclusion

In the above-discussed article, we have come up with the best possible solutions to open old PST files without Outlook. Since, there is no Manual Approach to open Outlook files in the absence of Outlook. Therefore, users are suggested to go for any third-party commercial software in order to perform the same as per their requirements.