My Outlook would not open so a system restore was done. When it was done3 i opened my program and there is no address book.

david greenberg 0 Reputation points
2026-05-06T18:34:44.4566667+00:00

My Outlook just didn't work. Nothing was done and not updates were done. I just opened my computer, tried to open my Outlook 365 and it did not open. I had to perform a system restore from a few days earlier and after the system resterted, Outlook opened and said it had to repair itself. I located the pst file and it repaired itself. The program then opened but there was no emails and no address book. I let the program sync to Gmail and then my emails were populateda, along with my important messages. It took overnight for the sent folder to then populate. But, my address book is missing. There is a file in my Outlook folder (C:/user.local,appdata,microsoft, outlook.) that shows an Outlook Data File Contact pst, but am unable to import it. Need help getting those contacts back.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Other

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  1. AI answer

    2026-05-06T18:34:55.9633333+00:00

    Follow these steps to try to restore the missing contacts from the Outlook Data File you found:

    1. Confirm the data file location
      • In Outlook, select File > Account Settings > Account Settings.
      • Go to the Data Files tab.
      • Note all listed Outlook Data Files (.pst) and their paths. Confirm whether the "Contacts" .pst you saw under C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\ is listed here.
    2. If the Contacts .pst is not attached to Outlook
      • In Outlook, select File > Open & Export > Open Outlook Data File.
      • Browse to C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\ (or the folder where the Contacts .pst is stored).
      • Select the Contacts .pst file and choose Open.
      • Outlook will add this .pst as an additional set of folders in the folder list. Check under that data file for a Contacts folder and verify the contacts appear.
    3. If Outlook reports the Contacts .pst is damaged or cannot be opened
      • Run the Inbox Repair Tool (ScanPST) against that Contacts .pst.
      • After repair completes, open Outlook again and repeat step 2 to attach/open the repaired .pst.
      • If ScanPST created a .bak backup file for that Contacts .pst, you can try to recover additional items:
        1. Browse to the folder where the Contacts .pst is stored and locate the corresponding .bak file.
        2. Make a copy of the .bak file and rename it with a .pst extension (for example, Contacts.bak.pst).
        3. In Outlook, use File > Open & Export > Open Outlook Data File and open Contacts.bak.pst.
        4. Check the Contacts folder in that file for your missing contacts.
    4. Make the recovered contacts available in the current profile
      • Once the Contacts appear in the attached .pst (either the original or the renamed .bak.pst), they can be used directly from that Contacts folder, or they can be imported/merged:
        • Use File > Open & Export > Import/Export > Import from another program or file > Outlook Data File (.pst) and select the Contacts .pst (or Contacts.bak.pst).
        • Choose to import the Contacts folder into the current Outlook Contacts folder.
    5. If contacts were stored only in Gmail
      • Since the mail profile is syncing with Gmail, also verify contacts in the Gmail web interface. If they exist there, Outlook can use them once the account is fully synced and configured to use the server-side contacts.

    If the Contacts .pst and its .bak (if present) cannot be opened or show no items even after repair, there is no additional supported method in this context to recover more contacts from that file.

    References:

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