The Inbox Repair tool (Scanpst.exe) is designed to help repair problems that are associated with personal folder (.pst) files. The Inbox Repair tool is included on the first Microsoft Office CD-ROM.
Check HELP within Outlook for Repair Inbox.
The Inbox Repair tool is automatically installed with all Microsoft Outlook installation options.
For Microsoft Windows NT and Microsoft Windows 2000:
C:\Program Files\Common Files\System\Mapi\1033\NT
For Microsoft Windows 95 and Microsoft Windows 98:
C:\Program Files\Common Files\System\Mapi\1033\95
The Inbox Repair Tool installs automatically during Microsoft Outlook 2002 and Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 setup. Unlike the Microsoft Office 97 version of the tool, Microsoft Office 2000 does not place the Inbox Repair tool on a menu. To use the Inbox Repair tool, locate one of the folders by using Microsoft Windows Explorer, and then double-click the Scanpst.exe file.
The Scanpst.exe file is typically located in one of the following folders:
Thanks for the inputs. But I'd already ran Scanpst.exe and done a "repair" of the Office 2007 installation and still no joy. It's an odd problem and I'm trying to fix it over the phone with my 87 year old mother. Not an easy job but she is still amazingly sharp.
Current symptoms are that the .pst file checks out OK via scanspst.exe. The Contacts folder shows all of her contacts. But her address book, which is properly linked to her contacts folder is empty. This is on a brand new very clean Core i7 - 64 bit Vista computer that I built for my parents. Outlook has been working just fine for well over two months until this problem popped up a few days ago. It's still a mystery. My current plan is to try:
System restore.
A new Outlook profile.
Delete the address book and add a new one in and associate it with Contacts.
Export and re-import Contacts.