Outlook is used in many corporations by many users and has been for many years. So it is not surprising that problems eventually emerge that are related to file sizes or email file corruptions.

Sometimes when an end user has started Outlook they will report receiving an error code such as 0×80040116. Usually the error message will read, “Outlook.pst can not be accessed – 0×80040116”. If this error message is received then be aware that this could result in a loss of all emails and contacts that have been saved in Outlook. So it is a serious error code message and one that will require immediate attention.

This is one of the reasons why I always encourage email archiving so as to reduce the use of Personal Storage Folder (.pst) files which can be difficult to use. Having a good email archiving solution can also help when data and other critical email files have become corrupted or accidentally damaged and are no longer accessible.

There are other reasons why the error code 0×80040116 can be received. It is also possible that the error code has been generated in response to a file size limitation having been reached. Usually this will occur if a 2GB maximum file size had been encroached while running Outlook 2000 or earlier versions. If this is the case then an administrator should try running a couple of different tools to correct the problem. Some of these tools include: ScanDisk, PST2GB and ScanPST. These tools can be used to reduce the size of the “pst” file below the 2GB limit.

PST2GB was a tool that could be used to truncate from between 25MB to 50MB. Note that the data which was truncated would not be recoverable.
 
The reason this error was produced is because Microsoft Outlook – 2000 and earlier versions – limited the size of Personal Storage Folder (.pst) files and offline folder (.ost) files to 2GB. The unfortunate consequence meant that any changes or edits which resulted in file sizes greater than the 2GB limit would render the file inaccessible. And deleting items from the server mailbox still would result in inaccessible .ost files. This also meant that .ost files would be able to synchronize.

Microsoft fixed this greater than 2GB file size limitation with the release of Microsoft Outlook 2003. But for upgrades, administrators will still need to create new PST files because the older PST files do not get upgraded or converted.

This 80040116 error message may also be produced when a Personal Storage Folder (PST) file cannot be opened. In the case where the Outlook.pst is the file that cannot be opened an administrator can run the Inbox Repair Tool. But if there are no errors reported when the Inbox Repair Tool is run then access to the Outlook.pst file will need to be repaired manually.

If this is the problem then it is probably because some of the Outlook system files have become damaged or corrupted. It can also be that the index for the PST file has become damaged or corrupted in some way.

Note that the Inbox Repair Tool (scanpst.exe) can normally be found in the following location:

C:program filesCommon FilesSystemMSMAPILocaleID folder

and LocaleID is the locale identifier (LCID) for the installation of Microsoft Office. The LCID for “English – United States” is 1033. You’ll be able to find instruction for how to run “scanpst.exe” in the Outlook Help file.

Another possible solution that should be considered is to check the hard disk for damaged or corrupted areas by running the chkdsk utility. After that, an administrator should run the  scanpst.exe tool to repair and damaged Personal Storage Folder (.pst) files. Scanpst.exe will ask for the locations of the .pst file(s) and prompt for any backups. It will then scan the .pst for errors and attempt to correct any errors that are found.

Other users have reported that if they have Outlook running on their desktop and they are using the Outlook Messaging Application Programming Interface (MAPI) while coding then sometimes the MAPI profile in memory will occasionally get corrupted. This usually happens if calls are being made to MAPI OpenMsgStore() function. The MAPI error code returned is usually 80040116. In this case, the error code 0×80040116 refers to the error message MAPI_E_DISK_ERROR. What needs to be determined at this point is if this is error is being returned from Exchange server or if the error message is being returned from a PST provider.