If you are managing an Outlook file for several years and if it is important for you, it would be very difficult to face even some occasional errors. One of the common errors of Outlook is “The file does not exist”. In this article, we will show you how to fix this error using 4 effective approaches.
“The file does not exist” error message can abruptly pop up at any time when you carry out some processes on Outlook, no matter opening Outlook or changing settings. Thus you should make adequate precautions, such as installing anti-virus software, making regular backups and so on.
However, we are also better off making clear the solutions to this error. Here are the 4 primary ways.
#1. Check if the reminder sound file is lost in Outlook
Provided that you were using Outlook 2010, and when you attempted to close the window of “Outlook Options” after changing some settings, you encountered this Outlook error “The file does not exist”, you should check one advanced option right now. There are chances that a missing reminder sound file triggers this Outlook error. This situation often occurs when you change the windows theme.
- At the outset, go to “File” menu and select “Options”
- Then in the window of “Outlook Options”, switch to “Advanced” tab
- Next scroll to the “Reminders” label. You should click “Browse” button to select a truly readymade sound file. Alternatively, you can even opt to disable the reminder sound by unchecking the “show reminders” option
- Finally, after the selection, you can try to save the changes in Outlook options again. If the current window can close normally, the error has been solved. But if the error persists, you should then think about other solutions
#2. Check if the Outlook Add-ins is the culprit
Apart from several faulty settings in Outlook Options, the existence of improper Outlook add-ins can lead to the same error as well. In order to figure out the true culprits, you should proceed to verify if add-ins are the criminal or not.
- For a start, head to “File” > “Options” > “Add-ins”
- Then under “add-ins” tab, locate and click on “Go” button
- In the new popup dialog, disable one add-in and restart Outlook to check if the error is solved or not. Repeat the operations to identify the harm add-ins
- After recognizing it, remove it permanently to avert the error
#3. Fix corrupt Outlook file via Scanpst.exe
However, if the above two methods cannot do away with this issue, it is extremely likely that the current Outlook file has been damaged due to malicious attacks, abrupt power outages or frequent improper closing Outlook, etc. In this case, you should give Outlook inbox repair tool a try, and see if it works.
To do this, close Outlook and find the hidden free utility – Scanpst.exe in explorer. After launching it, click “Browse” button to select the Outlook file and press “Start” button to repair it.
#4. Choose a reliable Outlook repair tool
When the Outlook file is severely attacked with a complicated corruption, Outlook inbox repair tool will possibly fail. So, under such circumstances, you’ll have to find a more credible repair tool like Remo Repair Outlook Application, which is specially designed for fixing and extracting data from corrupted PST and OST files. The attributes like emails, contacts, calendars, notes, etc. can be recovered in few simple steps.