How to Open Archive Emails in Outlook: For All Outlook Versions

Written By Vikash Kumar
Updated on February 27th, 2025

Rate this post

Overview: Archiving emails in Outlook helps you keep your inbox organized by moving older messages to a separate location. But finding and opening these archived emails can be tricky, especially across different Outlook versions or account types. In this guide, we’ll provide clear, step-by-step instructions to access archive emails in Outlook 2019, 2016, 2013, and 2010, whether you’re using a POP, IMAP, or Microsoft 365/Exchange account, and Outlook PST Recovery.

Windows

Download Now Buy Now

Let’s now go through some reasons why Outlook cannot open archive PST files.

Table of Contents

Understanding Archive Emails in Outlook

Archive emails are older messages moved from your main inbox to a separate storage area to free up space. Depending on your setup, they’re stored in:

A local Outlook Data File (.pst): Common for POP or IMAP accounts, saved on your computer.
An Archive folder: Used by Microsoft 365, Exchange, or Outlook.com accounts, often stored online.

Knowing where your emails are stored is key to accessing them, so let’s explore the methods below.

These are a few reasons for which users are unable to open the archive PST file. Now let’s proceed ahead to different methods to fix the Outlook error.

How to Open Archive Emails in Outlook Manually?

The steps vary based on your Outlook version and account type. Follow the section that applies to you.

Method 1: For Outlook 2019, 2016, 2013, and 2010 (POP or IMAP Accounts)

Launch Outlook and switch to the “Mail” view.
Click the “File” tab in the top-left corner.
Select “Open & Export” from the sidebar.
Choose “Open Outlook Data File.”
Locate your archive.pst file:
- Windows: C:\Users\[YourUsername]\Documents\Outlook Files\archive.pst
- Mac: ~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/Outlook/Outlook 15 Profiles/Main Profile/Data/
Select the file and click “Open.”
Find the “Archive” folder in the left sidebar, expand it, and view your emails.

Note: If you can’t locate the file, search for “.pst” in File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac).

Try to open the archived PST file in the new Outlook profile.However, if the user is unable to fix the issue, try the other methods provided below.

Method 2: For Microsoft 365, Exchange, or Outlook.com Accounts

For these accounts, archived emails are stored in an online “Archive” folder. Here’s how to access them:

Open Outlook and check the folder list in the left sidebar.
Locate the “Archive” folder, typically listed below “Inbox” or “Sent Items.”
Click it to view your archived emails.

Note: If the “Archive” folder isn’t visible, archiving might not be enabled. Check with your IT administrator.

Searching for Specific Archived Emails

Need to find a particular email in your archive? Use Outlook’s search feature:

Select the “Archive” folder in the sidebar.
Click the search bar above the email list.
Type keywords, sender names, or dates to narrow your results.
Optional: Click “Search Tools” for advanced filters like date ranges or attachments.

Method 3: Use ScanPST.exe Inbuilt Tool

Open the Outlook installation directory and open Scanpst.exe.
MS Outlook Inbox repair window will open, click on browse to select the PST file to fix.
Then, hit the Start button.
After the scanning process, if the error file is located then click on the Repair button.
The successfully repairing pop will appear, click on the OK button to end the process.

Now restart the Outlook application and open Outlook archive PST file.

Also Read – How To Repair Outlook PST File Error If Scanpst.exe Repair Tool Is Not Responding?

Limitations With Manual Methods

MS Outlook installation is required.
Doesn’t allow users to open archive files directly.
Unable to repair emails from corrupt PST files.
More time-consuming and complex process.

How to Open Archive Emails in Outlook using PST Repair Tool

If after using the above-mentioned methods, the user is unable to open archive emails in Outlook, then it is suggested by experts to use the third-party professional method. Using the MigrateEmails Outlook Recovery Tool, users can easily recover the entire damaged or corrupt data in a PST file. Users can convert the recovered PST data to the healthy PST, MBOX, MSG, HTML, EML, Text file, etc. Even a novice user can run the utility easily without necessarily requiring technical expertise. It offers three recovery modes, i.e, Standard, Advanced, and Deep mode. Further, this software offers a preview option as well for users to view the files prior to recovery. It supports the entire versions of MS Outlook and Windows.

Working Stpes of PST Recovery Software

Follow these simple steps to open archived emails in Outlook using MigrateEmails PST Recovery

Launch MigrateEmails PST Recovery on your system.
Click on Browse to upload the archived PST file from your system.
Choose Standard or Advanced Scan to repair the file and preview mailbox items.
Mark the specific archived emails or folders you want to restore.
Click Save and select the desired format or directly export to Outlook.
Import the recovered PST file into Outlook to access your archived emails seamlessly.

Conclusion

In this blog above, we have discussed the methods for how to open archive emails in Outlook without any hassle. At the end of this blog, it is suggested to opt for a well-known and reliable Outlook PST recovery tool. Also, if the user needs to only convert PST files to different file formats, then you can use the advanced PST file converter for this.

Also Read: How to view MBOX files on Windows?

About The Author:

Vikash Kumar

Vikash is a subject matter expert in software development, specializing in simplifying complex concepts into clear, actionable insights. With extensive expertise in technology domains such as email migration, data recovery, cloud backup, and software solutions, he crafts engaging and informative content tailored to both tech-savvy professionals and everyday users. His focus is on providing value through content that is not only informative but also easily understandable, making intricate topics accessible to all audiences.