Fix Auto Archive Not Working in Outlook Error with 6 Ways

Mark Regan
Published: April 3rd, 2026 • 6 Min Read

Using Microsoft Outlook in your daily work routine is the best way to maintain professionalism in work, but what if your auto archive not working in Outlook? In this guide, you are going to learn the top 6 ways to fix the auto archive is not working in Outlook. We are sharing all the best possible techniques to solve archive not working in Outlook issue.

This blog will guide you on how you can repair the auto archive in Outlook with the use of Outlook, Control Panel, ScanPST.exe, and an automatic solution. The use of manual techniques to repair auto archive errors requires basic technical knowledge of Outlook and time. Secondly, these manual methods are prone to human errors and might be hard for non-technical persons.

The professionals choose a secure, risk-free, offline solution to repair their Outlook without any account corruption. Whether they are facing this issue on their Outlook, or they want to solve this error for other team members. Whatever the case are the experts prefer an automated offline solution over the manual freeways.

The free methods often fail to do the job safely, and do not guarantee complete data integrity & folder hierarchy. Well, if you still want to use the manual workarounds, then follow the steps coming in the upcoming sections below to solve archive not working in Outlook for free.

Solve Auto Archive Not Working in Outlook Manually

To fix auto archive not working in Outlook manually, we use Outlook default settings, such as Outlook Update, Outlook repair with the control panel, Outlook application settings, and Outlook restart. So, follow the steps of the upcoming sections and fix the Outlook autoarchive not running issue.

1st Method: Fix Auto Archive is Not Working in Outlook with Update

Open Outlook on your computer PC.
Go to the “File” and choose “Office Account” option.
Then, choose “update Options” and click on “update now” button.
Done, now wait for the complete update of Outlook.

2nd Method: Resolve Archive Not Working in Outlook Using Control Panel

Open Control Panel on your desktop computer.
Click on the “Programs and Features” option and scroll down to choose the “Microsoft Office” package.
Then, click on “Change” button and click “Yes” to Windows request.
After that, choose repair option between “Quick Repair” and “Online Repair.”
Finally, click on “Repair” button to start repairing the Outlook application along with all other Microsoft applications.
Done, after the completion of repair your Outlook and its auto archive settings work normally.

3rd Method: Solve Outlook AutoArchive not running with ScanPST.exe

This solution is divided into three steps, so follow both steps carefully.

First Step: Export PST File from Outlook

Open Microsoft Outlook on your laptop.
Then, click on “File” option and choose “Open & Export” from it.
After that, select “Import/Export” option and choose “export to a file.”
Next, choose “Outlook data file (.pst)” option and click “Next” button.
Now, select the mailbox “Folder” and set the “File Location.”
Finally, click “Finish” button to complete the export process.

Second Step: Locate, Import & Run ScanPST.exe

Now, close your Outlook completely to run ScanPST.exe
Then, go to this location “C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Office16\SCANPST.EXE” on your computer system to find the ScanPST.exe tool.
After that, launch ScanPST.exe tool on your computer system.
Click on “Browse” button to find the exported PST file, and click “start” to start the scanning process.
Finally, after the completion of scan click “Repair” button to start repairing PST files.
Done!

Third Step: Import Repaired PST File in Outlook

Open the Outlook on your computer.
Go to the “File,” choose “Open & Export,” and select “Import/Export” option.
Now, choose the “Import from another program or file” option and click “Next.”
After that, choose “Outlook Data File (.pst)” option, and hit “Next.”
Click on the “Browse” button and open the repaired PST file.
Lastly, click on “Open” button and click “Next” to import them inside the Outlook.
Now, restart your Outlook application and check.

4th Method: Repair Automatic Archive Not Working in Outlook with Use of Outlook Settings

Open Outlook on your Window Operating System.
Then, go to the “File” option, click on “Options” menu, and go to “Advanced” option.
After that, click on “AutoArchive settings,” and ensure “Run AutoArchive every XX days” is must selected.
Finally, click on “OK” button to complete the repair from the default settings.

5th Method: Use Close and Restart to Solve Auto Archive Not Working in Outlook

1. Close your Microsoft Outlook software completely.
2. Then restart normally after 5 to 10 minutes.
3. After that, wait to properly “sync.”
4. Done, your auto archive not working in Outlook issue is solved.

Limitation of Manual Methods

The Windows update only updates the Outlook application, due to which your Outlook starts working normally. If your account is corrupted, then the Windows update is not useful to fix auto archive not working in Outlook issue.
Using the control panel to repair Outlook is time-consuming in both options.
To use the ScanPST.exe tool, the user must have basic technical knowledge of Outlook. It also has lengthy steps which consumes times.
The ScanPST.exe tool only repairs the files if the account is corrupted then tool is not useful.
Outlook’s Auto Archive settings only work when your Outlook account is running normally; they do not work on a corrupted account
Restarting Outlook will fix the minor issues of Outlook, but it does not fix the major issues.

Automatic Solution to Resolve Auto Archive in Outlook

As we know, all the manual methods to solve the auto archive not working in Outlook issue, in which we found the freeways are time-consuming, risky, and not useful in the case of account corruption. In such situations, you can try BitRecover PST Repair Tool. This program repairs your PST file without harming any data in the PST file. The utility will maintains data integrity during the entire repair process. The tool can also repair damaged PST files in batches at once.

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Quick Steps of Automatic Solution

Open the program on your Windows Operating System.
Choose option between “Select Files” & “Select Folder” and click “Next.”
Then, select the “Folders” you want from the preview panel & hit “Next.”
Now, select the saving option “PST” and set the “Destination Path” to save.
Finally, click on the “Repair” button to start the repair process.
Done, your repairing process has started.

Final Thoughts

At the end of the blog topic “auto archive not working in Outlook.” We shared six solutions to fix the archive not working in Outlook. In which five manual methods and an automatic solution, using manual techniques, users can resolve Outlook autoarchive not running issue temporarily, but if the user’s account is corrupted, then the manual workaround is not working effectively. On the other hand, the experts suggested a solution that resolves auto archive not working in Outlook securely, instantly, and in bulk at once.