How to Fix Exported PST File Empty Issue Safely & Easily

Mark Regan
Published: January 24th, 2026 • 6 Min Read

Have you ever received an empty PST file from anyone, and the user is not sending a new PST file? If yes, then don’t worry! You reached the right blog page. After reading this blog, you have to tell this user to give me a new PST file. Microsoft Outlook PST file is found to be empty when the exported PST file empty. In other words, the exported PST files contain no data, such as email, contacts, calendars, tasks, or to-dos.

Microsoft Outlook is the most used email application for daily business and non-business communications. Its users often need the PST file for multiple reasons, like to send that PST file to clients, switching to a new computer system, or changing email clients. Sometimes users accidentally select the wrong folder during export, due to which Outlook PST export missing emails.

In this blog, we are going to use both manual and professional solutions to solve this user problem with step-by-step methods. Additionally, we will also share the major reasons that will help you to take a new PST file from another user.

So, let’s get started!

Reasons Why the Exported PST File Empty

Wrong Selection: If you selected the incorrect folders, such as inbox, sent, trash, and spam, for export.
Incorrect Date Range: No emails matching or found if incorrect ‘Email Date Range’ filter is applied.
Mailbox Empty: The selected mailbox to export mails did not contain any data.
Incomplete Process: The export process is stopped in the mid and the data is not properly finished.
Permission Issue: You have limited access from the administration, due to which this happens.
Profile Corruption: The Outlook profile gets corrupted, or your PST file is damaged.

These were the major reasons that tell why this happens. However, now let’s fix this issue with solutions in the upcoming sections.

Exported PST File Empty Issue Fixed Manually

To solve the Outlook PST export missing emails problem, check out the steps listed below.

1^st Step: Select Correct Mailbox

Select Inbox, Sent Items, and calendar manually during the export.
Then, tick the “Include Subfolder” option.

2^nd Step: Remove Date Filter

Remove the wrong applied date range/filter in the Export menu
Then, let your “Filter” option be blank.

3^rd Step: Verify Mailbox Data

Check the mailbox before export.

4^thStep: Run Administrator Mode

Run Outlook in administrator mode.

After that, right-click on the Microsoft Outlook application icon.
Then, select the “Run as Administrator” option.
After that, retry the export process.

5^th Step: Use Correct Export

Open the Outlook application on your Windows PC.
Then, go to the “File,” click on the “Open & Export” option, and select “Import/Export.”
After that, click on the “Export to a file,” choose the “Outlook Data File (.pst)” option.
Then, select the mailbox folders carefully, and click on the next.
Finally, click on the “Finish” button.

6^th Step: Enable Subfolder

Select the subfolder during the selection of the main folders. (Otherwise, the PST file will be empty)

Done! By following the above steps, the issue of Exported PST file empty in Outlook may be resolved.

This step has certain limitations that you should also know before using any of these steps.

Limitations Of Using Manual Solution

Verification in large mailboxes might be time-consuming.
Chances of human error any folders and files will be missed.
If you forgot to check mark any of the folders or files, the problem still occurs.
The export of a large mailbox without using a time filter consumes time and is confusing.
Keeping the blank filter option also exports unwanted or old emails, which increases the file size.
Running Microsoft Outlook in Administration mode may be risky in terms of the account health.
If the system hangs or crashes during the manual export process, the export will fail.

These were the major limitations of using manual solutions. To overcome these issues, you can try an expert’s suggested solution to fix Exported PST file empty issue.

How to Fix Exported PST File Empty Issue Professionally

As we know the manual solutions and their limitations, according to both, using manual steps is quite risky in such a case to resolve the exported PST file empty issue without facing any risk, you can try the BitRecover PST Repair Tool. Using this wizard, the PST files can be repaired easily without losing data integrity, with an email attachment throughout the entire procedure. The interface is easy to use for both tech and non-tech users.

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Quick Steps to Fix Issue Professionally

Run the wizard on your Windows PC and click on the “next”.
Click on the “folder/files” option, and hit the “next”.
Then, choose the folder you want to repair and hit “Next.”
After that, set the saving option “PST,” with the file “destination” path.
Then, enter the name in the “file naming option.”
Afterwards, Click on the “repair” button to start repair process.
Then, your repair process is started.
After that, you will receive a message of compilation click “OK” on that.

Done! All your PST file issues have been resolved successfully.

By using the recommended professional method, you will simply fix exported PST file empty issue within a few clicks.

Benefits of using Professional solution

This tool provides no file size limit and can repair large PST files in a few clicks.
Email folders and their original structure will be maintained during the repair process.
The tool is compatible with all Outlook Versions such as Outlook 2021, 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, and 2003.
You can preview emails after repair and ensure that all data is correct.
The tool is standalone; it never uploads your data to any server, which makes this 100% safe.

Final Thoughts

In this blog post, we discussed the methods to fix exported PST file empty issues with the help of both manual and professional methods. We explained the reasons why this happens. While the use of manual solutions is good only for common issues. But in the case of major problems, the manual solution doesn’t work. The use of a professional solution is easy, quick, and risk-free to fix the Outlook export PST empty issue.