Removing of Password from a "pst" File in Outlook

Author: Raji Subramanian
Microsoft produced a utility called "pst19upg.exe" which was used to upgrade old versions of "pst" files to the later version. One side effect of this was that it removed any passwords from the "pst" file.
Therefore if you find that you cannot access a "pst" file because the client has forgotten their password or has left the company, you can use this utility to get access to the data.
NOTE: This process does NOT work for PST files that have been created in the new UNICODE format in Outlook 2003 and higher that allows PST files to exceed 2gb.
Before You Start
Before using the utility, make certain you have at lease three times the size of the "pst" file in temporary free the disk space.
For example:
Original "pst" file is 150mb
Copy of "pst" file is 150mb
"psx" file (created during process) is 150mb
New "pst" file 150mb
Therefore an additional 450mb of temporary free space required for process to complete
Requirements
You will need two utilities:
1. "pst19upg.exe" - You will need to find this from a third party web site as Microsoft have removed it from theirs. It is not distributed from here due to licensing concerns. Try this site: http://www.computerhope.com/download/updates.htm or search on Google.
2. "scanpst.exe" - This can be found on all systems with Outlook installed. Search for it using the built in tools if it isn't on your start menu.
How to strip a password from a "pst" file using the "pst19upg.exe"
1. Calculate the necessary free space ("pst" file size x 3) to run the utility.
2. Find that amount of temporary space in which to perform the recovery.
3. Copy the utility into the "recovery" free space.
4. Copy the target PST file into the "recovery" free space. There is the possibility this utility may corrupt the contents of a "pst" so always use a copy of the file. Remember that Outlook needs to be closed completely before you can copy the file.
5. Run "scanpst.exe" (without any LOG or Backup options enabled) against the copy of "pst" and "Repair", if prompted.
6. Open a Command Prompt and change into drive/directory of the "recovery" free space.
7. At the command prompt, type "pst19upg.exe -x filename.pst" and hit enter (where filename.pst is the name of the "pst" file you are working on). A progress bar will appear. This utility will create afile from the target "pst" called "filename.psx" (where filename is the same name as the original "pst" file).
8. When complete, rename the original pst file to something else (for example filename-old.pst).
9. At the command prompt, type "pst19upg.exe -i filename.psx" and hit enter. Again a progress bar willappear.This utility now creates a password free "pst" file from the "psx" file.
10. Run "scanpst.exe" (again without LOG or Backup options enabled) against recovered "pst" and "Repair", if prompted.
11. Test access to file using Outlook, then return it to the client.