I lost my Outlook contacts after running the repair tool

Question

I had some email issues with my Outlook, so I ran the repair tool. Now my contacts are gone, and I can't figure out where they are. I don't have a deleted file, so I am at a loss. Can someone help?

Answer 1

Hi Martin Leonard, 

I hope you are doing well ! I just want to check if you have had a chance to test the steps earlier? Please let me know if they helped resolve the issue or if you are still experiencing any difficulties. I am here to assist you further.

Best Regards

Answer 2

Dear Martin Leonard, 

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A forum. I understand that after running a repair tool for Outlook, your Contacts are no longer visible, and you cannot find them. I am happy to assist you. Please follow these steps:  

• Confirm the contacts still exist by searching in People/Contacts  
  • Use contact search (Search People / People pane search) to locate a known contact by name or email address.
• Restore contacts from the People “Deleted” list 
  • Deleted contacts go to a Deleted folder in the People area and can be restored from there; if they were removed from Deleted, use Recover deleted from the Deleted list.  
• If you use an Exchange/Outlook.com-type mailbox, recover contacts from “Recover Deleted Items”  
  • If contacts were removed beyond the Deleted folder, next step is “Recover Deleted Items from Server” (available when using an Exchange account and not working offline). After recovery, items return to Deleted Items and can be moved back to Contacts.  
• If the repair resulted in a different Outlook profile or data file, switch profiles to check the original Contacts store 
  • Switch to another Outlook profile (File > Account Settings > Change Profile) and optionally set a default profile. If repair created a profile, your contacts may still be in the original profile.  
• If you have (or can locate) an Outlook .pst backup, import Contacts back into Outlook 
  • Importing email/contacts/calendar from a .pst file in classic Outlook (Import/Export wizard).  
• If your contacts were stored locally (common with PST-based setups), create a new data file and move recovered items into it 
  • Create a new Outlook data file and move items from recovered folders into the new data file, then remove the recovered file afterward 
• If the steps above fail 
  • Visit Contact - Microsoft Support
  • Type a brief description of your issue in the search box    
  • Scroll down to the bottom > select Sign in to contact support    
  • Log in to your personal Microsoft account.     
  • Under Products & Services, select "Other Products"; Under Categories, select a suitable Category.   
  • Click "Chat with a support agent in your web browser" (during business hours) 

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Answer 3

Running the repair tool typically rebuilds the Outlook data file (.pst), which can make contacts appear missing. There are two main recovery paths in classic Outlook:

1. Check Deleted Items and Recoverable Items
   1. In Outlook, press Ctrl+6 to show the Folder List.
   2. Select Deleted Items.
   3. Use Search Deleted Items (or press Ctrl+E) and search for a known contact name, or sort by the Icon column to group contacts.
   4. If contacts are found, right‑click each contact → Move → Other Folder → Contacts → OK.
   5. If the contacts are not in Deleted Items:
      • Stay in the mail view, select Deleted Items.
      • On the Home tab, select Recover Deleted Items From Server.
      • In the Recover Deleted Items window, sort by Subject or From (contacts usually have blank From).
      • Select the contacts → Restore Selected Items → OK.
      • The restored contacts go back to Deleted Items; from there, move them to Contacts as in step 4.
   If the contacts are not in Deleted Items or Recoverable Items, and the admin retention period has expired, they are likely permanently deleted and cannot be recovered from the mailbox.
2. Recover from the repaired .pst structure After running the Inbox Repair Tool, Outlook may create a rebuilt data file and a Lost and Found folder:
   1. Press Ctrl+6 to show the Folder List.
   2. Look for Recovered Personal Folders and a folder named Lost and Found.
   3. Check Contacts under Recovered Personal Folders and also open Lost and Found to see if any contact folders or items are there.
   4. If contacts are found, create or use an existing main Contacts folder and drag the recovered contacts or contact folders into it.

If contacts are not present in Deleted Items, Recoverable Items, or the Lost and Found/recovered folders, the missing items are likely beyond repair in this profile.

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References:

• Restore or recover a deleted contact in Outlook
• How to repair your Outlook personal folder file (.pst)