Weird outlook issue with attachments

[Adept PC Repair]

I hope somebody has come across something like this before. This is outlook 2007 running on vista.

A business client of mine had a 10gb large pst file which was corrupt. His hard drive was also failing. I ran chkdsk and it repaired errors in the file system, then I attempted to repair the pst via scanpst on the client's laptop, which was so painful, slow and crashed while doing so.

I took the laptop back with me and ran hdd regenerator on the drive, once done, I copied the pst file to my bench machine and ran the repair there. It was successful and all data was retrieved.

I then set a new data file up for the client and the old data file was referred to as an archive.

The customer runs an estate agency, where attachments are used very regularly.

Outlook would then not open attachments, something to do with the secure temp folder, so I created a new folder for it and changed the registry entry. Some attachments would then open, others were just corrupt.

Emails send and receive normally, though if I attach something, then try to send, an error pops up saying check the network or modem. There is no antivirus software or firewall on the machine at all, so nothing could be interfering.

In my frustration, I backed up the account data and uninstalled 2007 completely. I then installed 2010 as a trial version and added the accounts and pst files once more, a sure way to resolve I thought. But exactly the same thing happens, even if I create a new outlook profile.

Only thing of any significance, I tried an Sfc /scannow and it found integrity violations but couldn't repair.

I currently have the client using outlook to refer to past stuff and have set up thunderbird to work from and send attachments for the time being. My hunch is that there is some major operating system corruption, caused by the damaged drive, though the client seems to think I am incompetent.

I told him to resolve the problem fully, the hard drive needs to be replaced and windows reinstalled from fresh. He doesn't seem to believe me as he thinks it's an "email issue" and am trying to get extra out of the job.

Have I missed something or am I right?

 

[Porthos]

I ran chkdsk and it repaired errors in the file system, then I attempted to repair the pst via scanpst on the client's laptop, which was so painful, slow and crashed while doing so.

ran hdd regenerator on the drive

the client seems to think I am incompetent.

Did you clone to a different drive and work on that one? If not I am sorry but the last quote fits. If you did make a clone If so I apologize.

I told him to resolve the problem fully, the hard drive needs to be replaced and windows reinstalled from fresh. He doesn't seem to believe me as he thinks it's an "email issue" and am trying to get extra out of the job.

Have I missed something or am I right?

This is outlook 2007 running on vista.

I would have stopped there. Offered him a replacement computer and data transfer.

If he thinks your incompetent refer him to @callthatgirl our Outlook expert. See if he likes her well deserved rates.

 

[Adept PC Repair]

The initial consultation resulted in me letting him know the hard drive required replacement, and really a replacement system is recommended. He said that his outgoings were too high at the moment, he needed to get through the month and he could then replace.

I did back the drive up through acronis sector-by-sector, though the drive being in the state it was in obviously was not 100% successful due to bad sectors.

 

[Porthos]

He doesn't seem to believe me as he thinks it's an "email issue" and am trying to get extra out of the job.

You deserve the extra money because He did not listen.

I have no clue on refurb prices over there in Dr Who land but the client will end up trashing your reputation becuase you could not fix it just because the client did not want to do what it would take to do it right.

 

[Adept PC Repair]

I've spent hours against my own judgement trying to help him remotely, I really do think I should have ran away once he said he didn't want to repair or replace the laptop. You live and learn, but he can't say I didn't push the replacement option.

 

[Porthos]

I really do think I should have ran away once he said he didn't want to repair or replace the laptop. You live and learn,

Amen to that.

 

[mraikes]

...snipped....

Have I missed something or am I right?

You know you're right.

Perhaps the lesson learned here is to refuse to put so much work into a hard drive you already know is failing. Personally, as soon as the customer rejected the very modest expense of the new hard drive, I'd be done. There's no "fixing" a failing hard drive.

Even if you had been successful today in getting the system working with that bad drive, tomorrow the whole house of cards could tumble down losing everything for good. And then whose fault would it be?

 

[Porthos]

There's no "fixing" a failing hard drive.

Even if you had been successful today in getting the system working with that bad drive, tomorrow the whole house of cards could tumble down losing everything for good. And then whose fault would it be?

Words to live by.

 

[callthatgirl]

Since I don't work with hardware ever, nor have I ever had to tell a client their hard drive was failing with an Outlook issue (no offense just being honest)....This is an email issue if I had it and I would have fixed it more than likely because I work with Outlook all day. Now how long this would have been? Probably a 4 hour job or more sounds like by reading what you already did. My rates are $139 per hour. My most massive billable job has been 13 hours, 24,000 folders crammed into IMAP by mistake. If a client emailed what you told me you did and that's all I had to go on, I would have quoted 2-4 hours yep.

 

[callthatgirl]

If you need my help, I offer tech to tech rates. Not sure how far along you are though. Just an FYI, the scanpst on the computers don't work for me so I skip that unless it's a small file. I use the Kernal now and it's freaking awesome. (I stopped using Stellar, bad product to license and it's rough with Window10, waste of time!)

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

A couple of things that raise red flags for me here.
*I see Vista, and Outlook 2007. So...the computer is old
*I see client on a budget...which means the laptop is originally a "cheaper" grade. 1 year warranty grade hard drive probably....less cache, less performance.
*I see failing hard drive...which lines up with "old".
*I see "laptop"...which means probably a 5,400 possibly 4,200 rpm drive is more likely than a 7,200rpm drive.

**So....how many hours spent on this? You're punishing yourself by trying to work with large files....on a failing, old hard drive. Unless you are volunteering all of your time, when you make decisions to keep working on large files on a painfully slow failing hard drive...you're just ringing up the cash register every hour. That clients will will be huge. And your other work is being pushed aside because of this time sink.

*SSDs are so cheap right now. I'd clone that sucker to an SSD...less than a hundred bucks. Now...you can work on that file at a much faster speed, spending MUCH less time. Invest a little, save a lot at the end! Plus the client gets a laptop with a renewed lease on life...the part that would fail first has been replaced. Get some RAM in there while you're at it...prolly only has a gig or 2...I'd get it up to 4 (or more if x64).

*The hard drive was failing. Any large database file is probably corrupted. Scanpst is..."meh"...I've seen PSTs continue to have quirks even after running it. A PST is just a database file. Outlook is just a program that opens database files, and interacts with them. It's not much different than Word opening a .DOC file. You can have Outlook work with many database files. If a PST is causing issues, and doing a quick ScanPSt didn't fix is..don't waste more time. Simply create a fresh/virgin PST...and import what you can from the old PST. Now store that old PST somewhere off the computer. You can do the straight "import" method to import data form the old PST to the new one, or...if the old PST is messed up enough to cause the import process to hiccup...open up both PSTs in Outlook..and manually drag 'n drop what you can. Or..heck...there's even a middle road...you can run the import process on certain components..such a inbox only, or contacts only, or calendar only, etc.

 

[NJW]

This is an email issue if I had it and I would have fixed it more than likely because I work with Outlook all day.

Not if the hard drive was dropping sectors on the way.

 

[Adept PC Repair]

I don't think this can be fixed, it's like that send email problem after a windows 10 upgrade on outlook 2010, only a Sfc /scannow fixes it and that failed on this machine.

Anything to do with data files, profiles etc was ruled out as I did a complete fresh install and created the profile from scratch without any previous pst files.

This system is long gone now, customer just couldn't understand. I got a text message Tuesday night "I can no longer receive emails and outlook crashes, is this something to do with the work you have done?". Sigh...

 

[nextechinc]

Clone the drive. Run the hard drive manufacturer's disk diagnostic tool. Send the customer a screenshot of the diagnostic showing the drive has failed.

It's really hard to argue with you, when the manufacturer's own utility is saying that their product is failing.

 

[callthatgirl]

"Not if the hard drive was dropping sectors on the way" I didn't say I would have fixed it on that drive I move data to other computers or my own sometimes.