ISSUE: Catastrophic failure (0x8000FFFF (E_UNEXPECTED))

Overview

During the migration of a PST file, the following error may occur for some items within the PST file, indicating a catastrophic failure. This error can prevent the successful migration of those specific items and will require intervention to resolve.

Catastrophic failure (0x8000FFFF (E_UNEXPECTED))

Cause

This error occurs when there is an unexpected failure during the migration of specific items within the PST file. Possible causes include:

• Corruption in the PST file or individual items.
• Issues with the Outlook data file that may have been improperly closed.
• Problems with the specific items' data that prevent proper migration.

Solution

To resolve this issue and proceed with the PST migration, follow these steps:

1. Run scanpst.exe: Use the Inbox Repair Tool (scanpst.exe) to repair the PST file. This tool is provided by Microsoft and can fix corruption issues in PST files.
   • Close Outlook and any other applications that might be using the PST file.
   • Find the scanpst.exe tool on your computer. Its location will depend on your version of Outlook and Windows.
   • Open scanpst.exe and browse to the location of the PST file you want to repair.
   • Click "Start" to begin the repair process. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the repair.
2. Identify problematic items: If the error persists, identify the specific items causing the issue.
   • Open the PST file in Outlook.
   • Attempt to access the items individually to see if any of them produce errors or cannot be opened.
   • Note the problematic items for further action.
3. Manually handle problematic items: For the items that continue to cause errors, you may need to manually recreate or exclude them from the migration.
   • If possible, manually recreate the items in the new PST file.
   • If the items are not critical, consider excluding them from the migration.