How to Resolve the “NSF File does not exist” Error?

Summary: NSF file does not exist error prevents Lotus Notes or HCL Notes users from accessing their emails, which can impede their productivity and lead to downtime. In this blog, we will discuss the reasons that can trigger the error and effective solutions to resolve the error and use an NSF converter tool, such as Stellar Converter for NSF, to extract and restore mail items from inaccessible NSF file.

NSF file does not exist error appears in HCL Notes (formerly IBM Lotus Notes) while accessing the mail items in the email client. This error message particularly indicates that the specified file, i.e. NSF in this case, cannot be found or accessed by the HCL Notes or Lotus Notes application.

In this blog, you will learn the possible reasons that can trigger the NSF file does not exist error in HCL Notes or Lotus Notes and solutions to resolve the NSF error and restore access to the NSF file and the mail items in it.

Table of Content:

• Common Causes of the ‘NSF File Does Not Exist Error’
• Solutions to Resolve the ‘NSF File Does Not Exist Error’

Common Causes of the ‘NSF File Does Not Exist Error’

There are several common causes for the NSF File does not exist error. These include:

1. Incorrect file path to the NSF file
2. Inconsistent NSF file
3. NSF file permission issues
4. Poor or unstable network connection
5. Misconfigured account settings
6. Expired password
7. The NSF file is moved or removed from the location

Also Read: How to Convert NSF Files to PST Files Manually?

Solutions to Resolve the ‘NSF File Does Not Exist Error’

Before we begin the advanced troubleshooting, try the following solutions to fix the NSF error:

1. Restart the HCL Notes or Lotus Notes
2. Reboot your Windows machine
3. Check your internet and network connection and ensure it’s stable
4. If having issues with the network connection, restart your modem, routers, or adapters/repeaters

If the above solutions did not help, follow the below-given solutions in the given sequence to troubleshoot and resolve the NSF File does not exist error.

Solution 1: Check The File Paths and Permissions

Firstly, we need to check and ensure that the NSF file your email client (HCL Notes or IBM Lotus Notes) is trying to access is located in the same directory. Follow these steps:

1. Copy the path of the NSF file from the email client and then open File Explorer
2. Navigate to the NSF file path and check if the NSF file is present there
3. Now check and match that the name of the NSF file matches
4. Also, right-click on the NSF file and click Properties. 
5. Check the Read/Write permissions. Make sure to disable Read-Only permission.

If the NSF file is not found in the location or has been moved or renamed, you must find the NSF file location and then update the path in the HCL Notes or IBM Lotus Notes accordingly.

Also, try running or restarting HDCL Notes or Lotus Notes as administrator to ensure there is no issue related to permissions.

In case the error persists, follow the next solution.

Solution 2: Check the NSF File Status

Over time as you use the HCL Notes or Lotus Notes for email communication and archive old emails to NSF files, the file size may grow up significantly and become unmanageable. Oversized or large NSF files may become inconsistent and corrupt which can lead to an NSF file does not exist error.

To check the NSF file status and verify if it’s corrupt or not, follow these steps:

• In the HCL Notes, go to File > Database 
• Click on Properties > Archive Settings
• Now here, you need to verify the properties of the archive.nsf file. 
• Then locate the NSF file using File Explorer
• Right-click on the .nsf file and select Properties. 
• Now under the Details, check the file size. 

If the NSF file size is shown as 0 KB, the NSF file is corrupt or inconsistent. In such a case, you can use the IBM Fixup Tool.

Solution 3: Repair or Recover the NSF File

Using the IBM Fixup Tool, you can try to repair the NSF file and resolve the NSF file does not exist error, The steps are as follows:

• Open Domino Administrator
• Choose the server where the NSF error is received
• Then go to File > Open > Tool
• Select Database from the options.
• Then click on the Fixup button. Confirm your selection and wait for the repair process to complete
• Once done, restart the system and then launch the HCL Notes or Lotus Notes to check if the error is resolved

If the tool fails to repair the NSF file, you can use an advanced NSF Converter software, such as Stellar Converter for NSF to extract and restore access to your trapped emails from the NSF error.

Solution 4: Using Third-Party Tools For File Recovery

Third-party tools, such as Stellar Converter for NSF, are designed to handle such NSF files. They can help HCL Notes and Lotus Notes users encountering the NSF file does not exist error and restore access to their emails trapped in the damaged or inconsistent NSF file.

The software also comes with other helpful features like the option to preview the emails from the NSF file and select the ones you want to save to a new PST file or other file formats, such as HTML, RTF, PDF, EML, or MSG. 

Also Read: What are NSF Files and How to Access Lotus Notes?

By converting the emails from the damaged NSF file to PST, you can access emails in Outlook client on Windows or Mac computers.

Below are the steps for accessing data from your inconsistent or damaged NSF file:

• Download and install the Stellar Converter for the NSF  tool.
• Then launch the tool and click ”Browse” to select the NSF file. In case you were not able to locate the NSF file, use the Find option in the software to locate the NSF file on your system. 

• Once the NSF file is selected, click Convert. The software will scan and extract all the mail items from the NSF file and display them in a three-pane window. Here, you can click on any mail item to see it’s preview and verify the content before saving. 

• Then select the mail items and folders you want to recover and restore from the NSF file and click Save Converted File.
• From the options, choose the desired file format, such as PST and click Next.

• Click Browse to choose a save location and click OK. This will save all mail items from the NSF file to the selected file format at your chosen location.

• Once saved, you can open the file in the respective application to view and manage the emails.

This way, you can restore access to the emails trapped in the NSF file due to errors or any other issue.

Conclusion- NSF File Does Not Exist Error

NSF File does not exist error occurs in the HCL Notes or Lotus Notes email client due to multiple reasons such as network issues, NSF file damage, inconsistencies, change of file location, etc. It prevents users from accessing emails and other mail items from the NSF file.

To resolve this, you can follow the various solutions discussed in this blog. However, if the error cannot be resolved, you can use an NSF to PST converter software, such as Stellar Converter for NSF, to access, view, and restore the emails from the inconsistent NSF file to an Outlook importable PST file.

You can also save the extracted emails from the NSF file with errors to HTML, PDF, RTF, MSG, or EML. The software also allows you to directly export the mail items from NSF files to Microsoft 365 or Live Exchange mailbox. Therefore, you can use it to restore your access to the emails from inaccessible NSF files.