365 Outlook Imports Legacy Outlook Notes but Does Not Recognize Most of Them

Open the original .pst file directly in classic Outlook—rather than viewing the folder already imported into new Outlook—to determine whether all 156 notes remain intact and recover them there.

Open the source file directly

Since switching clients did not help with the already-imported folder, inspect the thumb-drive file itself:

1. Copy the .pst from the thumb drive to the laptop, such as the Documents\Outlook Files folder. Keep the thumb-drive copy unchanged as your backup.
2. Start Outlook (classic). It should have a File tab at the upper left.
3. Select File → Open & Export → Open Outlook Data File.
4. Select the copied .pst, and then select Open.
5. In the folder pane, expand the newly added Outlook Data File and select its Notes folder. Opening a PST this way exposes its original folder structure without importing it into another folder.^1^
6. In classic Outlook, open the Notes module through More Apps → Notes if necessary. In versions where it is configured for Notes, Ctrl+5 can also open that module.^2^

If all 156 notes appear under the directly opened PST, the data is intact. Copy the important note contents into a currently supported location—such as Word or OneNote—before doing anything else.

New Outlook currently lists both the Notes module and PST support as only partially available, whereas the Notes module is available in classic Outlook.^3^ That means a successful import count does not guarantee that new Outlook can display every legacy Outlook Note. The missing List view in your new-Outlook View tab is consistent with that different, reduced Notes experience; it is not something you overlooked.

If the original PST still shows only seven notes

That points to a problem in the supplied PST rather than merely new Outlook’s rendering. Run Microsoft’s Inbox Repair Tool against a copy, not your only original:

1. Close both Outlook applications.
2. Make another backup copy of the PST.
3. Locate and run SCANPST.EXE.
4. Select Browse, choose the laptop copy of the PST, and select Start.
5. If errors are reported, select Repair.
6. Reopen the repaired PST in classic Outlook and inspect:
   • Notes
   • Recovered Personal Folders
   • Lost and Found

Microsoft documents that SCANPST checks PST files for corruption, creates a backup during repair, and may place recovered items in Lost and Found when their original folder structure cannot be reconstructed.^4^

If SCANPST creates a .bak file but some notes are still missing, Microsoft also documents making a copy of that file, renaming the copy with a .bak.pst ending, and opening or importing it to look for additional recovered items.^4^

If repair still finds only seven

Ask the former employer’s IT team to reopen the original mailbox or original PST in classic Outlook and verify the Notes count there. If all 156 exist, request a newly created PST containing the complete Notes folder. The available Microsoft import guidance does not establish a supported method for forcing new Outlook to render legacy notes that it does not expose; preserving or extracting them through classic Outlook is the practical recovery path.

Do not overwrite or repeatedly repair the only supplied PST. Retain the untouched thumb-drive copy until every required note has been recovered.

References

1. [Classic Outlook](https://support.microsoft.com/outlook/open-and-close-outlook-data-files-pst)
2. Notes folder in outlook - Microsoft Q&A
3. Feature comparison between new Outlook and classic Outlook | Microsoft Support
4. Repair Outlook Data Files (.pst and .ost) | Microsoft Support