From the very first day
of the creation of a Microsoft Outlook account in synchronization with
Exchange, each folder gets stored in the Microsoft Exchange Server database. An
offline data file i.e., OST is created which contains the copy of the respective
Exchange Database Mailbox when cached mode is activated on Outlook in
connection with Server. When the connection between Outlook and Exchange Server
is established, the OST files are synchronized with the Server. However, there
may be situations where accidental deletion of mailboxes takes place or the
user's Outlook account gets replaced making them incapable of accessing the OST
file contents. Such OST files are referred to as orphaned offline data files.
Read more about how you can convert a Microsoft Exchange OST to PST from
orphaned state and what exactly can make an offline data orphan.
Some other reasons due
to which an OST file becomes orphaned are discussed below:
- Database at the Exchange Server side gets corrupted due
to the hardware failure. This makes the OST files stored at local storage,
orphaned.
- Due to the change in domain or MAPI settings in Outlook
unknowingly, the corresponding OST files become orphaned.
- The mismatch of encryption key between the MAPI and Outlook profile causes synchronization issue and the OST files become orphaned.
On knowing about the
issues related to the OST files, the thing that strikes in our mind is the
methods in order to overcome the issue. One of the simple and universally
acceptable methods for the recovery of OST file is to convert OST to PST file.
This conversion can be achieved manually or with the help of a third party tool
making the data of offline data independent of Server connectivity. Let's first
have a look at the manual method which is applied for converting OST files into
PST.
Manual Method
Synchronization can be re-established between OST files and Exchange Server to make the inaccessible OST files into a usable form. This method requires two steps for the conversion:
- Connecting Outlook with original MAPI.
- Connecting the MAPI address to the original Exchange Server.
This manual method for reestablishing the synchronization between the Server and Exchange file is only possible if you are aware of the original MAPI address. However, being tedious and time consuming the method is mostly not preferred by users. Thus, use of software applications is adopted by such users to perform OST to PST conversion. There is no tool available in the market that can convert Outlook OST to PST free. Therefore, it is better to opt for a commercial solution to perform the conversion of an orphaned OST.
Third Party Solution
Many tools are available in the market for the conversion of OST files into PST. One of the commercial solutions to export OST to PST is OST Recovery. The software recovers inaccessible files and converts them into PST/MSG and EML format accordingly. It maintains the Meta data and the folder structure of the OST files. In addition to that, the resultant PST file can also be split by a defined size so that it becomes easy to handle the output when you convert a Microsoft Exchange OST to PST. Read more and subscribe to buy the complete OST Files recovery toolkit economically- http://www.osttopstconverter.co.uk/
