OST files are just an image of the content from the server.When Outlook is used with Exchange Server in ‘Cached Exchange Mode’ we get the OST file downloaded , then OST files allows to access entire components.

There is no built-in option in Outlook to open or import OST files without configuring Outlook profile for that associated mailbox account.

At times we might run into a few complex scenarios for an VIP user where we need to recover emails in scenarios where  we are running out of backup options,no exchange database and if we have the last option to recover only from an old OST file.

There could be multiple reasons for converting the OST file. There are multiple ways in recovering and repairing orphaned and lost .OST files. There are 3rd party applications that allows to convert OST to PST,repair and corrupted ost file ,filtering and gathering required data from the ost file.

If only the client PC has crashed, We can always recover the data from the exchange server itself (ost is just a online copy of the mails and one copy resides on the server all the time).

In some circumstances there may be a need to open/import an OST file.

1) User has left the organization and mailboxes have been deleted crossing the retention period. But the local IT team has only the OST  file from the PC of the mailbox from which an important data needs to be extracted.

2)If the old OST file has corrupted, user needs the data of the old ost file which he took it from his laptop to be merged into his new outlook profile in new PC.

3)For example if a user goes for long leave and if his mailbox was in a disabled state and then gets deleted, his outlook profile is deleted but somehow the OST file remains in the PC and needs the old emails from the OST  file.

4)The Exchange servers have been migrated and user’s mailbox has moved to the new version. User needs his old emails from OST  file after a long leave to be recovered.

5)If we need to access the emails from an old OST  file without configuring current Outlook profile for that account.

I just happened to have a look at this SysTools OST recovery Software and found it to be pretty much easier and user-friendly.

In this article we will be looking at how to recover data from an corrupted OST through SysTools OST recovery software.

This software allows us to recover and Convert Inaccessible OST File to Outlook (PST) / EML / MSG Format.

We have 2 versions freeware and a full version.
Freeware version can export only 25 items per folder While the full version has no limitations on the number of counts per folder.

Download the free version from the below link

http://www.systoolsgroup.com/ost-recovery.html

Just open the setup and run through the installation wizard.

Accept the license agreement.

Choose the installation directory.

Once the setup completes just open the OST recovery software.

Browse and select the damaged OST file.

Once the OST file is selected it starts scanning the file as shown below.

Once the scanning is completed it opens all the emails in outlook mode which are readable.Since its  a demo version it displays the below information.

We have an option to export emails one by one.

We have an option to export the emails in MSG format or into PST file.

Just Click on export and select the required format in  MSG or PST. After that we are done with the PST extract from the corrupted OST file.

Overall this tool can be useful for admins in few critical scenarios of recovering the OST files for  important mailboxes and its user friendly.

Cheers

Sathish Veerapandian

Technology  Evangelist

Tagged: OST, recovery Software