Most of the Outlook users are aware about the two file formats i.e OST(Offline Storage Tables) and PST (Personal Storage Tables). PST files are the st...
Most of the Outlook users are aware about the two file formats i.e OST(Offline Storage Tables) and PST (Personal Storage Tables). PST files are the storage area of entire Outlook data, and OST files contains the clone of data stored on the Exchange Server. OST files are used in the cached mode when the user works on Outlook in the Offline mode without Mail Server. Any changes made to the OST files are automatically synchronized, when connected to the internet.
Need Of Conversion From OST File To PST File
The main reason why the users need to convert their OST files to PST format is that OST files gets corrupted and thus inaccessible by Outlook. Some other reasons that urge users to convert an OST file into PST are:
Facing The “SIZE Limit Exceeded “Error
The size limit of an OST file varies with version of the Outlook upon which user is currently working upon. In Outlook 2007, the by default size is 20 GB and if this file size exceed then the performance of Outlook gets degrade. In the later versions, the size limit of the OST file has been extended up to 50 GB.
OST File Is In Orphaned State
Any modification made to the OST file is continuously synchronized with the Exchange Server where the file is bounded with a particular Exchange Mailbox. When the Exchange Mailbox is deleted from the server, OST file becomes inaccessible leading to its orphaned state.
Problems in Synchronization
The OST files are encrypted therefore, the decryption key of the Outlook file needs to be matched with respective key of the Exchange Server. If the key doesn't match, the OST file becomes inaccessible & thus resulting in the synchronization issue.
Corrupted Outlook OST File
OST file sometimes get corrupted due to either of the following reasons, thus making it inaccessible:
Power Failure at the time of Synchronization
Improper handling of the Microsoft OST file
Virus Attacks on the system of Exchange server
Damaged Local Storage where the file was stored
How to Convert OST to PST?
Due to the above discussed reasons, it becomes obvious to convert OST to PST. However, the conversion cannot be done directly using Outlook. The damaged OST can be repaired using the inbuilt utility scanpst.exe, which can be used to repair both OST and PST files. It can only be used to repair the slightly damaged OST file but not to convert into PST. Thus, the file needs to be converted using a third party utility i.e., OST to PST Converter. It converts all the data items like calendars, contacts, emails, attachments, journals, etc., from Offline OST file into Outlook PST file, maintaining the original formatting of the file. It can also be used to recover data from the corrupted OST file.
