Microsoft Exchange uses the OST (Offline Storage Table) file format to store all of its mailbox data. Users can operate in offline mode with ease, and their modifications will get made automatically until the exchange server is re-established. Many users, however, want OST to PST conversion for multiple reasons. Microsoft Outlook uses the PST (Personal Storage Table) file format to store all of their mailbox files.
Outlook has a lot of great features that make it appealing to users. PST files are also simple to move and access. Troubleshooting is needed for inaccessible OST files to regain access to the system’s data. Converting OST files to PST format is difficult for many users. In this guide, we’ll go over how to convert OST to PST files manually, as well as a professional tool called Shoviv OST to PST converter.
Reasons to Convert OST to PST File Format
Converting OST files to PST files can be useful for various reasons. We’ve gone through some of the most popular reasons for this conversion.
- Accidental deletion of an Exchange server account – If an Exchange server account gets unintentionally deleted, the user will lose all of their data. Then, by converting the OST data to PST file format, you can simply recover the data.
- Backup Exchange Mailboxes – By converting OST files to PST files, users may build a backup of a few exchange mailbox products.
- Exchange Server failed -If the Exchange server becomes unusable due to a crash, a virus attack, or a device malfunction, you will not be able to link to it. These circumstances can have a negative effect on your company or job and are hard to deal with it.
- Exchange Server Maintenance – When the Exchange server is down for maintenance, which makes it difficult to access corrupt mailbox objects.
- OST Data Migration- When migrating data from one device to another, users may want to move all of their essential OST file data to PST file format.
There are only a few of the benefits to convert OST to PST. Now we’ll look at how users can convert OST files to PST using manual methods. However, since there is a chance of data loss, I would recommend making a backup of the original file before starting the conversion process.
Manual approach to Convert OST to PST File Format
We’ll go through three manual methods to convert OST to PST in this article. Before starting the process, you should always make a backup of the original file, as there is always the possibility of human error, which may result in significant data loss.
Method 1: Import/ Export Method
- Firstly, you need to open the Microsoft Outlook application.
- Then, navigate to the File tab.
- Now, choose Import/Export from the drop-down menu.
- Select Export to a File from the drop-down menu.
- Press the Next button to proceed.
- Select the Personal File Folder
- Then press the Next button.
- Select Include Subfolders from the parent root by clicking on it.
- Select Browse to specify the location to save the resulting file.
- To complete the process, click the Finish button.
Method 2: Drag and Drop approach
Users must first create a new PST file, then select and drop all of the required OST file data into the newly created PST file.
- Open the Microsoft Outlook program.
- In the Outlook profile, generate a new PST file.
- Now, drag and drop all of the items from your OST mailbox into the new PST file.
Method 3: Use Outlook Archive function
When the user activates the archiving option, then the OST file emails will move to the PST. Follow the steps outlined below to complete the process –
- Open the Microsoft Outlook program.
- Navigate to the Files tab.
- Now, select Options from the dropdown menu.
- Proceed to the advanced segment now.
- Select Auto Archive from the drop-down menu.
- You can now choose the number of days on which you want the auto-archiving to operate.
- Then, click on the Ok button.
The mailbox data from an OST file will get automatically saved into a PST file based on the archiving settings.
Limitation of the manual method to convert OST to PST file
Please have a look at some of the limitation to convert OST to PST through a manual approach.
- There are multiple locations of OST files in different Outlook versions. Naturally, finding them is difficult. In addition, the methods for retrieving OST files or converting them to PST format can vary slightly between versions. Overall, it’s a time-consuming procedure.
- An OST file cannot be accessed using a separate Exchange account. Only the Exchange account used to build it and has access to it. It’s similar to saying that only Outlook users with the original version of Outlook will migrate their OST files to PST format. Manual OST to PST conversion has this drawback.
- The Outlook email client is unable to access corrupted OST files. Users cannot restore OST files to replace corrupted ones when Exchange is down.
- There are multiple locations of OST files in different Outlook versions. Naturally, finding them is difficult. In addition, the methods for retrieving OST files or converting them to PST format can vary slightly between versions. Overall, it’s a time-consuming procedure.
In general, manual conversion has its limitation, and to overcome these limitations, you can use the professional third-party OST to PST converter. Now, let’s take a quick tour of the automated converter to convert OST to PST file.
Professional approach for OST to PST conversion
Shoviv OST to PST Converter is a comprehensive tool. It perfectly recovers and transforms unavailable and corrupt OST objects to PST. This tool has a lot of user-friendly features for flawless and seamless conversion. It helps you to convert several OST files to PST in a short amount of time. It can also convert OST files to HTML, EML, vCal, and vCard formatted files.
Some of the top features of this tool are mentioned below, and they will assist users in converting OST to PST file format without any restrictions on adding large OST files.
- Shoviv OST to PST Converter makes converting OST to PST easy. The software works for both Outlook and Windows operating systems. The software will efficiently and flawlessly complete the conversion process.
- There’s also a preview option in this converter. Just before the conversion, users can see a preview of the recovered OST items. Users can double-check attachments, emails, notices, and other OST items.
- The Meta property is preserved to the greatest extent possible by the software. It expertly manages metadata properties such as Subject, To, CC, Notes, etc.
- Shoviv OST to PST Converter comes with several user-friendly features. It allows you to recover several OST files without the size restriction.
- Users can download the free demo version to process the first 50 items/ folder.
Conclusion
We addressed how users can easily convert OST to PST file format in this post. We’ve provided both manual and automated third-party solutions that are both recommended and effective. We’ve seen that the manual method has many drawbacks, so it’s recommended that you use a professional third-party OST to PST converter that offers a fast and secure conversion procedure.