How to Recover Exchange Mailbox from OST File in a Quick Way

Aisha | August 13th, 2018 | Exchange Server, MS Outlook

“When I asked my friends how to recover data from Exchange mailbox, they said that I can restore Exchange mailbox from OST file. However, they could not tell me the complete process of mailbox restoration. If anyone from this forum knows its solution, let me know.”

“Hello Everyone. Recently, I deleted some of my important contacts accidentally from Outlook email permanently. This Outlook account is connected to Exchange Server and I do not know how to get back those contacts. Please tell me how can I get back my contacts.”

If you have deleted any valuable data from Outlook, you may want to recover mailbox from OST file. For every Outlook email connected to Exchange Server, there is an OST file in the local system that saves a copy of all Outlook data on it. So, if you have deleted your Outlook mailbox which is basically stored in the Server, it can restore that mailbox from OST file. In this post, we will be sharing two methods of restoring Exchange Server mailbox.

How to Restore Exchange Mailbox from OST File

If you are looking for a feasible but reliable method to recover Mailbox, then you should choose OST Converter Software. This application will convert the complete OST file data into PST. The software allows its users to conduct this conversion without any trouble. Here is the guide to use this tool in an efficient way. This software allows the user to restore data from IMAP as well as Exchange OST files. For complete information, the user can download the trial version of this software.

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Steps to Restore Exchange OST Mailbox from OST File in PST Format

First, download and launch the software on your system.
Click on Add File to choose the preferred OST file from its location.

Now Browse the OST file from your system and choose the Scan Mode.

You can see the preview of complete mailbox data located in the OST file.

Click on Export. You will see several options to appear. Select PST from the list.

Select the destination location of the PST file and other options on that page. You can click on Adv. Settings button to configure other advanced level settings.

When all configurations are done, click OK. The software will start processing the OST file for conversion.

When the export process is over, you will get notified. You will be also provided with an option to save the migration report.

In case if the users want to try out free method, then they can go for the manual method for saving mailbox data into PST format. We will describe the manual method in the next part but before that, check out why this automated tool is far better than the manual technique to recover mailbox from OST file.

Disadvantages of Using Manual Method

The manual method is not suitable for large-sized OST file. On the other hand, the OST file size is not an issue for the tool.
The manual method contains the risk of permanent data loss. When the software is used, OST file data remains completely secure.
The process to restore mailbox from Outlook OST file using the application is easy and simple. Contrarily, most people find the manual technique complex.

Recover Exchange Mailbox from OST File

If you still want to restore exchange mailbox 2016 from the local OST file, follow these steps. Remember that this manual method is possible to implement only if the “Cached Exchange Mode” is enabled for your Exchange account.:

Open Control Panel on your system and double-click on Mail applet to run it.
Click on E-mail Accounts button. Select the Exchange account and then select Change.
A window will appear where you have to click on More Settings.
First, select Advanced and then deselect Use Cached Exchange Mode. Finally, click Apply and then click on Outlook Data File Settings.
Choose ‘Disable Offline Use’ from the next window.
When notified with this message ‘Outlook will not be able to work with OST files’ click Yes. You will be returned to the More Settings window.
Select Outlook Data File Settings >> Browse. Select the old Exchange OST and click the OK button of ‘Outlook Data File Settings’ and ‘More Settings’ windows.
Change Account window will appear next. Select Use Cached Exchange Mode>> Next >> Finish.
Open Outlook and you will get Outlook is using an old copy of your Outlook data file (.OST) message. Click OK to continue launching this instance of Outlook. If you open Outlook again, the new OST file will be in use.
Once you are successful in opening Outlook, you will find all the mailbox items of OST file in it including emails, contacts, and calendar.

Also Read: The user can also read this post to know how to recreate OST file in Outlook.

Winding Up

If you have deleted Exchange mailbox accidentally, then you may want to restore Exchange mailbox from OST file. This recovery is possible through both automated and manual techniques. We have mentioned both the methods in this post so that user can choose the method they prefer. Considering the benefits of the automatic method, most professionals choose to use this software to recover mailbox from Outlook OST file.