Free Method to Convert OST to PST
Updated on November 21, 2022 by Savita Sharma
Microsoft Outlook is one of the most widely used email applications that not only allow users to communicate with their colleagues, customers, and others but also perform many other tasks. MS Outlook has many other features, including calendaring, managing tasks, contact managing, note-taking, journal logging, and web browsing. These features are excellent; if the user uses Outlook, then its main advantage is that they can utilize it offline as well.
Yes, of course, even if you have lost your internet connection for some time, or even there has been a disruption between Outlook and Exchange Server, you can still use Outlook. This is possible because this application creates a file called offline storage file (.OST) when used with Exchange Server. Regardless of what you do offline, the OST file will save everything when your connection to the Exchange server is re-established. Automatic synchronization between the server and Outlook will be set, and your tasks will be updated.
As you know, the Outlook OST file is very important as all the data are stored in it, but sometimes Outlook cannot access the OST file. At this point, you need to Convert OST to PST file. You can use any free method or automated solution to accomplish this task. Once you convert OST file to PST file, you can easily import it in MS Outlook 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, or any other version to access data present in it.
When MS Outlook may fail to access OST file?
There could be many reasons forcing Outlook to reject the OST file. Some of reasons are mentioned below:
- The Outlook profile assigned to the OST file has been damaged
- The OST file is no longer linked to the Outlook or Exchange Server profile with which it was created
- OST file is an orphan file that you rearranged from another location. For example your previous company
Free Solution/ Guide to Convert OST to PST file
If you can't open an OST file with Outlook, don't waste time opening it over and over again. Instead, look for and use a free OST to PST converter and create a PST file. Import this PST file in MS Outlook and get access to your email data. However, many manual methods are available online for free to convert OST to PST file format. If you want to know the easiest manual solution to convert OST to PST, then here is the tutorial for you. We have explained manual methods with its full working procedure in a simple way for your better understanding.
1st Method: Import & Export Option of Outlook
- 1. Open MS Outlook and go to "File" tab
- 2. Click "Open & Export," option and then choose "Import/Export"
- 3. Now on screen a new wizard will appear, select "Export to a file" and click "Next"
- 4. After that, select "Outlook Data File" and click on the "Next" tab
- 5. Now, list of your mailbox folders will be available here; select the folder that you want to export and click "Next." [Note: using this method you can only export one mailbox at a time.]
- 6. Now use the browse option to select the location where you want to save this file and choose the excerpt options according to your needs and click "Finish."
By following these steps correctly, you can export your Exchange Mailbox to PST file format.
2nd Method: Enable "Archiving" to Convert OST Emails to PST
- 1. Open MS Outlook on your system and go to the "File" tab
- 2. Here, click on "Options." and then go to "Advanced" option
- 3. Now, Under AutoArchive feature section, click on AutoArchive Settings
- 4. Now, in the opened AutoArchive window, select the number of days in which you want to run auto archiving.
- 5. Select the specific folder to save the archived file and click "OK."
- 6. By enabling the archiving option, you can save your mailbox items from OST file to PST.
Note: This archiving function also helps to manage the Outlook file size by automatically archiving old items or deleting them from the file using defined settings.
You can use any of these methods to convert OST files to PST. However, before using this method, you should know its drawbacks. The manual solution does not guarantee 100% security of data, as minor mistakes during the process can spoil the whole conversion task. While using this manual method, users have to connect Outlook with Exchange Server all the time. The process of this manual solution is quite complex and time-consuming.
Procedure to Convert OST to PST file
For satisfactory conversion results, you can use a third-party Regain OST to PST Converter tool. It guarantees safe OST to PST conversion without any loss and modification during the process. This simple & easy to used tool performs the conversion in a few minutes with only 5-6 steps. So, let us now see the procedure of how it works.
- 1. Download and install "Regain OST to PST Converter" Software on your system
- 2. You need to use Browse option and Select OST file for Scanning
- 3. After scanning, it show Preview of Scanned items of selected OST file
- 4. A new windows will appear, select the "Destination path" and "File format" to Save OST Emails
- 5. At last start the conversion process, once the conversion completes it shows message as "Saving process has been completed"
[Note: After the successful conversion all your OST files are converted into PST file format and stored at your desired location on your local system.]
Final Conclusion:
You can also try the free version of this software. Downloading the software, scanning your OST file, previewing the data of your OST file, and creating a new PST file are all free. You can even create a new PST file with this trial version as it works the same as the original version. While the software allows you to create a new PST file, you can only select 30 emails and other items per mailbox folder. This means that the new PST will have 30 items from each folder of your OST file. Hence, this free OST Recovery tool can be beneficial when your OST file is corrupt/ damaged and also has a small number of emails that you want to access back. However, if your OST has too many emails and items to recover, it is recommended that you purchase a licensed version of this tool.
