Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Want to access your orphaned OST files? Convert OST to PST


When you try to access Exchange server 2000 or 2003 mailbox through MS Outlook e-mail client application, you fail to log on to Exchange server database and one of the following error messages appears on your screen:

Unable to display the folder. Microsoft Office Outlook could not access the specified folder location. The operation failed.

The above mentioned error occurs in the Active Directory directory service when the Create named properties in the Information Store permission is not assigned to the Everyone group to the CN=Configuration, DC=Domain, DC=com, CN=Services, CN=Microsoft Exchange, CN=Organization object. A second possibility could be the corruption in .ost file or Outlook has some synchronization problem with Microsoft Exchange Server.

First, let us go back and find out more about Exchange Servers and OST files.

In a corporate environment, MS Exchange Servers are deployed as an efficacious means to manage business communication through emails. In the absence of Exchange Servers, MS Outlook users work on their mailboxes using OST files. The .ost files are exact replicas of their Exchange Server mailboxes. Whenever, the connection to the MS Exchange Server is re-established, the OST files synchronize with the user mailboxes on the server and all the changes are reflected in the current mailboxes.

But what happens when the same OST file fails to synchronize with the Exchange Server? The user mailbox data and all the changes made to it are rendered inaccessible for future use. When the user mailbox becomes permanently unavailable, the OST file becomes orphaned.

Causes of OST file corruption

OST files become orphaned/corrupt pertaining to multitudinous factors, namely:

  • Network connection failure
  • Abrupt system shutdown due to power failure (dirty shutdown)
  • Bad sectors on the hard disk
  • Errors during synchronization
  • A virus attack

Both these hardware and software reasons forfend the automatic synchronization of OST files with MS Exchange Server. Outlook users are often left gaping helplessly due to loss of paramount data when the OST files are corrupted.

The silver lining in such a situation, is the recovey of all the user data from the OST file in a usable form. Liberating the vital emails and user mailbox data from corrupt/orphaned OST files is a third party OST to PST Conversion software. This is the best solution to convert .ost file to .pst and regain access to all the valuable data that is left on the OST file.

The internet is jam-packed with teeming OST to PST Converter tools, that recover emails, attachments, drafts, contacts and journal entries etc. from the OST file in the form of a usable PST file that can be easily imported into Outlook.

A veracious OST to PST conversion utility is “Stellar Phoenix OST to PST Converter”. This software is a top-notch, power packed solution that successfully converts .ost files into .pst. This tool allows to perform selective recovery and the demo version offers a preview of the user mailbox and it components before the actual recovery. Exhibiting a vast array of compatibility, this software supports MS Outlook 2010, 2007, 2003, 2002 and 2000.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Start trusting on a third party tool for successful conversion of OST file


It is a true fact that without a proper Internet connection with Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft Outlook OST file cannot be synchronized. But, in many cases due to various reasons like, down Exchange Server, OST file corruption etc. synchronization of Outlook OST file cannot be carried out. Non-synchronization of Outlook OST file may result into hectic situations. The worst thing is that non-synchronization leads to inaccessibility of data. Well, inaccessible data can easily be restored from a backup. In the absence of backup also, there is no need to worry. A third party OST to PST converter tool is a best option to use in such a pathetic situation.

For better understanding of the above issue, let us study this issue in detail. A friend of mine has a laptop with her. In that laptop, Outlook OST files are there. Laptop when used in office gets connected to Exchange. But, she is not aware about the fact that without the connection with Exchange, OST files cannot be used. She was quite disturbed after knowing that she has Outlook OST files but she cannot use the data contained within them without the synchronization of OST with MS Exchange Server.

The only way left with her to get out of this situation is through recovering the Outlook OST files. After the recovery of Outlook OST files, she has an option to convert OST to PST through third party tools. Ample of third party tools are available in the market that can perform the conversion of Outlook OST file within a small fraction of time.

Through Internet, she came to know about Stellar Phoenix OST to PST Converter tool. This third party tool is fully capable of converting an Outlook OST file into a usable PST file. After conversion, data of Outlook OST file, such as contacts, attachments, appointments, calendar-entries, tasks, events, are recovered within a short period of time. Developed with an interactive user interface, the tool is easy to understand. A well described user manual and installation guide come along with the software that help to perform successful OST to PST conversion.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

How to access OST file when Exchange Server is not available


No doubt, Outlook is a very efficient e-mail client and personal information manager. But, some times it may show some error messages that halt your work. Consider a practical scenario where in you want to connect/access some OST file with Outlook. But it fails with the below error messages:

Unable to open your default e-mail folders. The file C:\Documents and Settings\%UserName%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook\outlook.ost cannot be accessed. You must connect to your Microsoft Exchange Server computer at least once before you can use your offlline folder file.

This situation arises when you try to access some OST file for which Exchange Server account is not available or the Outlook profile that created the OST file is being altered.

If you had altered the Outlook profile you can resolve the error by recreating the OST file.

Steps to recreate OST file.
  • Quit Outlook and all mail enabled applications.
  • Rename old OST file for back-up.
  • Open Outlook and connect it with the Exchange Server.
New OST file will be created automatically.

But, in case the Exchange Server account is not available for the OST file (this may happen in case where in you had left your job and have no rights to access Exchange Server mailbox). You need to convert OST file to PST file to access its contents. There will be two cases and you can recover OST file accordingly.

Case1: You have access to the system on which you were accessing your mails and the Outlook profile that created the OST file is not being altered.

Resolution:
You can Export the OST file to PST file using Import/Export function from File menu of Outlook by opening Outlook in off-line mode.

You can also try system restore. Go back a few days and restore OST to PST file.

Case2: If you can not access the system on which the Outlook profile for the OST file is available and you only have the OST file along with you.

Resolution:
In this case you need to perform manual OST PST conversion for which you need to use third party convert .ost to .pst tool. After successfully converting .ost to .pst file, import the resulting PST file in Outlook.