How Do I Restore an OST File in Outlook 2016? – A Manual and Alternate Solution

Ritu Roy | Email Backup Email Conversion email migration How to's Outlook Software Technology | 4 minutes read | Last updated on February 9th, 2023,
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If you are not able to keep their current OST files with MS Outlook, they will be required to restore or recreate their OST files if they cannot restore the actual database. OST files can be restored by downloading a copy of Exchange mailbox items again.

OST files are also known as Offline Storage Table file, which is created by MS Outlook to store copies of emails from the MS Exchange Server. In this method, if you cannot connect to the Internet for some reason, you can continue working on their mailboxes in Cache mode. When the Internet connection resumes, the OST files are synchronized with the mail server and the alteration is uploaded.

“Try OST to PST software, a well-developed application to successfully restore your OST files in Outlook 2016 PST file with a complete database such as emails, calendars, address book, notes, and attachments. Using this OST File to PST Tool, you can also restore unlimited OST database to PST format at once without any hassle.”

The OST file is quite important with an extendible capacity of up to 50 GB you can save as much data as you wish to access while being offline. It also supports to recovery of lost mailboxes in case there is any damage to the Exchange Server. It is completely depending on the version of the Windows OS; the OST file is kept in various locations.

Although the advantages of the OST file are remarkable, there are quite a few disadvantages too. For example, if your account has been compromised, the OST data files will be worthless, and restoring it would be useless. And if the OST file itself becomes corrupted or damaged, its restoring process can be very time taking.

Main Reasons Behind OST File Damage

There are numerous reasons for an OST file to get damaged. And once this happens, they become fully unreadable. The following are a few of the hardware as same as software reasons that could corrupt or damage an OST file:

  • Having a virus in the machine
  • Internet issues throughout the synchronizing of the files
  • Having some bugs and issues in the storage device
  • A power outage throughout the synchronization of the files
  • The storage file reached their capacity
  • Unclean termination of the session in MS Outlook
  • Bad sectors in the hard drive
  • Having some issues and bugs in the MS Outlook application

How to Restore OST File in Outlook 2016 Manually?

Follow the below mentioned manual process to easily restore your OST files in Outlook 2016:

  1. Open Outlook 2016, click File >> Info >> Account Settings.
  2. In the Account Settings window, choose the E-mail tab and choose Microsoft Exchange. The system shows the Change E-mail account.
  3. Click on the More Settings
  4. In the MS Exchange window, choose “Advanced”
  5. Click on the Offline Folder File Settings
  6. In the File field, type the path of the OST file
  7. Then, press OK. The system gives names of the OST file as Outlook .ost. If a file with the same name already having in the system, you will be asked for a new file name.
  8. At last, click Ok and Finish.

An Alternative Solution to Restore an OST File in Outlook 2016

Manual way while being free of cost can frequently fully risky. They can also be likely to get problematic easily. Therefore, a better alternative way to restore OST file in Outlook 2016 is by moving it to PST format. The best conversion tool for exporting OST file to PST file format is OST Converter by CubexSoft. It not only converts emails from an OST file, but even it also converts complete data from Offline Data File to PST format such as emails, contacts, calendars, tasks, notes, and attachments in a precise manner without any problem. It is useful for all home and business users to safely and successfully convert OST file to UNICODE PST file that is easy to access on Outlook 2016, 2019, 2013, 2010, 2007, and 2003.

Try the FREE Demo Version of the Software

The alternate solution is also available free of cost having some limitations. The FREE OST Mail Converter is available as a download or demo edition that helps users to test the whole working of the tool before purchasing it. The free edition allows you to restore 25 items from each OST file in Outlook 2016 PST format with attachments. After analyzing its working process, you can buy it for converting bulk OST files to PST format at once without facing any kind of issue during the process.

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The Concluding Words

At the end of the article, we will recommend you first try the professional tool for free to analyse the working. I assured you that you will receive the best and success result after completing the process. This tool will help you a lot in migrating OST database into Outlook PST format with complete accuracy.