If users are unable to maintain their current OST files with Microsoft Outlook, they will need to reset or re-create their OST files if they can not restore the initial database. You can recreate OST files by downloading a copy of Exchange mailbox products again.
Also known as Offline Storage Table file, the OST file is created by Outlook to store copies of emails from the Exchange server. In this way, if the users cannot connect to the Internet for some reason, they can continue working on their mailboxes in Cache mode. When the connection to the Internet resumes, the OST file is synchronized with the mail server and the changes are uploaded.

A common situation arises when a user accidentally deleted some data files. Outlook saves all the emails, contacts, in a mailbox located on the server. But a file that is saved on the hard disk is an Offline Data File (OST) that stores a copy of the mailbox account. Therefore, it helps users to access data quickly in the offline environment.
When the user accidentally deletes some data files from Outlook OST File that can be easily stored on the deleted items folder. But what happens when these files are permanently deleted and are not available in that deleted items folder or there may be a situation where the user clears the folder by mistake. In such situations it becomes a very difficult task to get back your deleted OST Files in Outlook. So to solve this kind this article helps you to recover your deleted OST Files in Outlook.
First of all, we have to understand the importance of OST Files.
It is quite essential to have the OST file. Users can save as much information as they want to access while offline with an extendable capability of up to 50 GB. It also enables restore lost mailboxes if the Exchange server is damaged. The OST file is stored in various locations depending on the version of the Windows operating system.
Despite the significant advantages of the OST file, there are also quite a few disadvantages. For example, if your account profile is damaged, the OST file is useless and it would be futile to recover it. And if the OST file itself gets damaged, it can take a lot of moments to recover.
Reasons behind OST file damage
There are many reasons to corrupt an OST file. And they become totally unreadable once this occurs. Some of the hardware and software factors that might damage an OST file are as follows:
- During the synchronization of the files, a power outage takes place.
- An unclean termination of a session in Microsoft Outlook occurs.
- Capacity gets full of the storage files.
- A virus may occur in the system.
- Network issues can be there during the synchronization of the files.
- Presence of issues and bugs in the Microsoft Outlook application.
- Presence of issues and bugs in the storage device.
To repair this OST File manually read below steps carefully :
Also, Read: Recover Corrupted Files In Outlook
Restore OST file in Outlook
- Launch Outlook, and click File—>Info — >Account Settings.
- Select the E-mail tab in the Account Settings window, and select Microsoft Exchange. Then the system displays the Change E-mail Account
- Click on More Settings
- Select ‘Advanced’ in the Microsoft Exchange window,
- Click on Offline Folder File Settings.
- Type the path of the OST file in the File field,
- Click on OK. Then the system names the OST file as Outlook.ost. If a file with the same name already exists in the system, you will be told for a new file name.
- Click on OK, and then click on Finish.
Manual methods can often be full of risks and also time taking. If anyone has so much time to solve the issue then the manual method cannot be work properly. Therefore, here is another better solution to restore data from OST File is the OST File Recovery Tool. With the help of this tool, you can easily backup your deleted data in Outlook and also this tool can convert the file in different formats like MBOX, EML, PST.
Conclusion:
Loss of data from any application or folder may lead to a severe problem for the user when accidentally deleted. This case may happen with anyone else at any time accidentally. Therefore, in this article, we have provided you with both the methods to solve the issue and get your recovered data back. It is suggested that by use of the OST File Recovery Tool, you can easily find the permanently deleted file quickly as compared to a manual approach.