Users and even administrators at times accidentally delete mailboxes or the data stored in them. It is possible to set up Outlook so that any deleted items can be restored but if the email account is deleted, then it is difficult to restore any of the data from the remote folder, even from backups. This is one of the reasons why many users store all the important Exchange data in Offline Folder files or OST files. Not only does this allow them to easily access data when they want to without having to depend on the server connectivity but it also allows them to take backups locally. These backups can then be effectively utilized to recover exchange data if the Exchange database gets corrupted or damaged.
When you enable Outlook to use the Offline Folder files feature, an OST file is created that contains all the contents of the remote folder on the Exchange server. Even if the user is not able to or does not want to stay connected to the server, he or she can still continue working with the contents. Whatever changes are made to the contents will be transferred back to the remote folder the next time, the user connects to the server and this way a properly synced copy will exist online as well. If any items are deleted by mistake from the Exchange server, the user can always try to restore the deleted items or simpler still, use the latest offline copy of the deleted item that should still be available on the local machine. As you can see, this is a powerful way to recover exchange data.
If you would like to recover exchange data from the local OST files, then the following steps should be taken in the order mentioned.
" Make sure that you are not connected to the network. Now choose to work offline and export all the contents using the 'Import and Export Wizard' into a PST file. This file can be given any name but if you are using it primarily to back up the contents of your Exchange mailbox, you could perhaps call it backup.pst. Leave the default options as they are.
" Once you have the PST file, you can connect to the Exchange server. From the main File menu, you could again choose 'Import and Export'. This time you will be importing the data that you have backed up so that you can recover exchange data. You can leave all the default options and also leave the default items selected. The items will now be imported from the PST file into your new mailbox.
There are times when the local OST file gets damaged or corrupted due to software or hardware failures. It is better to be prepared for such an eventuality too by familiarizing yourself with reliable Exchange recovery tools such as Advanced Exchange Recovery from DataNumen. This tool uses a highly advanced algorithm that makes it possible to scan and recover data from even highly damaged OST files.
When you enable Outlook to use the Offline Folder files feature, an OST file is created that contains all the contents of the remote folder on the Exchange server. Even if the user is not able to or does not want to stay connected to the server, he or she can still continue working with the contents. Whatever changes are made to the contents will be transferred back to the remote folder the next time, the user connects to the server and this way a properly synced copy will exist online as well. If any items are deleted by mistake from the Exchange server, the user can always try to restore the deleted items or simpler still, use the latest offline copy of the deleted item that should still be available on the local machine. As you can see, this is a powerful way to recover exchange data.
If you would like to recover exchange data from the local OST files, then the following steps should be taken in the order mentioned.
" Make sure that you are not connected to the network. Now choose to work offline and export all the contents using the 'Import and Export Wizard' into a PST file. This file can be given any name but if you are using it primarily to back up the contents of your Exchange mailbox, you could perhaps call it backup.pst. Leave the default options as they are.
" Once you have the PST file, you can connect to the Exchange server. From the main File menu, you could again choose 'Import and Export'. This time you will be importing the data that you have backed up so that you can recover exchange data. You can leave all the default options and also leave the default items selected. The items will now be imported from the PST file into your new mailbox.
There are times when the local OST file gets damaged or corrupted due to software or hardware failures. It is better to be prepared for such an eventuality too by familiarizing yourself with reliable Exchange recovery tools such as Advanced Exchange Recovery from DataNumen. This tool uses a highly advanced algorithm that makes it possible to scan and recover data from even highly damaged OST files.