‘Exchange is currently in recovery mode’

The above-mentioned error message occurs in following situations:

• Cached Exchange Mode is enabled and running
• The client mailbox has been moved to a different Exchange Server organization

In any of the above mentioned situation, the signature of the OST file doesn’t match the signature of Exchange Server database of the new organization. This issue can be resolved though, with the following resolution:

Disable Cached Exchange Mode

If in case, Cached Exchange Mode is enabled, and you come across the above error message, then we suggest you to disable cached Exchange Mode. In order to disable the Cached Exchange mode, follow the instructions given below:

1. On Tools menu, go to Email Accounts > View or change existing Email Accounts. Click Next to continue
2. In Outlook processes email e-mail for these accounts in the following order list, select the Change option
3. Disable the Use Cached Exchange Mode option under Microsoft Exchange Server
4. Now Restart Outlook

This method is feasible when a number of users in the organization face the similar issue. However, if in case your mailbox has been moved to a different MS Exchange Server environment (that in another organization), you can create a new Outlook Profile.

Create new Outlook Profile

In the event of change of organization, if you try to connect the older profile with the different Exchange Server, you will not be able to access OST file as the signature of OST file and that of Exchange Server database doesn’t match. However, you can start afresh with a new Outlook profile. Follow the instructions given below to create a new Outlook profile:

1. Go to Control Panel > User Accounts > Mail
2. Select Show Profile, Click Add and type the name (that you want to give to the profile) and click OK
3. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process

In this case, you would not be able to access the previous email data since your mailbox lies on the older Exchange Server mailbox. The only option left to recover data is convert OST to PST. Since OST files cannot be accessed in any other way, hence converting OST to PST will help you access important data with MS Outlook.

Your mailbox is deleted from Exchange Server: Suppose that your mailbox gets deleted from Exchange Server then how will you access the emails, notes, contacts, etc, stored in the deleted mailbox. You can get the lost data back if you have OST file with you. OST file works as a backup copy of user’s mailbox on Exchange Server. However, you cannot directly access the OST using Outlook; therefore, you need to convert OST to PST to access the emails, notes, contacts, journals, calendar items, etc. stored in the OST. Convert OST file available with you to save yourself from the horror of losing important data.

Exchange Database File is damaged: User mailboxes are stored on Exchange Server in .edb files, which can be damaged anytime due to reasons like virus infection, abrupt server closing, etc. Once .edb file gets damaged, Outlook is unable to establish connection with Exchange Server; therefore, users lose all the important emails items present in User mailbox. However, this loss can be covered up if you convert OST file available on users’ computer into PST file.

Once you convert OST to PST, you will get access to all your emails, notes, contacts, etc. again. The recovered data can be accessed with the supported version of MS Outlook. Kernel for OST to PST conversion software enables you to successfully convert OST to PST in just few easy steps. Using the software, you can also repair the damaged OST files.

EDB database file has been damaged- Due to repeated use of Exchange database, the file might get corrupt and in every such situation of corruption, OST file can act to be the safest bet for fetching your imperative emails back. Convert OST to PST and access the important data with MS Outlook.

Exchange Server crash- The only issue with OST file is that you cannot access emails and other items stored in it directly with the help of MS Outlook. You must have Exchange environment to access emails and other items from OST file. If in case Exchange Server crashes, then you have to convert OST to PST i.e. in Outlook accessible file format.
Damage caused to OST file after surpassing 2 GB file limitation- The OST and PST files of previous versions of MS Outlook had a threshold limit of 2 GB for data storage. If not much care is taken of such situations, the OST file get damaged. Therefore, it is always suggested to convert OST to PST so that you can access your emails through MS Outlook.

All the situations mentioned above, might strike anyone across the globe and so to stay away from such havocs, it’s better to convert OST and save the data in a newly created PST file. Converting OST to PST is also helpful if you wish to access important emails, as OST files are not directly accessible with MS Outlook and hence serve the purpose of data recovery in cases of PST corruption.

User mailbox been deleted from MS Exchange Server- Suppose your mailbox gets deleted from Exchange Server and after sometime you realize you need some mailbox back. Now if the OST file is there with you, you can easily and quickly convert ost to pst and access the data with MS Outlook.

Also, suppose you are going abroad for a business meeting and you take your OST file along (where Exchange Server is absent). Now until you convert ost to pst, you won’t be able to access the email items.

EDB file gets damaged- Due repetitive utilization of EDB database; your Exchange Server database file gets corrupt. At this point in time, your OST file acts as a backup of your previous data. Convert ost to pst and access your email data by accessing the recovered data with MS Outlook.
Exchange Server crashes- Only issue with OST file is that you cannot access email and other items with MS Outlook. In order to access emails from ost file you have to convert ost to pst so that the data can be accessed directly with MS Outlook.

2 GB limitation- MS Outlook versions from 97, 98, 2000, 2002 or 2003 have a 2 GB maximum limit for Offline Folder Store (OST) and Local Personal Store (PST) files. If not taken care of this issue, it can corrupt the entire database, therefore it’s better to convert ost and access mails with MS Outlook for ease in manageability.

All these above-mentioned issues lead you to convert OST to PST so that you can access email items in these files easily.

To combat these issues you can rely on Integrity check tool. Integrity check tool is a Microsoft product, which helps you to repair the damaged Offline Storage Table (OST) file located on your computer system. An OST file is the backup copy of your mailbox on Exchange Server. If the file is damaged then you may lose all of the emails, contacts, notes, calendars, etc. stored in it. But there is nothing to worry about the file’s damage because Microsoft Integrity check tool is there to help you. This amazing utility from Microsoft compares the OST file on your computer system with the folders in your mailbox on Exchange Server and corrects the differences, if found. This way the Integrity check tool repairs the damaged OST file.

If you want to have Integrity check tool with you, then you don’t need to worry as this is a freeware from Microsoft.

Therefore, you can download it for free from Microsoft download center. Moreover, the utility is not too big; it is very small. After you have downloaded the tool, install it, and then execute the following steps to know the process of using the tool:

1. Exit Microsoft Outlook.

2. Click Start > All Programs > Microsoft Office > Microsoft Office Tools > Outlook OST Integrity Check Tool. Ver denotes the version of MS Outlook installed on your computer system, which can be either 2000, 2002, or Vista.

3. Click the Scan all folders option to scan all folders in the OST file.

4. Click the Begin Scan button.

The software starts scanning the folders in OST file. When the software scans the folders, a log file of the software working is created in the “Deleted Items” folder that can be viewed in MS Outlook. However, Microsoft has provided this free tool to repair the OST file but there is no surety of whether the file will be repaired successfully or not. This is because you cannot access the OST file using MS Outlook then how will you confirm that whether the file is repaired or not. You have to convert the file into PST and then you can access the file with Outlook if the file is repaired successfully.

Use Kernel for Convert OST to PST Software to successfully convert OST file into PST file, so that you can easily access any version of MS Outlook.

One of the tempting features of Microsoft Outlook is “Work Offline.” In the work offline mode, Outlook provides you the facility to create, edit, delete, and save email messages, notes, contacts, calendar items, etc. in offline mode. That is even when you are not connected with the Internet at a specific moment or Internet is not working, you can use Outlook to create and modify emails. This amazing feature not only saves your time but also lets you learn the fundamentals of time management. A question that may be rising in your mind is if you are not connected to Internet then how the emails you create will be delivered to the concerned email address.

The emails created during the offline mode are saved into a file named Offline Storage Table (OST) file, which automatically synchronizes with your mailbox on Exchange Server when you connect with Internet. On synchronizing, all of the actions taken during the offline mode are automatically completed. For example, if you have draft an email to send to the xyz@bac.com email address then the mail will be automatically sent to the specified email address after a successful synchronization. At times, the synchronization process might fail if the OST file is damaged.

In case the synchronization process fails due to corrupt OST file, you need to repair and convert OST file into PST file to access the messages stored in the damaged OST file. This is because Outlook does not provide any facility to directly access items of OST file. You can convert OST to PST using a third-party email conversion tool like Kernel for OST.
Kernel for OST is an efficient, sophisticated, and comprehensive tool designed for repairing the damaged OST file and converting the repaired OST file into PST file. Following steps help you to use Kernel for OST:

1. Download and install Kernel for OST – Convert OST to PST software.

2. Browse the OST file to convert into PST file.

3. Start the conversion process.

4. Save the converted file at user-defined location.

This way Kernel for OST is simple to use, effective, and mind blowing OST to PST conversion software. You can try the evaluation version before purchasing the software, as the evaluation version will give a brief on how the software works.

Cached Exchange Mode is a feature of Exchange Server, which enables you to work with MS Outlook in offline mode. During the Cached Exchange Mode, a local copy of the user’s Exchange mailbox is created on the computer’s hard disk. This local copy is called Offline Storage Table (OST) file. The OST file enables you to work offline with MS Outlook in the same way as you work with Outlook when connected with Exchange Server.

The work you do in offline mode will get automatically synchronized with your mailbox on Exchange Server when you logon to your Outlook account. But, sometimes when synchronization fails then working in Cached Exchange mode may also lead into the loss of the work that you have done offline. Synchronization can be failed due to following reasons:

* Mailbox has been infected from a virus.
* Mailbox has been damaged due to the damage of Exchange Server.
* Mailbox has been deleted from the Exchange Server.

Whatever be the reason for the failed synchronization, you are left with nothing but data loss because the OST file becomes inaccessible. In that scenario, you need to convert ost to pst in order to access the email messages with MS Outlook.
Kernel for OST is an advanced, reliable, and cost-effective software, which helps you convert ost to pst without any limitation of file size. You can quickly convert a large ost to pst in just few moments. The software supports all versions of MS Exchange Server starting from Exchange Server 5.0 to Exchange Server 2007.

All those who are using MS Outlook as their email client, know the importance of OST files. OST files contain data of inbox, calendars and tasks, deleted items. The Offline storage files enable a user to work offline and update the changes through synchronization. In fact, no network connectivity is required to work with OST files; a user can perform all tasks like online mode.

All changes that are made in an OST file are updated through synchronization process but sometimes the synchronization fails and user fails to update these changes. This is the situation where the need to convert OST file to PST emerges. Usually, synchronization fails due to Exchange account deletion, virus contamination, email deletion and Exchange server errors. In such situations, OST file becomes inaccessible and the only way deal with it is converting the OST file to PST file.

Now the question arises that how to convert OST to PST? Solution is simple, as Kernel for OST to PST is there to perform the conversion task. It simply extracts all emails and other data from the inaccessible OST file and saves them to PST file. The PST file thus created can be easily accessed with MS Outlook. Even emails that have been deleted from Deleted Items folder can also be extracted using this software. You can try out the demo version for experiencing the potential and ease of this tool to convert OST to PST.

If your OST file is taking a lot of time for opening, then it is the time to pay proper attention to its size. Degraded performance of OST file can be a result of increasing size of OST file and if the increase in size is not restricted, it may lead to major issues. Reducing the size of the OST file may help you to improve performance if you have deleted a large number of items from the OST file.

Follow below mentioned procedure to reduce the size of OST file, as using this procedure items that are saved on the server do not get deleted:
* Delete any item that you do not want to keep, and then empty the Deleted Items folder.
* On the Tools menu, click Account Settings.
* In the list, select Microsoft Exchange Server, and then click Change.
* Click More Settings.
* Click the Advanced tab, and then click Offline Folder File Settings.
* Click Compact Now.

This way you can reduce the size of Outlook OST file without affecting items that are saved on the server. There are times when you face problems while synchronizing OST file with Exchange server and thus you need to convert OST to PST file. Kernel for OST to PST is the only solution for dealing with such situations. It enables you to convert OST to PST without facing any problem.

You are working on OST file but don’t know the mode in which it is running? Here we will discuss how you can determine the MS Exchange mailbox mode that is being used for your Offline Storage file .OST in Outlook 2007 and Outlook 2003. All the offline folders of Outlook are stored in .OST file, which is saved on the hard disk.

OST file is created automatically when you set up MS Outlook or when you first make a folder available offline. This feature requires you to use a Microsoft Exchange Server email account.
If we talk about MS Office Outlook 2003, you must know that a new .OST file format is introduced that offers more storage capacity for both items and folders, and it supports multilingual Unicode data. An .ost file that is created in Unicode format is not compatible with earlier versions of Outlook, and you cannot open these files in an earlier version of Outlook.
Based on the MS Exchange Server that we are using, the administrator settings, and the formats of the data files that are configured for the profile, Outlook automatically determines the format that is used to create the .OST file. If your Outlook settings do not allow the .OST file to be created in the new format, Outlook creates the .OST file in the format that is compatible with earlier versions of Outlook. Outlook can use either a Unicode or non-Unicode mode .OST file while running in Cached Exchange Mode.

To determine the mode that you are using, follow these steps.
For Outlook 2003

* On the Tools menu, click E-mail accounts, click View or change existing e-mail accounts, click Next, select the Exchange e-mail account, and then click Change.

* Click More Settings, and then click the Advanced tab.

The status appears under Mailbox Mode.
For Outlook 2007

* On the Tools menu, click E-mail accounts, click the Exchange e-mail account, and then click Change.
* Click More Settings, and then click the Advanced tab.

The status appears under Mailbox Mode.
This way you can determine the mode of OST file you are using. If OST file gets corrupt, it needs to be converted to PST file to recover the OST file email items and to access them also. Kernel for OST to PST is the best software that converts OST to PST and produces the accessible Outlook file.