OST to PST Conversion

Exchange Server environment is the most popular and in-demand across the corporate houses of the world. Instead of being quite popular amongst the global organizations, the issue of occurrence of error messages continues to haunt the users. Consider a real time scenario, when a MS Exchange Server 2003 client connects to the Exchange Server 2003 via MS Outlook, and he comes across the following message:

‘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.