Extracting data from OST – Offline Storage Table – files becomes important in several situations, such as migrating mailbox data to another Outlook profile, creating a backup of your data, etc. Since OST files are linked to a specific profile, accessing the data in that file is not straightforward.
However, if your account is accessible, then there are several ways to extract emails and mailbox data from an OST file. But if you no longer have access to the account, you will need an alternative method. In this post, we will explain what an OST file is and a step-by-step process to extract data from an OST file online.
Understanding the OST file
The OST – Offline Storage Table – is a local copy of your mailbox data on the Exchange Server. This data file allows you to access your mailbox, such as emails, calendars, and other mail items, even without an internet connection.
This file is encrypted with MAPIEntryID GUID and linked with the specific Outlook profile and Exchange mailbox. It means your OST file becomes orphaned or inaccessible, if your Exchange Server or profile is not available.
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Reasons for Extracting Emails from the OST File
Below, we have mentioned some of the most common reasons to extract emails from the OST file:
- Create a backup of important emails and other mailbox items.
- Save OST data in PST format for easier access and portability.
- Move mailbox data to a new computer.
- Recovering the mailbox items from OST.
- Backup data before deleting a profile.
- Migrate data to another Outlook account.
Method to Extract Emails from OST Online
You need to use an advanced OST to PST converter to extract your mailbox data if your OST file becomes inaccessible or orphaned. For this, you can go for the online OST to PST converter by Stellar. This is an online tool specially designed to convert your OST file to PST. Its user-friendly interface enables you to convert OST to PST in just a few clicks.
Moreover, you can track real time progress of the conversion process. This online tool ensures complete data privacy and security by automatically deleting the uploaded and converted OST file within 24 hours from company’s server. You can convert up to 500 MB OST file for free.
Also, there is a premium version available of this tool that allows you to convert up to 5 GB OST file. However, if your data file is more than 5 GB, then you should go for the desktop version of this tool – Stellar Converter for OST.
Some of the key benefits of this online converter include:
- No software installation required
- Accessible from any device with an internet connection
- Easy-to-follow conversion process
- Faster setup and minimal technical knowledge needed
- Option to preview the converted data before downloading it
Let’s see the steps to convert an OST file to PST format:
- Launch any browser on your device, like Chrome or Firefox.
- Now visit the official website of Stellar’s Online OST to PST Converter.
- Ensure to sign up before starting the conversion.
- Click on Upload OST File.
- Find and select the OST file (<500 MB).
- Click on Open and wait until the file is uploaded.
- Select on Start Conversion.
- You can track the progress of conversion on the screen.
- The process of conversion will take some time to complete.
- Once the process is complete, you will see two options – Preview and Save PST file.
- If you want to preview your converted file, then choose preview. It will provide preview of your data in HTML format.
- Else, click Save PST file to download the file.
The converted file will be downloaded to the default Download folder. Now you can open or import the PST file into any Outlook. To do this, you can use Microsoft Outlook’s Import/Export Wizard.
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Conclusion
Extracting data from your OST file is simple if your data file is accessible. But if your Offline Storage File becomes orphaned or inaccessible, then the only way to extract the emails or other mailbox items is by converting such a file to PST format. To do this, use online OST to PST converter by Stellar.
This tool provides a quick and secure way to convert OST file (of up to 500 MB) to PST for free. However, if you have larger OST files, then you can go for Stellar Converter for OST – the desktop version. This tool allows you to convert OST files, without any file size limit.
