Outlook: OST File Corruption

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In your office, are you using Outlook 2016 that is connected to Exchange Server and currently facing the issue of OST file corruption?

When the Outlook offline data (OST) file becomes damaged, all the business data stored in it becomes inaccessible, thereby pausing all the business communication and other business related work. In such a situation, it becomes indispensable for you to repair the damaged and inaccessible OST file in the best possible way and minimum time. Further, it becomes essential to convert the inaccessible and corrupted OST file into PST.

With these tasks done, you will be able to easily import the PST file in Outlook using the inbuilt Import/Export Wizard and permitted to access the stored all business data, be it …show more content…

Know the reasons
The different reasons for corrupted and inaccessible Outlook offline data (OST) file are as follows:
1. Logically or physically corrupted hard disk drive - Outlook OST file can become damaged or inaccessible due to logical/physical corruption in the system’ hard disk drive (HDD) in which the OST file is stored. The bad sectors in the HDD may be responsible for physical damage in the HDD.
2. Computer virus or malware attack – Attack by PC virus or malicious code is another significant reason for corruption in Outlook OST file. As any other data stored in your system, the OST file also gets affected by computer viruses or malware. As a prevention, you can install a powerful anti-virus software that is effective and successfully prevents the PC viruses and malware from entering into your system.

3. Unusual or Abnormal Outlook Termination - If Outlook is closed or terminated abnormally while opening, accessing or synchronizing the Outlook Offline (OST) file, then the OST file becomes damaged. This can happen in situations when Outlook is busy in performing a task and you close it by a click on ‘End Task’ in Windows Task Manager, or if you force shut down the system without closing Outlook and system using the correct …show more content…

Problem synchronizing between Outlook and Exchange Server - OST file that is stored locally on the user system needs to synchronize with Exchange Server once the Internet connectivity resumes. However, there are times when synchronization between the client and server fails, resulting in synchronization errors. This results in damaged and inaccessible orphaned OST file. Resolve this issue by repairing the OST file and convert it to PST format.

Solutions for damaged and inaccessible OST file
The different solutions for damaged OST file, i.e. methods using which damaged and inaccessible OST file can be repaired and made accessible are as follows:
1. Use scanpst.exe – Run scanpst.exe (Inbox Repair Tool) against the damaged and inaccessible OST file. It is an inbuilt utility in Outlook that can be used to repair both OST and PST Outlook data file. It checks for errors and attempts to fix those.

Note - This is the manual way of repairing OST file using which the OST file may or may not get repaired successfully, i.e. successful repair of OST file is not guaranteed. Failure repairing the OST file can be due to severe damage or lack of technical knowhow that is necessary for users to use this

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