Best Way to Delete and Recreate or Rebuild OST File in Outlook

Summary: Hunting a solution to rebuild and delete OST file Outlook 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007? Having any trouble to recreate OST file? If yes, you can have a look at this article as it elaborates both manual and automated method so that the OST file again becomes accessible.

In some situations, OST files show undesirable behavior when a user tries to access mailbox data from it. There are many reasons behind these issues that occur in Outlook OST file like Virus infection, synchronization issues, accidental deletion of OST file from the Exchange Server etc. In such a scenario, the user needs to delete OST file that is existing and then recreates or backup OST file to fix the abnormality in OST file. This situation can arise in any version of Outlook among Outlook 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, 2000 etc.

Need to Delete OST File Outlook 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, 2003 and 2000

Outlook stores its data file in two modes i.e. OST and PST. There are various reasons behind the damage of OST file which restrain it from performing the normal function of Outlook. But the primary reasons are virus intrusion and sync issues. For fixing these issues, a user can either delete OST file or sync Outlook with the Exchange Server.

It is recommended that before deleting OST file from MS Outlook, make an updated backup. However, after the deletion of OST file, all the changes made offline will be lost. After synchronization of Outlook with the Exchange server, a new OST file will automatically be created. But, there are some chances of data loss. Thus, in some cases, a utility can easily resolve Outlook OST error.

Primary Reasons behind the OST File Damage

There are multiple causes for the corruption in an OST file. Some of the software and hardware errors that make the corruption in OST files are:

• Virus intrusion in the system
• Issues in hard drive such as bad sectors
• Power outage while files get sync
• Abrupt termination of Outlook session
• Issues in the storage device
• Storage files have reached their maximum capacity
• Network issues
• Issues and bugs in the Microsoft Outlook application

Procedure to Delete OST File Outlook 2016, 2013, 2010 and 2007

It is very easy to delete OST file if the location is known. First, locate the Outlook folder, then select the OST file and simply delete it. But, if you don’t know the exact location of OST file, go through these steps to delete OST file:

Note: Location of OST file is different for different versions of Outlook.

• Close the Outlook, if running.
• Open the Run window or press Windows key + R.
• Type “%LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Outlook\” in Run window prompt and click OK.
• The location of OST file will be automatically detected by the command in any Outlook 2016/2013/2010/2007/2003/2000 version.
• Now, select the .ost file. You can delete it in two ways, either right-click on it and select Delete option or simply press the Delete Key.

How to Recreate OST file Manually

The process to rebuild or recreate OST file is different for the different versions of Outlook. The procedure for various versions has been explained below. You can follow accordingly.

Recreate OST file in Outlook 2016, 2013 and 2010

1. Run the MS Outlook. Open the Tools menu
2. Now, open the File Menu and click on Info tab
3. Then, under the Account Settings, click on Microsoft Exchange
4. After that, click on Exchange two times and hit the More Settings option
5. In Outlook 2013, select the Advance option and then click on Outlook Data File Settings
6. Now, under File box, specify the location and click on OK button

Rebuild OST file in Outlook 2007

1. Run MS Outlook. Go through the path File → Info → Account Settings.
2. Under the Account Settings, choose the Email tab and select the Microsoft Exchange option.
3. Click on the More Settings option.
4. Now, select the Advanced option in the Microsoft Exchange window.
5. Click on Offline Folder File Settings.
6. Specify the path of the OST file in the file field.
7. Now, the system will name the OST file as xxxx.ost.
8. Click OK and then on Finish.

Using this procedure, we can recreate or rebuild deleted items in the Outlook OST file.

Recreate Delete OST file Outlook 2002 and 2003

1. Run MS Outlook. Click on Tools → Email Accounts.
2. In the Email section, click on View or change existing email accounts
3. Don’t select any option under the Directory and click on Next
4. Under the “Outlook processes e-mail for these accounts in the following order” section, select the Microsoft Exchange Server and click on change
5. Now, click the More Settings option and select the ‘Advanced’ option
6. Choose the Offline Folder File Settings
7. Specify the path of the OST file.
8. Click OK. The system will name the OST file as xxx.ost. If a file already exists with the same name in the system, you will be asked for a new file name.
9. At last, click OK → Next and then click Finish.

The system recreates the OST file.

Alternate Solution to Recreate OST

Although, manual methods are good to go and also they are free of cost but often full of risks. Also, they tend to be complicated. Thus, an alternate solution to rebuild OST file is to convert it into PST file format. For this, a professional OST to PST Converter should be employed. This tool not only converts OST to PST file format that we can directly import to Outlook but also extracts entire mailbox content from OST files and stores it in the newly created PST file. So, If you feel tired of the manual approach, it is wise to go for this tool for the conversion of OST to PST. Some of its advanced features are:

1.  Recovers highly damaged or corrupted OST files.

2. No limitation for file size to rebuild/recreate OST file.

3. Saves the output file into multiple format such as PST, MSG, MBOX, DBX and EML.

4. Creates log file for entire process of OST to PST conversion.

5. Intuitive interface familiar with both technical and non-technical users.

6. Supportive to all the versions of Windows OS.

Final words

In this article, all about how to delete OST file Outlook 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, 2003 and 2000 . As the location of OST file is different for all the Outlook versions so, the procedure is also different to delete and rebuild OST file. A user can follow the procedure according to their Outlook version. Also, I have discussed some advanced features of this tool. Thanks for visiting this blog.