How to Export OST Files to PST Files for Free

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Nowadays, MS Outlook is being used for professional as well as personal use. Most of the users prefer Outlook because of its various functionalities. Every business must need an Outlook Email Client to effectively manage their messages. OST and PST are storage file formats in Outlook. 

An OST File is an offline file by which users can work offline. It is the exact replica of the Microsoft Exchange Server on the user's system. Whereas if we talk about PST files then it is stored in the hard disk of the logged-in Outlook user. There are a lot of reasonable reasons that initiate users to export OST files to PST files.

Why do Users Need OST to PST Conversion?

For Outlook users, there are several benefits from OST to PST conversion for example -

• At the time of Exchange server maintenance, the OST files become inaccessible. So for using those files, you need to export OST to PST and then import them into the MS Outlook application.

•  If you have done OST to PST conversion then you don’t have to worry about the data getting deleted from the Exchange server.

• In case of Exchange server crashes due to any reason, users can also access the data.

This is why users need OST to PST conversion. So let’s discuss the methods to Export OST files to PST files.

Different Methods to Export Your OST File to PST File

There are several methods/solutions available on the market, through which you can export OST files to PST files. Some of the manual  solutions for conversion are described below:

1. Import/Export Method to Convert OST File

This method requires an Exchange server connection and Outlook installation in the system. Follow the Steps to Export OST File as PST using Import/Export Method-

Step 1: Open up MS Outlook Application.

Step 2: Now click on the “File” menu and choose the “import/export” option.

Step 3: Next select the “Export to a file” option and click “Next” to proceed.

Step 4: Now select “Outlook data file (.pst)”  and click “Next”.

Step 5: Now “select the folder to export from” and click “Next”.

Step 6: Further choose “select duplicates to be created” for exporting the files and then click “finish”.

    2. Archive Method of Conversion

This method also requires an Exchange server connection and Outlook installation in the system. Follow below steps to Export OST file as PST using Archive Method -

Step 1: Open up the configured Outlook application.

Step 2: Now click on the “File” menu and select the “Archive” option. 

Step 3: Further Select the “file/folder” option to archive and browse the file location to save the archived file.

Step 4: At last click on “Finish” for completing the steps.

    3. Drag and Drop Method of OST File Conversion    

In this method, you have to create a new PST file after that drag and drop all of your folders to it and save.

Step 1: Open up the MS Outlook application.

Step 2: In your Outlook profile create a new PST file.

Step 3: Now select all the mailbox folders that you want to move and drag them within the new PST file.

The above three manual methods of OST to PST conversion come with limitations and restrictions that can create a major issue while exporting OST files to PST files. A few of them are given below - 

• Time-consuming process.

• Probability of data loss.

• It can increase data inconsistency.

• Size limitations are there.

• Need expertise to perform.

• You can not drag default folders like Inbox, Contacts, etc. in the drag and drop method.

• You can migrate all the OST data files except contacts in the archived method.

These are some major issues that can occur when performing OST to PST conversion. Users can avoid these limitations or issues by using third-party software. Here, OST to PST Converter can be more efficient for the conversion of OST files to PST file formats. 

OST to PST converter is a proficient tool that can convert/export OST data files into PST data files in a  very efficient method. This smart converter tool has no limitations at all. It can migrate all your OST Data files into different file formats like PST, PDF, EML, MSG, MBOX, EMLX, etc. So if you want a method that can Export OST files to PST files then I recommend you to use an OST to PST converter for conversion.

Final Words

We have discussed all the possible solutions to Export OST files to PST Files. Similarly, mentioned the possible reasons for converting OST to PST. The above methods can create an issue like data loss, data integrity, In addition, needs of technical expertise to do so. Besides, To avoid these restrictions, you can opt for an alternate solution for the conversion of OST files to PST file formats. 

Thanks for Reading the Blog. I hope you got a solution for this conversion. 

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