Converting OST to PST in case of Corrupted OST file in Outlook 2003

www.convert-ost-pst.comAn OST (Offline Storage Table) file is one of the files used in Microsoft Outlook. It is specially used in the organizations where the Internet connectivity is very unreliable. You can work on the OST file in the offline mode and get it synchronized when the connection is restored with the server. However, sometimes there may be some problems while the synchronization takes place. Because of this, the OST file can get corrupt. In such cases, you should repair the OST file using the Inbox Repair Tool. However, if the issue is not resolved then you should use a third-party OST to PST conversion software to convert OST to PST.

Consider a scenario wherein you encounter the following error message when you try to synchronize an OST file in Outlook 2003.

"Unable to expand the folder. The set of folders could not be opened. Errors could have been detected in the file xxxx.ost. Quit all mail-enabled applications, and then use the Inbox Repair Tool."

Where, xxxx.ost is the name of the offline folder (OST) file that is created by Outlook when you are working Mailbox Exchange offline.

Cause:

The root cause of this error message is that the OST file has damaged or corrupted. Outlook is unable to process the OST file. Hence, this error is displayed.

Resolution:
To resolve this erroneous situation, you should use the in-built Inbox Repair Tool utility as suggested in the error message. But, before doing anything you should make a backup of the OST file to avoid further damage to it. To repair the OST file, you should perform the following steps:

1)Click Run on the Start menu.
2)In the Open box, type drive:\Program Files\Common Files\System\Mapi\LocaleID\scanpst.exe and press Enter.
3)In the Enter the name of the file you want to scan text box, type the path and file name given in the error message.
4)To change the options for logging errors during the scan, click Options. If you choose Replace log or Append to log, the log file is saved to the same directory as the OST file.
5)Click Start.
6)Select the Make a backup of scanned file before repairing check box when the file scan is completed.
7)Click Repair.

The aforementioned steps should be able to repair the OST file. However, if the issue is still not resolved then you should use a OST-PST conversion software to convert OST to PST file. Such tools are read-only in nature that do not overwrite the original file during the OST-PST conversion.

Stellar Phoenix Mailbox Exchange Desktop is an OST-PST conversion software(http://www.convert-ost-pst.com/ost-recovery.php that is able to convert OST file to its equivalent PST. It is able to recover various Outlook objects such as emails, contacts, tasks, etc. In addition, this OST to PST conversion software preserves the formatting in the RTF and HTML messages. It is compatible with Windows 7, Vista, Server 2003, XP, and Server 2000.