Recover OST file
After a recent crash, I was forced to reinstall Windows. Despite having backed up my Outlook OST data file, I’m unable to load it back into Outlook. I’ve got loads of contacts stored on that file – how can I get them back? FRANCES TAYLOR Cat Ellis replies: OST files are Offline Storage Files, which are used when you connect to your email provider using IMAP to preserve a copy of the original emails on your mail server.
Unlike PST files, these can’t be added back to Outlook – the logic is that you’ll simply re-sync Outlook with your mail server and all will be fine, but it fails to account for the fact that other data – such as the all-important Contacts – are stored in the OST file.
You can open the OST file and browse the data inside it using free OST viewer tools – one of the best is Free Outlook OST File Viewer ( www.freeviewer.org), which can view contact lists as well as individual contacts.
From here you can manually copy the data that you want out, but if you want to export it and want an easier method take a look at the OST to PST tool (US$49, www.freeviewer.org/
ost/pst.html), which produces a file that you can use in Outlook going forward.