Outlook data files categorized as OST and PST are undoubtedly the fundamentals of MS Outlook. PST files come into use when you work with Outlook and having POP3 or IMAP access of a mail account. PST files reside on the local machine of the user and store all the Outlook data present in the user’s mailbox.
OST file on the opposite fence comes into existence when the user uses Outlook with Exchange Server. It is the replica of the user’s mailbox data saved on server. Similar to a PST file, all the items like mails, attachments, calendars, contacts, etc are stored in the OST file.
What does OST files do?
When you work with Exchange server account, all the items like mails, contacts, calendars, etc get delivered and stored on the server. You can configure Outlook to store the local copy of the data in a file termed as Offline Storage Table or OST file. The OST file provides user the facility to work with Outlook in offline mode as well as when there is no internet connection or the user tends to be offline. These OST files then get synchronized with the Exchange server once the internet connection is available. As already mentioned these OST files are the replica of the Exchange server mailbox. These OST files prove to be beneficial in cases of:
- Slow internet connection
- Sudden shutdown of Exchange server
- Unavailability of Exchange server
- Synchronization issues with Exchange server
- In case of Exchange mailbox deletion
OST Synchronization errors
At times during the process of synchronization errors takes place. In this section we will focus on OST errors and the reasons for their presence. Outlook “Internal Error code=0000000E” is one of the common errors that the users come across. While working with Outlook if you experience this error then I assure you that either your OST files have got corrupt or there are synchronization issues between OST file with Exchange server.
Solution to fix “Internal Error Code=0000000E”?
The “Internal Error Code=0000000E” arises due to interruption in the process of synchronization. Due to this error the consistency and efficiency of OST file is affected. Also the OST file and the data stored in it may become inaccessible. You can fix this error by deploying any of the below mentioned solutions:
1. Scanhost.exe(OST Integrity Check Tool)
Inbox OST repair tool is a free utility introduced by Microsoft to deal with the synchronization issues in OST file. It scans the OST file compares and restores the differences caused at the time of synchronization. To run the tool you need to connect to your Exchange account.
Steps to execute Scanost.exe:
- Exit MS Outlook if running
- Double click on Scanost.exe present at location: Drive:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office_version.
- If you have set your Outlook profile to prompt for a profile, in the Profile Name list open the profile that contains the OST file which you want to scan
- Select Connect if you get a prompt to Work Offline or Connect.
- Select Repair Errors to let the tool automatically correct all the errors.
- Click on Begin Scan.
NOTE: The above procedure is just for Outlook 2007. It is not applicable for Outlook 2010 as Scanost.exe was removed by Microsoft from Outlook 2010.
2. Rebuild OST File
In case the error continues to persist after applying the above fix, it means that your OST file has got corrupted. In this case, you can delete the corrupt OST file and rebuild it. This might resolve the problem as it could be related to corrupt profile also.
Limitations of manual methods
- scanhost.exe can only work around synchronizing issues. Any other reason for OST inaccessibility cannot be fixed.
- The manual methods cannot recover deleted items from the OST file.
- The OST recovery process is very slow. It fails to repair damaged Outlook OST file that is severely corrupt.
- These methods do not give desired results in OST files having a large size.
Employ Third Party Tools
The manual methods do not prove to be a great helping hand to fix the errors that occur in OST file. In such a scenario it is always beneficial to take help of powerful software. The software efficiently scans the OST files, diagnose the errors, and fix the OST corruption issues. One of such software is OST Recovery. It can restore permanently deleted data form OST files. The software can convert orphaned OST to PST. You can also convert the recovered data to different formats like MSG, EML, and the good part is you can open OST in Outlook 2013 (http://www.openostinoutlook.org/) or lower editions successfully.
Conclusion
No one can deny the importance of OST Files while working with Exchange server. And corruption of these files may prove to be drastic in some situations. Thus whenever an error is displayed in your OST file it becomes necessary to eliminate them. Manual methods prove to be tiresome and very lengthy. Therefore for the removal of errors and recovery of corrupted OST files it is strongly recommended to use third party tools.
Author Bio: The writer has been working in the technical era from an appreciable amount of time. He holds specialization in MS Outlook. He is an active blogger and has submitted guest posts on various websites. In this article he has mentioned about the issues arising while working with OST files. http://www.convertosttopst.importostfiles.net/
