OST to PST Converter FAQs

An OST (Offline Storage Table) file is created by Microsoft Outlook to store a local copy of mailbox data from Exchange or Microsoft 365. PST (Personal Storage Table) is a portable Outlook data file that can be opened independently of any mail server or account.

OST to PST conversion is the process of reading the data stored in an OST file and exporting it into a PST file so the mailbox content, including emails, contacts, calendars, tasks, and attachments, can be accessed in Outlook without requiring the original server connection or account.

You may need to convert an OST file to PST in the following situations:

1. The Exchange server has crashed or the mailbox on the Exchange server has been deleted and you need to access the emails.
2. You need to migrate emails to a different server.
3. Outlook is not syncing with Exchange server.
4. The OST file has become orphaned, corrupted or inaccessible.

Outlook can export mailbox data to PST when the original Outlook profile and mailbox are still accessible. Manual export is generally not suitable for an orphaned OST, deleted Outlook profile, unavailable Exchange mailbox or severely corrupted OST.

In those situations, dedicated OST recovery software is required to read the offline OST file directly. See OST Recovery Software vs Manual Methods.

No. An OST file is tied to the Outlook profile and Exchange or Microsoft 365 account that created it. Outlook on another computer will not open an OST file from a different machine or account directly. To access the data, the OST file must first be converted to PST using a recovery tool such as EdbMails, which reads the offline OST independently of any profile or server connection.

EdbMails lets you export your entire OST mailbox or select specific folders — such as Inbox, Contacts or Calendar — and save them directly to a PST file.

Follow the step-by-step OST to PST conversion guide for the full walkthrough.

EdbMails can scan, recover and preview an OST file without Outlook or the original Exchange profile. Microsoft Outlook with a configured profile is required when exporting recovered OST data to PST. Outlook is not required for direct OST to Microsoft 365 or Exchange migration.

No. EdbMails reads offline OST files independently, so the original Exchange Server does not need to be running or accessible for OST recovery and PST conversion.

No. EdbMails can scan an offline or orphaned OST file without the original Outlook profile. This is useful when the profile was deleted, Windows was reinstalled or the mailbox is no longer available.

An internet connection is not required to scan and recover OST file data. EdbMails reads the OST file locally from your drive. An internet connection may be required for the initial download, account activation or to contact technical support.

Yes. EdbMails reads the OST file independently of the original Exchange or Microsoft 365 account. If the mailbox no longer exists or the server is decommissioned, EdbMails can still scan the offline OST and export recoverable data to PST. See Recover orphaned OST file.

Yes. Because EdbMails reads the OST file directly from disk rather than connecting to Exchange, it can recover mailbox data even after the corresponding Exchange mailbox has been deleted. The OST file itself must still be accessible on the local drive or a network share. See Recover Mailbox After Exchange Mailbox Deletion.

Yes. Deleting an Outlook profile does not delete the OST file itself. As long as the OST file remains on disk, EdbMails can scan it and export the recoverable mailbox data to PST without needing the original profile. See Recover Deleted OST After Outlook Profile Deletion.

Yes. EdbMails can recover and convert password-protected and encrypted OST files to PST. See Recover encrypted OST file and Recover Password Protected OST File for details.

Recoverable deleted items can be previewed and exported where the underlying data remains recoverable in the OST file structure. EdbMails scans hidden areas of the OST that are no longer accessible through Outlook. See Recover deleted mailboxes from OST.

EdbMails does not impose an application-level source OST file-size limit. Actual processing time and storage requirements depend on OST size, mailbox item count, system resources and available disk space.

Yes. After scanning the OST file, EdbMails displays the recovered mailbox in a folder tree view. You can click any folder — Emails, Contacts, Calendar, Notes, Tasks — to list its items and view a detailed preview of individual items on the right side of the interface before deciding what to export.

1. Open the EdbMails application and sign in with your credentials.
2. Select OST Recovery and browse to the OST file you want to recover.
3. EdbMails scans the OST file and lists the mailbox folders in the tree view.
4. Click on any folder to preview its items and details.

Yes. After scanning the OST, EdbMails presents the full folder hierarchy and lets you select specific folders, sub-folders or individual items for export. Date filters are also available to narrow the export to items within a specific date range. See Selective OST export.

Yes. EdbMails supports recovery and conversion of an unlimited number of OST files to PST format. See Export unlimited OST files to PST.

Yes. EdbMails preserves the original folder and subfolder hierarchy, email metadata — including To, From, CC, BCC, date, subject and read/unread status — and all attachments during the conversion from OST to PST. See Recover metadata and attachments.

Yes. EdbMails can split the resulting PST output into multiple smaller PST files. This is useful when the converted data is large and a single PST file would exceed practical size limits. See Split OST file.

Yes. EdbMails OST to PST Converter lets you save OST file data into EML, MHT and HTML formats in addition to PST.

Yes. EdbMails is designed to support OST files with both English and non-English (Unicode) characters. If you observe any character conversion issue, change your System locale to English via the Region and Language option in your system Control Panel and try again. See

Conversion time depends on the number of mailbox items — emails, contacts, calendar entries, tasks and so on — in the OST file, the file size, system resources and available disk space. EdbMails is built for high-performance conversion, but there is no fixed time estimate that applies to all OST files.

Yes. After EdbMails converts your OST data to PST, you can store the resulting PST file as an archive copy of the recovered mailbox data. This is useful for retention, compliance or as a local backup of the data that was in the OST file at the time of conversion.

In the free trial version, you can export up to 30 items from each and every folder of the entire mailbox, including Inbox, Contacts, Calendars, Notes and Tasks. To convert without this limit, you need to purchase a licence. See the free OST to PST converter page for details.

1. download and install the EdbMails application.
2. Click the Start Your Free Trial button when prompted at login.

   

No. There is only one EdbMails setup that includes all the functionality: OST to PST, OST to Office 365 and OST to Live Exchange Server migration.

EdbMails does not require a separate key after purchasing the licence. Your account is automatically upgraded to the licence type you purchased. Download and install the application and sign in using the EdbMails account credentials — email address and password — that you created during licence purchase.

If you face any issues during or after the export, contact Technical Support. Support is available 24/7 via live chat, email and phone.