Restore deleted emails from an Outlook OST file
Mail management is an important aspect of modern-day communication, and the ease and convenience of digital platforms like Outlook and Exchange server have made it an integral part of our daily routine. However, accidental deletion of email folders or individual messages can cause data loss.
Typically, when an email or folder is deleted in Outlook or Exchange server, it is moved to the Deleted Items folder. In this folder, the deleted items can be retrieved quickly and easily. However, when you accidentally delete those items from the Deleted Items folder as well, then the only option is to recover those items.
Reasons for OST File data deletion
There could be many reasons for OST file data deletion, but in practice, it can be categorized into two different types.
- Soft Deletion: In this situation, the email data is not permanently deleted from the system. It is moved to the Deleted Items folder in Outlook and then you can restore the data to retrieve these deleted items.
- Hard Deletion: When the OST file data is deleted permanently, it’s known as hard deleted data. In this situation, you cannot recover the data from the Deleted Items folder.
Reasons for permanent deletion of OST data
- When the Shift+Delete key is pressed for deleting an item, it leads to permanent deletion.
- When the Deleted items folder is accidentally emptied without backing up the data.
You can use ScanOST for Outlook to retrieve and export the deleted emails from the Deleted Items folder. But if the OST file cannot be opened or if the mail items are permanently deleted from this folder, the only option is to restore your emails from a backup OST snapshot.
Limitations of manual methods to recover deleted OST files
- You cannot recover the data from an orphan OST file.
- You cannot recover the data from a corrupted or encrypted OST file.
- No option to recover mailbox items other than emails.
In all of the aforementioned scenarios, the best approach is to recover the deleted items from the OST file and convert it into a PST. Luckily, with EdbMails OST to PST converter, you can recover deleted mailboxes, folders in just a few clicks.
Practical situations of deleted email recovery from Outlook files
Here are some real time scenarios where recovering deleted email items from an OST file can be necessary:
- Accidental deletion: An email can be accidentally deleted by a user, which may result in the permanent loss of important data. In such cases, EdbMails can help to recover deleted items from an OST file and export them to a PST file.
- Corruption: OST files can become corrupted due to various reasons such as sudden system shutdown, virus attacks, or hardware failure. In such cases, some emails may become inaccessible or get deleted. EdbMails can repair and recover deleted items from a corrupted OST file.
- Malware attacks: Malware attacks can cause significant damage to OST files, resulting in data loss. EdbMails can recover deleted items from an infected OST file, ensuring that important data is not lost.
- Accidental modification: Users may accidentally modify or overwrite important email items, which can result in data loss. EdbMails can help to recover the deleted items from an earlier backup of the OST file.
- Exchange Server crash: A sudden Exchange Server crash can result in the loss of important email data. EdbMails can help to recover deleted email items from the OST file, even if the Exchange Server is not available. Learn how to export outlook emails to an external hard drive.
How to recover mailbox items from an OST file?
- Download and install the EdbMails application.
- Browse and select the OST file from your computer
- Check the 'Show All the folders' option as highlighted below.
- Select the ‘Deleted Items’ folder to recover the deleted emails
- Export the OST to PST to recover the deleted items. That’s it!
Note: To restore a deleted Exchange mailbox with EdbMails, choose the most recent backup snapshot of the OST file and extract the contents to a PST file.
