How do I retrieve contacts and other items from an old.ost file?

[E]

How do I retrieve information from an old .ost file? I thought I ws smart
saving off info on my old system this way, but that doesn't appear to be the
case? Ideally, I'd be able to import contacts, etc., into an existing, new
Outlook system (.pst?) that I don't want to lose/replace.

Thanks.

 

[Hal Hostetler [MVP P/I]]

If you still have access to the Exchange Server account that created your
..OST file, simply have Outlook create a new .OST on the new computer; an
..OST file is an offline copy of your Exchange Server mailbox. If you no
longer have the Exchange Server mailbox BUT you have the original Exchange
Server profile in Outlook, you can start Outlook offline with this profile
to gain access to the .OST where you can copy it's contents to a .PST file.
If both the Exchange Server mailbox AND the original Outlook profile are
gone, third party help is about all that's left.

Here's Microsoft's take on it:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;195793
OL2000: (CW) How to Recover Offline Folder Information
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/163589/EN-US/
XCLN: Restoring from an OST after Deleting the Mailbox

This may work with Windows XP if you have a system restore point made before
you removed the Exchange Server profile:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;243928
OL2000: (CW) Restoring a Deleted or Modified Outlook Offline Profile

Third party help:

http://www.payam.com.au/exchangeconverstion-convertosttopsthtml.htm
OST to PST File Conversion Service
http://officerecovery.com/exchange/
ExchangeRecovery (OST2PST)

Hal
--
Hal Hostetler, CPBE -- (e-mail address removed)
Senior Engineer/MIS -- MS MVP-Print/Imaging -- WA7BGX
http://www.kvoa.com -- "When News breaks, we fix it!"
KVOA Television, Tucson, AZ. NBC Channel 4
Still Cadillacin' - www.badnewsbluesband.com

 

[Jusen]

If you want to retrieve information from an old .ost file then I want to suggest a tool to retrieve (extract) contact from Outlook OST and PST files and save them into separate files or folders at a selective location. save data on the old system with this ToolsBaer Outlook Attachment Extractor Tool which can be a helpful tool to retrieve all ost file contacts, emails, attachments, messages, tasks, notes, and events, even the retrieve task can happen with drafts as well without installing Outlook, it gives safe data in different formats like it gives contacts in VCF format and Calendar in ICS format. Users can install this application on Windows 10,8.1, 8, 7, XP, and Vista operating systems, and in this app, the advantage is it has a free demo trial and preview option that can help you to see your inaccessible OST file data before retrieving it.