Can I add an existing .ost file to a mail account?

[Guest]

First, I can't find the thread that was helping me with a hidden file problem
while trying to find a .pst file. The advice was great and solved the
problem.

What we're trying to do is move the email from an old laptop to a new one.
The old laptop is from an environment that had Exchange so the bulk of the
email is in an .ost file (the .pst contains no data).

The new laptop has never been part of an Exchange environment so the data is
in a .pst file.

One way to get the email moved over is, from inside Outlook on the old
laptop, copy folders from the .ost to the .pst. It's a bit tedious but it
seems to work. Once the .pst is ready it's simply a matter of copying the
file to the Local Settings area on the new laptop and telling Mail to include
it.

The question is: can we simply copy the original .ost file to the Local
Settings area on the new laptop and somehow tell Mail to include it? There
will be no reason to ever use the data in the .ost other than to read it.
Eventually the email will be deleted and sooner or later the old .pst file
can be removed and deleted.

When you add a file in Mail it wants to know whether its a .pst (or whatever
that old Outlook format was). So if you select .pst but select the .ost will
the data be included the next time Outlook is opened?

Sure would be faster....

Thanks

Tom

 

[Guest]

The question is: can we simply copy the original .ost file to the Local
Settings area on the new laptop and somehow tell Mail to include it?

Unfortunately, the answer is no. You would need to setup an Exchange-based
profile on the new notebook.
If you have access to the Exchange Server, you could try using Microsoft's
ExMerge utility to export mailboxes to Personal Folders Files (.pst).

ExMerge:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...ec-dcdf-47dc-96da-1c12d67327d5&DisplayLang=en

There are several third-party and generally expensive utilities available
that purport ability to convert .ost files to .pst format. I have not tried
any, so I won't make a recommendation. If interested, try this google search:

http://www.google.com/search?q=convert+ost+to+pst

HTH,

Ronald Nissley

 

[Guest]

Unfortunately, the answer is no. You would need to setup an Exchange-based
profile on the new notebook.
If you have access to the Exchange Server, you could try using Microsoft's

Thanks for the note. I kinda expected that after dabbling around in Outlook
and Mail.

I also did look at some of the conversion tools but they are way too
expensive for a one-time, small job. We'll just continue copying the folders
in the ost to folders in the pst and then move the pst when done.

Thanks again for the help.

Tom

 

[Guest]

On the old machine open outlook: file>import export>export to a pst>select
mailbox(what the ost shadows/caches)>select all sub folders>finish. copy this
pst to the new machine and attach/open in the new outlook. Good luck. ken

 

[Guest]

On the old machine open outlook: file>import export>export to a pst>select
mailbox(what the ost shadows/caches)>select all sub folders>finish. copy this
pst to the new machine and attach/open in the new outlook. Good luck. ken

Thanks

It looks like it will work fine.

Tom

 

[JNPT]

Surely No. Either you need to convert ost file to usable pst file which
could be directly imported in outlook or setup an exchange based profile.
To Convert ost to pst: http://www.convert-ost-pst.com/

 

[VanguardLH]

JNPT replies to an ancient thread:

tcarp wrote back on 23-Feb-2007:

<snip - something dating back almost 3 years>

<snipped JNPT's reply since the thread is long dead>

The site-spamming boob returns who cannot look at datestamps BEFORE
replying.

 

[osttopst2002]

I have a right solution OST to PST Converter : http://www.osttopstconverter.co.uk