When Outlook is configured with Office 365, Outlook.com, or Exchange Server, it creates an Offline Storage Table file or OST to store mailbox items, such as emails, contacts, calendars, attachments, personal folders, etc., on the local storage. The OST file allows you to access mailbox items without internet or server connectivity.
OST file is automatically saved at a default location on your system. Usually, moving the OST file to another location is not required. Still, sometimes situations arise when you have to move the local OST file data to another location or system. This article will explore such situations and discuss how to move Outlook 365 OST data files to another location.
Why You Need to Move Outlook 365 Ost Data File?
Here are some circumstances where you need to move your OST file to another location:
- Lack of Storage: Moving your OST file to another drive or device with more storage is best if you have a small drive or lack of space on the existing drive.
- Improve Performance of the System: The operating system and other applications consume a lot of space and may slow down the system’s performance. You can change the location of the Outlook OST file to free up some space on the drive. This may help improve the performance of the system.
- To Reduce Chances of Filing Corruption: If your Outlook 365 OST file is stored on the same disk as the operating system and other applications, the chances of OST file corruption are high in case of disk errors and other issues. You can change the OST data file location to reduce the file’s corruption risk.
How to Change the Location of Your OST File?
If you need to change the location of your OST file, then you can follow the steps below.
Create a New Outlook Profile
The easiest option to change the default location of the OST file is to create a new Outlook profile. To create a new profile, follow the below steps.
- Copy the OST file from the default location to your desired location.
- Open the Control Panel and click the Mail option.
- In the open dialog box, select the Show Profiles option and click the Add button.
- Give a name to the new profile and click OK.
- Enter your email account credentials and click Next.
- Outlook will configure your new email account. Then, select the Change account settings option and click Next.
- In the Server Settings window, click More Settings, go to the Advanced option, and select Outlook Data File Settings.
- Go to the location where you have copied your existing OST file, select it, and click Open. Then, click Finish.
- Again, go to the Control Panel and select the Mail option.
- Select the Always use this profile option and select the New Profile from the dropdown list.
- Now click Apply and then OK.
Change OST Location via ForcePST Registry
You can use the ForcePST Windows Registry key to change the location of the OST file. Follow these steps:
- Open the Run dialog box (Windows + R) and type “regedit”.
- In the Windows Registry Editor window, look at the left-hand pane. Navigate to
Computer\ HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook.
- In the right-hand pane, right-click on the empty area. Select New > Expandable String Value.
- In the Value name field, enter ForceOSTPath and provide a new path for OST in the Value data field.
- Close the Registry Editor and restart Outlook.
Turn off Cached Exchange Mode
Another option is to disable the Cached Exchange Mode, configure a new location for the Outlook data (OST) file, and then again enable the cached Exchange mode. Outlook will create a new OST file at the newly configured location and download all the mailbox items from the server. The steps for the same are:
- Open Outlook. Navigate to Info > Account Settings > Account Settings.
- Click the Data Files tab, select your account, and click on Settings.
- Go to the Advanced tab in the open window, disable the Use Cached Exchange Mode option, and click OK > OK.
- Now click on Settings and go to the Advanced tab. Then, click Outlook Data File Settings > Disable Offline Use > Yes.
- Select Outlook Data File Settings, go to the new OST file location, click Open, and click OK.
- Again, go to the Advanced tab, select the Use Cached Exchange Mode option, and click OK.
- Now, close all the dialog boxes and click OK.
What if the OST file becomes inaccessible?
Suppose the OST file becomes inaccessible or orphaned while moving to another location or for any other reason. In that case, the only option is to use a third-party OST to PST converter tool, such as Stellar Converter for OST. This tool can extract the data from inaccessible and orphaned OST files and save it to PST, which you can import into your Outlook profile.
It can also save the OST file data to MSG, EML, HTML, RTF, and PDF formats. This tool can even export the OST file data directly to Microsoft 365. The tool has an intuitive user interface and supports OST files created in all Outlook versions, including Outlook 365.
Conclusion
Though it is not usually required, sometimes situations arise where you need to move your Outlook OST to a different location. In this article, we have discussed different ways to change the location of Outlook 365 OST data files. However, in case your OST file turns orphaned or inaccessible, the best option is to use Stellar Converter for OST to extract the contents from the OST file and save them to PST and other file formats.
