How to Recover Deleted Mailboxes from an OST File

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: In this situation, the OST file data is deleted permanently. And you cannot recover the data from the Deleted Items folder.

Reasons for Permanent Deletion of OST File Data

1. When the Shift+Delete key is pressed for deleting an item, it leads to permanent deletion.
2. 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.

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 mailboxes or items from an OST file and export them to a PST file.
• Corruption: OST files may get corrupted due to unexpected system shutdowns, malware infections, or hardware issues, making some emails inaccessible or causing them to be deleted. EdbMails helps in such situations by repairing the damaged OST file and recover deleted emails or items, ensuring you can retrieve important mailbox data without relying on Outlook or the original server.
• Malware Attacks: Malware attacks can cause significant damage to OST files, resulting in data loss. EdbMails can recover deleted emails or 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 deleted mailboxes or items from an earlier backup of the OST file.
• Exchange Server Crash: An unexpected Exchange Server crash can make mailbox data inaccessible or lead to the deletion of important emails. EdbMails enables you to recover those deleted items directly from the OST file, without any connection to the original server. You can also export recovered Outlook emails to an external hard drive for safe, long-term storage and easy access.

• How to Recover Deleted Mailbox Items from an OST File?

  Deleted items in an OST file are typically stored in the 'Recoverable Items' > 'Deletions' subfolder. By default, Outlook retains these items for 14 days after deletion, though administrators can extend this window to up to 30 days. If the mailbox has Litigation Hold or a retention policy enabled, deleted items may be preserved even longer in the 'Purges' subfolder and remain recoverable well beyond the standard window.

  EdbMails scans these folders specifically during the recovery process, displaying deleted emails, contacts, calendar items, and other mailbox data separately from the active mailbox contents. This lets you identify exactly what was deleted and choose which items to restore, rather than recovering the entire mailbox.

  To recover deleted items from your OST file:

  1. Download and install EdbMails, then sign in or start your free trial.
  2. Select the offline OST file you want to scan, and choose a location to save the recovered data.
  3. Once EdbMails completes the scan, browse the 'Recoverable Items' folder (and 'Purges', if applicable) to preview the deleted emails, contacts, and other items available for recovery. Select the specific items or folders you want to restore.
  4. Click 'Start Export' to recover the selected items into a new PST file, which you can then import back into Outlook.

   For the complete step-by-step installation and export walkthrough, see our Convert OST file to PST guide.