Categories: Email

Got Stuck with “Errors Have Been Detected in the OST” How to Fix ?

We all know that OST files are highly advantageous as they are an independent identity which means any change in the Exchange server does not affect the OST file. Above all, OST file enables you to work in the absence of Exchange server connectivity, without any interruption. Once the connection is re-established, changes are updated automatically.

We have seen the benefits of OST files, but situations like corruption and damage can make you change your stand about OST file. Another common issue that can be seen with .ost is “Errors have been detected in the file xxx.ost”. Nevertheless, all the problems with .ost are curable.

In this blog, we are addressing the issue “Errors have been detected in the file xxx.ost” along with all possible solutions. But before that, we would like to uncover some common causes of this error.

Possible reasons:

When you are trying to launch MS Outlook and the error namely “Error has been detected in the file xxxx.ost.” appears all of the sudden, get attentive and immediately quit all the applications which utilize Outlook in direct or indirect ways.

Once you are done closing all the applications, use the Inbox repair tool (Scanpst.exe) to fix the issue. This tool will perform a scan followed by diagnosing and repairing error in the OST file.

Let’s get into the depth of the error and unveil all related aspects one by one. Let’s start by uncovering the reasons for the issue:

Accidental closure of Outlook, while Outlook-Exchange synchronization is taking place.
The sudden power breakdown during the Outlook-Exchange synchronization
The corruption or damage in the file system
Virus or malware attack

How to Fix Errors with Outlook OST file:

Make use of the backup:

You can restore the data from the last backup you have made for your OST file.

But this method is only useful for those who have a regular habit of creating backups. If the data is not restored recently and it’s been quite a while you have taken a backup, this method is of no use for you.

Using the ScanOST tool:

Microsoft provides an inbuilt tool namely ScanOST.exe tool. This tool is perfect to fix the minor glitches with your OST file.

But this method also includes some limitations such as it doesn’t work for the corrupt files. So, if the OST file is contaminated with corruption, this tool is not helpful. Moreover, this tool won’t help beyond 2007 and in case you are using MS Outlook 2010, 2013, 2016 or 2019 version of MS Outlook, it won’t be helpful.

Recreate the OST file after clearing all offline data:

Clearing the offline data from your OST file can fix the source of corruption. Follow the steps given below for emptying the OST file:

First, look for the OST file on your device
Now click right on the folder which contains the respective file and goes to Properties
In the prompted dialogue box, select the “Clear Offline Items” option.
Click OK and then launch Outlook.
Tap on the Send or Receive tab from the Outlook 2010 ribbon and click “Update folder”

Once you are done removing the data from your OST file, it’s time to synchronize Outlook with the Exchange server; this way a new OST will form and the entire mailbox data will be saved in it.

This works perfectly for most of the users but often led you losing the recently saved Outlook data, if the corruption occurred before the data merge. So be prepared to bear some loss while using this method.

Generate a new Outlook profile:

In a few of the rare cases, the error can occur due to profile-corruption. For creating a new default Outlook profile, all you need is to follow the three steps given here below:

First, delete the current default profile
Create a new profile
Now set the newly created profile as default.

If this method doesn’t work, you need a professional tool to deal with the things.

Use Recovee OST to PST converter:

If no method helps you fix the issue, you need to convert the OST file to PST, and this can be done by using a proficient third-party tool and Recovee is best for such purposes. This tool is mainly designed to extract the data from the corrupted file and form a new PST file using the same data. Then, the PST file can be saved on Outlook.