Normally, Outlook saves a copy of all its data in a file on your local computer. These files are called .pst and .ost files. OST comes into picture if you’re using an Exchange account or Outlook 365 and PST is when you use a POP account.
This OST file updates itself as and when your Outlook is connected to the internet using the information available on the server. However, due to slow internet connection or due to various other reasons, there may be issues with this synchronization process.
Confirm that your folders are not syncing properly
To confirm that there really is a problem with your folders syncing, you can perform a little test using the steps below.
- Right click on the folder to be verified and click Properties
- Select the Synchronization tab and check the statistics for this folder. Here, the value in ‘Server Folder contains’ and ‘Offline folder contains’ should be the same. If there is a mismatch, it indicates that your folders are not syncing properly, in which case, you can proceed with the next step.
Step 1: Check if Cached Mode is enabled
For Outlook folders to sync properly, the cached mode should be enabled. To check if it is enabled, perform the following steps.
- Open Outlook and select File from the menu
- Select Account Settings > Account Settings
- In the Data files tab, make sure that the account name is set the default
- Click on the Email tab > Mailbox – Account Name > Change
- Check if Cached Exchange Mode is selected; if not please select it
- Then close the Account Settings box and restart Outlook
Step 2: Synchronize folders
Once the cached mode setting is enabled, you will have to synchronize the folders again either manually or automatically.
Case 1: To manually synchronize folders
- Click on the folder to be synchronized and select Tools menu
- Click Send/Receive and then click This folder to synchronize a particular folder
- If you want to synchronize all folders, click Send/Receive All
Case 2: To automatically synchronize folders
- Click on the Tools menu, click Options
- Choose Mail setup
- In the Send/Receive tab, select ‘Send immediately when connected’ and click Send/Receive
- Also, select ‘Perform an automatic send/receive when exiting’ in the Send/Receive Groups dialogue and click Close
- Click Ok
However, if this method doesn’t help you synchronize folders or if all except your Inbox folder is not synchronized, it indicates that your OST file may be corrupt. In that case, you can use Hi5’s OST to PST converter to convert the corrupt OST file to a PST. Once this is done, all your emails, contacts, calendars etc can be recovered once the PST is imported to Outlook.
To work with Hi5Software is really simple, simply select the OST file (or let the software to do it for you automatically) to repair. Then provide a destination to save the repaired file and click Repair. That is all you need to do, the software will take care of the rest and repair the file for you.
To see how the software works, you can download a trial and convert your OST file for free! Check it out today!
