OST Sync Fails after Using Microsoft Exchange Migration Wizard to Migrate a Mailbox

Microsoft Exchange Server allows the administrator to migrate user mailboxes from one Exchange installed computer to another Exchange installed computer in a different organization. You can accomplish this task by using Microsoft Exchange Migration Wizard or by applying its equivalent commands. After this operation, the related profile of mailbox doesn’t function properly. So you must update it using a profile redirector tool, such as Exchange Profile Update tool. Before you run these tools simultaneously, it is suggested to run the Migration Wizard tool in clone mode. If you ignore this, it leads to sync errors in previous .ost file. All the emails of OST file might get lost if no valid backup is available. The only solution for this problem is to Convert OST to PST and to access the mails directly in Outlook.

For example, consider the following scenario:

You move an Exchange Server mailbox using Exchange Server Migration Wizard
You update the related profile using Microsoft Exchange Profile Update tool

After this, when you log onto the Exchange profile in Outlook 2003, which is configured to use Exchange Server 2003, it starts in recovery mode. You cannot access your .ost file and fail to sync it with Exchange mailbox.

Cause

OST file fails to synchronize because the globally unique identifier of the new mailbox is different from the original. You haven’t run the Migration Wizard in clone mode before creating the target mailbox, which could preserve the OST file. Doing so after creating the target mailbox and logging into the server doesn’t help as the Migration Wizard now runs in default mode.

Solution

You can use these measures in these situations:

To prevent against the problem, preserve the .ost file by running “C:\Program Files\Exchsrvr\bin\mailmig.exe” /m command
For accessing emails from the orphaned .ost file, you should use Convert OST tools.

Convert OST to PST tools are commercial products with advanced technology that could recover the .ost file in Outlook usable .pst file. The applications are safe to use and provide graphically rich user interface. You can use them in any case when the Outlook offline folder gets orphaned.

OST to PST Converter is a secure and advanced OST file conversion product providing rich set of features. The software enables systematic Convert OST operation while ensuring recovery of all email objects, notes, journals, and others. It supports Outlook 2010, 2007, 2003, 2002, 2000, 98 and 97. The tool supports Exchange Server 5, 5.5, 2000 and 2003 versions.