location of Outlook data file on server
I am running Outlook 2007 on my computer, and am connected to an Exchange Server. My computer hard drive was recently replaced and the back up did not work. Thus I have lost my local .ost file.
I am trying to work out where the Outlook data would be stored on the server. As I shared Calendars there must have been some data on the server (presumably).
So far a search for .pst and .ost files on the server have been unrewarding. Any assistance would be appreciated.
Regards,
mary
I am trying to work out where the Outlook data would be stored on the server. As I shared Calendars there must have been some data on the server (presumably).
So far a search for .pst and .ost files on the server have been unrewarding. Any assistance would be appreciated.
Regards,
mary
lamaslany
The .ost file is just a cached copy of your mailbox. It is only used if you use cached exchange mode.
PS: You should take a look in %userprofile%\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
lamaslany is correct.
You will also need to set your Outlook settings on your computer to be in cached exchange mode.
You will also need to set your Outlook settings on your computer to be in cached exchange mode.
ASKER
Thanks guys,
as I can and could see my outlook information when not connected to the server I presume it was in cached exchage mode.
The problem with the first answer is that I cannot find my user profile on the server! Any suggestions as to where I should look. I can see one user on the server but not others, but we do share calendars.
as I can and could see my outlook information when not connected to the server I presume it was in cached exchage mode.
The problem with the first answer is that I cannot find my user profile on the server! Any suggestions as to where I should look. I can see one user on the server but not others, but we do share calendars.
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Mds-cos beat me to it.. I was going to say the same. Unless you were archiving mail from your Exchange server to a local PST, then everything would be stored on the server (withing the information store) Your profile also would be local unless your company was utilizing roaming profiles in which case your profile would be stored somewhere on a designated server. It doesn't sound like you are using roaming profiles because it would be based on your domain account and once you logged in, you would have used your existing profile.
So, if you were archiving your email to a local pst and you lost the drive, the only way to recover that data is from a backup of that local drive, or from backups that may have been made on the exchange server prior to you archiving the mail locally.
So, if you were archiving your email to a local pst and you lost the drive, the only way to recover that data is from a backup of that local drive, or from backups that may have been made on the exchange server prior to you archiving the mail locally.
ASKER
thanks,
when I am out of the office and not connected how do other peope see my calendar? Is that through the database? Or in the mailbox?
It is challenging to ask the question in a way that makes sense. At the end of the day I guess I am trying to understand outlook and how it interacts wtih server 2003, but more specifically if there is any chance of recovering some of my calendar and email information from the server.
How do I find my user account in the active directory? Is there a fie extension I can search for? I have searched the server for a file or folder that includes my name.
The whole outlook server interaction remains a mystery, and it seems to come up fairly regularly as a question, in one way or another, in our small business.
Mary
when I am out of the office and not connected how do other peope see my calendar? Is that through the database? Or in the mailbox?
It is challenging to ask the question in a way that makes sense. At the end of the day I guess I am trying to understand outlook and how it interacts wtih server 2003, but more specifically if there is any chance of recovering some of my calendar and email information from the server.
How do I find my user account in the active directory? Is there a fie extension I can search for? I have searched the server for a file or folder that includes my name.
The whole outlook server interaction remains a mystery, and it seems to come up fairly regularly as a question, in one way or another, in our small business.
Mary
"when I am out of the office and not connected how do other peope see my calendar? Is that through the database? Or in the mailbox?"
They get the information from your mailbox.
"It is challenging to ask the question in a way that makes sense. At the end of the day I guess I am trying to understand outlook and how it interacts wtih server 2003, but more specifically if there is any chance of recovering some of my calendar and email information from the server."
I feel that there is more to this that we have yet to uncover.
How was Outlook set up on your old laptop? If your email was delivered to your mailbox and Outlook was configured to leave it in the mailbox and use Cached Exchange mode then all of your data should still be in your mailbox. Setting up Outlook again and re-entering your details should connect you to your mailbox and it will synchronise your local cache with the mailbox.
Do you know if Outlook Web Access (OWA) has been enabled on your server? If it is this will be a very quick way to see whether your data is still on the server.
"How do I find my user account in the active directory? Is there a fie extension I can search for? I have searched the server for a file or folder that includes my name."
You should not need to touch Active Directory. If your account in active directory has been deleted then we have another problem entirely. Active Directory is a database of objects in your domain including user accounts, computer accounts, configurations and settings.
"The whole outlook server interaction remains a mystery, and it seems to come up fairly regularly as a question, in one way or another, in our small business."
The problem is that there are multiple ways Exchange can be configured which can change the way Outlook interacts with Exchange. We can go into that at a later date though.
They get the information from your mailbox.
"It is challenging to ask the question in a way that makes sense. At the end of the day I guess I am trying to understand outlook and how it interacts wtih server 2003, but more specifically if there is any chance of recovering some of my calendar and email information from the server."
I feel that there is more to this that we have yet to uncover.
How was Outlook set up on your old laptop? If your email was delivered to your mailbox and Outlook was configured to leave it in the mailbox and use Cached Exchange mode then all of your data should still be in your mailbox. Setting up Outlook again and re-entering your details should connect you to your mailbox and it will synchronise your local cache with the mailbox.
Do you know if Outlook Web Access (OWA) has been enabled on your server? If it is this will be a very quick way to see whether your data is still on the server.
"How do I find my user account in the active directory? Is there a fie extension I can search for? I have searched the server for a file or folder that includes my name."
You should not need to touch Active Directory. If your account in active directory has been deleted then we have another problem entirely. Active Directory is a database of objects in your domain including user accounts, computer accounts, configurations and settings.
"The whole outlook server interaction remains a mystery, and it seems to come up fairly regularly as a question, in one way or another, in our small business."
The problem is that there are multiple ways Exchange can be configured which can change the way Outlook interacts with Exchange. We can go into that at a later date though.
ASKER
The configuration was
archive.pst on the D drive (C and D partitions) and the .ost file under documents and settings etc. I had thought the .ost file was on the d drive as well but not so. The back up system I had for the C drive has failed, bugger.
Just to complicate matters, after reinstalling all of the things I needed to reinstall on the computer I could not reconnect to the server. In the end I deleted my profile and put on a new one. So that might have mucked up any mailbox.
However we do have a rotating back up of the server on an external hard drive, so I if there is someway I can understand what to look for I might be able to retrieve from the back up.
Re server for the web, I think it is configured for that but we have struggled to work out how to access, so we haven't. but we were able to at some point in the past. Any hints on how to try out the outlook web access, or where to look for the settings on the server.
Mary
archive.pst on the D drive (C and D partitions) and the .ost file under documents and settings etc. I had thought the .ost file was on the d drive as well but not so. The back up system I had for the C drive has failed, bugger.
Just to complicate matters, after reinstalling all of the things I needed to reinstall on the computer I could not reconnect to the server. In the end I deleted my profile and put on a new one. So that might have mucked up any mailbox.
However we do have a rotating back up of the server on an external hard drive, so I if there is someway I can understand what to look for I might be able to retrieve from the back up.
Re server for the web, I think it is configured for that but we have struggled to work out how to access, so we haven't. but we were able to at some point in the past. Any hints on how to try out the outlook web access, or where to look for the settings on the server.
Mary
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ASKER
ho hom, thank you all very much for this information. I am getting a much better idea of the way outlook and the server work.
Unfortunately I deleted my profile on the server, then created another. Not just the outlook one, the whole one.
And I have checked tonight, the server back up is daily. I deleted the profile ten days ago so the back up has well and truly overwritten it.
I did get my hard drive back from Dell, only to find they had deleted the hard drive data. There is 6gb data remaining in the recycle bin; the files that I had deleted before I did a back up of the hard drive before it was replaced.
Re the set up of Outlook, this afternoon whilst at the office I moved my ost file from docs and settings on my computer to the other drive. Then opened outlook. A new ost file was created, file with the outlook information that was there this am. So the explanations above about Outlook data being in the mailbox on the server make sense.
I am now running some data recovery software programs on the old hard drive. They seem to be interested in pst recovery but not ost recovery.
But now I feel I am rambling. Thank you all very much for the info on Outlook and the server. It is great to understand all of this for the future.
Cheers,
Mary
Unfortunately I deleted my profile on the server, then created another. Not just the outlook one, the whole one.
And I have checked tonight, the server back up is daily. I deleted the profile ten days ago so the back up has well and truly overwritten it.
I did get my hard drive back from Dell, only to find they had deleted the hard drive data. There is 6gb data remaining in the recycle bin; the files that I had deleted before I did a back up of the hard drive before it was replaced.
Re the set up of Outlook, this afternoon whilst at the office I moved my ost file from docs and settings on my computer to the other drive. Then opened outlook. A new ost file was created, file with the outlook information that was there this am. So the explanations above about Outlook data being in the mailbox on the server make sense.
I am now running some data recovery software programs on the old hard drive. They seem to be interested in pst recovery but not ost recovery.
But now I feel I am rambling. Thank you all very much for the info on Outlook and the server. It is great to understand all of this for the future.
Cheers,
Mary