Find How to Change the Location of Outlook OST File Quickly

“I only have 1GB of free space on my C drive but 5GB space available on a second partition. How can I put my multiple OST data for Cached Exchange mode on the D drive? Please suggest any suitable solution to keep all data in a different folder and change the location of Outlook OST file.”

Microsoft Outlook is the most popular email client, which can save several data items like emails, calendars, contacts, appointments in a storage file. However, it uses PST as well as OST both file formats for data storage. Apart from this, there are many Outlook user wants to change the default location of offline OST file at times. Moreover, there are various reasons for the same. Therefore, in the upcoming section, we are going to discuss the following methods that have been used to alter or change the location of OST file.

2 Ways For Changing Default Location of Outlook Data File (.ost)

There are following approaches through which the user can easily alter the default location of offline Outlook OST file. Let us discuss all steps given below.

Solution 1: Using Registry Trick Method

With this Registry Trick solution the user can change the location of Outlook OST file regardless of Outlook version i.e.,Outlook 2016/ 2013/ 2010/ 2007/ 2003, all of them can use a different location to save the offline .ost files.

Let us follow these steps to modify or change default location of OST data as given below:

Step 1: Click on both Windows & R keys simultaneously. After that, the Run box appears on the screen. Under the Run dialog box, enter regedit and click OK button.

Step 2: Now, launch the Registry Editor in it. Based on the version of MS Outlook, you can use the appropriate keys.

For Outlook 2016 users, the key is:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook

For Outlook 2013 users, the key is:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\15.0\Outlook

For Outlook 2010 users, the key is:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\14.0\Outlook

For Outlook 2007 users, the key is:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Outlook

Step 3: Now, right-click on the empty area from the right side of the Registry Editor window. Then, choose New and select Expandable String Value as displayed in the below figure:

Step 4: After that, a new value is generated. In the Edit String box, assign the name ForceOSTPath to the Value and then, fill the new default location to store an OST file created by Exchange account. Press OK

Step 5: In last, Close the Registry Editor and then, restart Microsoft Outlook application

Remember: For this, when Exchange account is set the new .ost file which is automatically created in a new default data file (.ost) location that must be selected.

Solution 2: With Outlook Mail Client

According to this method, the user wants to know the default location of Outlook OST files which totally depends on the version of Windows Operating system. Also, this is applicable for Outlook 2013, 2010, 2007, and 2003 as well.

In Windows 10/ 8/ 7 & Windows Vista the default OST file location is as follows:

C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook

In Windows XP, the default location of OST file is as follows:

C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook

1. Now, Open Account Settings and choose the Data Files option

2. Then, select the Exchange Server account and now, click on the Settings

3. Under MS Exchange account, navigate to the Advanced section, then, uncheck the check box Use Cached Exchange Mode and click on OK button

4. Once the screen is getting open, choose the OK button and then, click on the Settings

5. From the Advanced tab, select the Outlook Data File Settings and click on the Disable Offline Use. Press on Yes option.

6. Choose the option Outlook Data File Settings and enable option ‘I want to move the old file’

Remember: In case, if this Disable Offline Use option is not available, return back to Step 3 and unmark the Use Cached Exchange Mode check box.

7. Now, select Browse tab, afterward an offline Outlook Data (.ost) file that was transferred to a new folder at any specific location, and then click Open
8. In Advanced section of MS Exchange account, put a check mark on the check box Cached Exchange Mode, click on OK tab, and again press OK button whenever it will prompt to restart Outlook email application
9. Close on both Account Settings as well as Mail Setup dialog boxes
10. Under the Mail dialog box finally, click on OK tab

Remember: Whenever a new Outlook Data file (OST) is created then, existing OST file can not remove automatically. You can erase the older files manually.

Drawbacks of the Manual Approach

Above-stated solutions require more time for completing the entire process . It will involve some risk of data loss.

Perfect Solution to Change the location of Outlook OST file 

Manual solutions for changing the location of OST file, have a large number of disadvantages. Therefore, considering all these, it is better to go for some other alternatives. Well, the users can opt OST Recovery tool, is the best way to deal with this problem. With this, the users can easily convert the Outlook OST files to PST format without any kind of data loss. Also, it will allow to change the default location of Outlook OST as PST type.

Wrapping It Up

Sometimes, many users try to change the default location of OST file in MS Outlook. As in above segment, we have already covered the manual solutions for changing the location of Outlook OST file in an easy and quick manner. Also, suggested one relevant solution named as OST Recovery Tool in such a way to perform the conversion accurately. In addition, this tool has capability to change the location of OST file as well.