Searching...
Thursday 30 May 2013
5/30/2013 03:47:00 am 0

The most prominent features of a MBOX to PST converter software:

I have already given a brief description about the MBOX file format in my previous post,  titled,”what is MBOX file format?” 

Let me again give you a brief introduction of MBOX file format.
MBOX file: MBOX file stores the mailbox data in text file format. The most common among MBOX supporting clients are Thunderbird, Eudora, Entourage, Apple mail, Mac mail, Spice-Bird, Poco mail, and Postbox mail.

If you wish to migrate from a MBOX supporting Email client to MS outlook. The first question that stikes on your mind is How will you perform the migration? There is no direct option to export MBOX to PST format. In such a situation, you will require some tool that can convert the MBOX file format to PST file format so that it can easily be imported and accessed into MS Outlook.

Here, I would like to introduce MBOX to PST converters software that let you convert all your MBOX file data to PST format within few minutes. The MBOX  to PST converter software provides a feasible and safe option for carrying out MBOX to PST conversion. This software also provides various features to customize and enhance the conversion process. However, the features of  a MBOX to PST converter software may vary according to user requirements and software provider.

Below are some prominent features of a MBOX to PST converter software:
  • Some tools allow you to select the MBOX Mail Client  and then select the files/identity folder and some allow you to directly browse the MBOX file and then Convert it to  PST file format.
  • It provides you with a search option for finding the files for conversion. You can make a search in the selected folder, sub folder or drive for finding MBOX/MacMBOX/MBX/AppleMail files for conversion.
  • It Let you convert the entire selected mailbox into PST file
  • It let you save the converted mailbox to an existing PST or to a new PST file.
  • It let You preview the converted mailbox items before actually saving them to PST format. The output of conversion is first shown as a preview in a three pane window, form there you can select an item to see its preview.
  • It provides support for various MBOX supporting clients such as Thunderbird, Entourage, Spicebird etc. If an  MBOX to PST converter software is designed for a particular Email client then from the user point of view its not a a good choice to purchase. Its better to purchase a single software that supports multiple Email clients instead of purchasing a tool that supports only a specific e-mail client.
  • It let you perform an accurate and risk free conversion of MBOX file data  to PST file. After conversion is completed, you can import the converted file into outlook and access all the data(emails, attachments, drafts, sent items and deleted items etc.. ) that was stored in MBOX file .
  • The file structure, properties of original email data, hierarchy and formatting etc. will remain intact after conversion.
  • It let you select a single MBOX file as well as multiple MBOX file for conversion. You can convert multiple MBOX files to PST format in just no time.
  • It let you apply filters on MBOX files before conversion. You can filter the MBOX files based on various criteria such as:  To, From, Subject and date fields etc.
  • It let you convert the MBOX mail data as well the associated attachment files.
  • It supports ASCII as well as Unicode character encoding. Some tools might not be supporting both the encoding which limits their functionality and feature set. User must check this feature before purchasing the software
  • It provides Support for various Outlook versions (Outlook 2000, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2010 and 2013).
  • It provides an easy-to-use and interactive user interface that makes the conversion process easier even for a naive user.
  • It must perform a smooth and fast conversion process even if multiple files are selected. However the time taken to convert multiple files will be obviously more than time taken in performing a single file conversion.
  • Some tools provide you the facility to convert even a corrupt MBOX files into PST but some skips the corrupt data and only converts the rest of the data .
The above discussed are some of the common features that a MBOX to PST software must possess. Besides these features, there are some additional check points that you must ensure before purchasing the software, so that you may not loose your time, money, and data in future.

The major checkpoint includes:
  • Before purchasing the software, you must also check the product specifications: available License types, the minimum system requirements (i.e. processor, memory, hard disk and operating system requirements) and supported versions etc.
  • The software provider must offer the demo version of the software so that the user can run and evaluate the output of demo version before going ahead for purchase.
  • The software provider must provide technical support so that if something troubles the user or user is not able to understand the proper functioning of software, in such a situation he can get proper assistance whenever required.
  • You should check if the software purchase mechanism is easy and secure or not.
  • You must check whether there is any money back guarantee or not.
  • If you are getting additional help manuals and user guides along with the software then, it’s a plus point.
  • The last and the most important thing from user point of view is price v/s feature comparison. You must ensure that the software includes all your desired features at the reasonable price.
  • You can find many MBOX to PST software with a short on line search. Just download the DEMO or trail version and make a comparative analysis of their outputs and provided features. Then, finally select the best one and go ahead for purchase.
Now, with the help of MBOX to PST software you can export your all MBOX file data to PST file and then, view the converted file into Outlook.
To view the converted files into Outlook:
  • Open Outlook.
  • Go to file menu and click open then, choose the outlook data file.
  • Now, browse and select the converted PST file and then, click open.
I hope this article is going to be a useful resource for those users who are willing to export MBOX file data to PST file. Your comments and feedback are welcome.
Tuesday 28 May 2013
5/28/2013 04:22:00 am 0

How to deal with Replication or save conflicts in Lotus Notes?

In Lotus database, the same document in one copy of a database or in different replicas between replication sessions, can be edited by multiple users simultaneously.

Notes store the result of one editing session in a main document and the results of additional editing sessions as response documents with a title "Replication or Save Conflict."
The Lotus Notes Domino uses $Revisions field to distinguish between main and response documents. This field tracks the date and time of each document editing session.

Replication conflicts
Whenever, a single document is edited by multiple users at the same time and the changes are saved in different replicas (copies) of the document then a replication conflict occurs. Now, the problem arises that which copy of document should be considered as the main document. Domino uses several rules in such a situation, which help to decide the main document in document editing sessions.

The following rules are used by Notes to handle replication conflicts:
  1. After two or more users edit and save the same document at the next replication, the document that is edited and saved the most number of times is designated as the main document and the other documents become Replication or Save Conflict documents.
  2. If all of the documents are edited and saved same number of times, the document saved most recently is designated as main document by Notes. Other documents are saved with a diamond symbol in the left margin and are designated as responses to the main document
  3. In case of document deletion:
  • If a document is edited and saved as a replica by one user and then another user deletes it,  in such a case the deletion takes precedence over edited document.
  • The edited document takes precedence if document is edited and saved more than once.
  • If the document is edited and saved after the deletion, in that case also Notes gives precedence to the edited document.
Save conflicts
A save conflict occurs when two or more than two users edit the same document in an application on a server at the same time. When more than one user edits the same document simultaneously then the document that has been saved first is designated as the main document by Notes. When another user tries to save the same document, then it is saved as a response to the main document.  A response document is being indicated with a diamond symbol in the left margin.

How to consolidate replication or save conflicts?
It is best if you consolidate a conflict immediately and regularly, as they occur. A quick conflict consolidation is required in order to access correct information by the users.  Conflicts are easiest to consolidate immediately after they occur, because the conflict document is still closely synchronized with the main document.

If you want to consolidate a conflict document, firstly merge information into one document and then remove the other document.

Follow the given steps to locate replication or save conflicts:
  • Create a view that shows only conflict documents.
  • Then, select the Replication or Save Conflict document for the view, here you would be able to see  a conflict document in context with its main document
  • You can view the main document by holding down the CTRL key to switch to the view displaying the main document.
Follow the given steps to consolidate replication or save conflicts:
You have got two choices to consolidate replication or save conflicts:
  • Either save the main document and delete the response
  • or save the Replication or Save Conflict document and delete the main document
To save information from a response to the main document and to delete the response:
1. Copy any information you want to save from the Replication or Save Conflict document into the main document.

2. Delete the conflict document.
1. Open the response document (that is containing the information to be saved).
2. Now, Select and copy the information by clicking Edit > Copy. 
3. Now, to paste the copied info into the Open the main document, open it in Edit mode.
4. Then, click Edit > Paste to paste the copied information in main document.
5. Now, save the main document by clicking File > Save.
6. Now, Select and delete the response document by clicking  Edit > Delete
7. Click View > Refresh to delete the response document in a non-mail application.

To delete the main document and make a response as the main document:
1. First you need to make the response as the main document.
 
There can be two cases i.e. either there is only one response document or more then one response documents.

Step 1: If there is only one response then , Edit the response document and then save it by Clicking File > Save
Now, it becomes a main document.

Step 2: If there are other response documents, then:
  • Select the other response documents and click Edit > Cut.
  • Select the document you saved in step 1.
  • Click Edit > Paste. The documents now become responses to the document you're keeping.
2. If you don’t want to keep any document then, select and delete the document by simply clicking Edit > Delete.
3. Click View > Refresh to delete the main document in a non-mail application.

Given below are some techniques that can be used to reduce or eliminate the replication or save documents conflicts.
  • For replication conflicts, you can  automatically merge conflicts into one document if no fields conflict by using "Merge replication conflicts" Form property to automatically merge conflicts into one document if no fields conflict. 
  • To automatically transform the edited documents as new documents, you can specify a Form property for versioning.
  • You can write a custom conflict handler by using Lotus Script.
  • Document locking can be used to allow users to lock documents.
  • Access rights can be set for users to forbid them from editing other users' documents.
  • You can set the database property "Limit entries in $Revisions fields” value to a value more than the exiting values (the existing value is greater then zero) or if you want to remove the limit you can set it to -1.
  • Server administrator can too keep track to maintain the number of document replicas to a minimum count.
You can easily resolve the replication or save document conflict issue by using the methods described in this article. However, sometimes it may be troublesome and time consuming to perform these steps. So, it’s better if you could prevent the replication or save conflicts before actually occurring. The best way to avoid replication conflicts is: “locking the documents” that you edit in a replica.
Thursday 23 May 2013
5/23/2013 02:45:00 am 1

How to deal with Outlook Error code 0x8004060C?


OST and PST are the vital files of Outlook. Outlook data file corruption causes improper Outlook functioning and several kinds of error messages to be prompted to user while dealing with the OST/PST file data. Whenever these files get corrupt or become inaccessible due to some reasons, obviously it makes the Outlook user pierce his hairs off.

If you are working with Outlook, then Error 0x8004060C is a common error that you might be receiving while sending and receiving mails via Outlook.

Error Message:
"Task 'Microsoft Exchange Server - Sending' reported error (0x8004060C): 'The message store has reached its maximum size. To reduce the amount of data in this message store, select some items that you no longer need, and permanently delete them."

Error Message:
Task ‘EMAIL ADDRESS’ - Sending and Receiving' reported error (0x8004060C): 'Unknown Error 0x8004060C'

Error Message:
"Task 'Microsoft Exchange Server - Receiving' reported error (0x8004060C): 'Unknown Error 0x8004060C"

Fix Outlook Errors & Restore Mail Items From Corrupt/ Orphaned OST with  OST Converter

Causes for the Outlook Error 0x8004060C
  • This error might occur when OST/PST file got corrupt.
  • OST file becomes inaccessible due to Exchange connectivity or synchronization issue.
  • Various Reasons for OST corruption are: over-sized OST file size, Exchange Server crash, virus attack, down Exchange Server etc.
  • OST/PST file exceeded its default maximum file size.
Explanation

This error occurs when your Outlook OST/PST has reached its maximum file size limit or the file is corrupted.

Default maximum OST/PST file size limit for various Outlook versions:

Outlook 2002 and earlier versions - 2 GB
Outlook 2003 and 2007 - 20 GB
Outlook 2010 - 50 GB

Default maximum OST/PST file size limit for Outlook 2002 and prior versions is only 2 GB. Whenever, the PST file size is about to reach 2 GB, Outlook stops accepting mail data and other mail operations couldn’t be performed. The PST file stores approximately 1.82 GB data which is lesser than the exact maximum value of 2 GB. 

Initially, Whenever PST file is about to reach its maximum file size Outlook starts troubling, sometimes fails to open or shows several error messages. Furthermore, Outlook will stop receiving or sending email messages and at last gradually increasing PST file size can lead to severe PST corruption and data loss situation.

Sometimes, when you try to perform any operation with the PST file (such as adding Contact Appointment or Task), then you receive the error message that shows that your PST file size is getting increased beyond the specific limit and it needs to be reduced.
The message looks like:

"The file <file_name> has reached its maximum size. To reduce the amount of data in this file, select some items that you no longer need, then permanently (shift + del) delete them."

If you are using the operating system older then Windows XP SP1 then Outlook doesn’t even display any error message but stops accepting email messages. You need to obtain the latest service pack of Microsoft Office XP to resolve this problem.

The English version of this fix should have the following file attributes or later: 

   File name        Version   
   ----------------------------
   Exsec32.dll  - 10.0.3117.0
   Outllib.dll    -  10.0.3124.0
   Outlph.dll    -  10.0.3124.0
   Rm.dll         -  10.0.3012.0

If you want to know more about the Office XP service pack, visit: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307841/EN-US
                           
Initially, the increasing PST file size lower down the speed of the Outlook considerably and hampers MS Outlook Email operations (sending or receiving emails), copying data from one folder to another etc. Later on, the oversized PST file may get severely corrupt and can becomes inaccessible. Severe OST/PST file corruption beyond repair may also cause you to loose your valuable Outlook data.

Resolution for the Outlook error 0x8004060C

As explained earlier, Outlook error 0x8004060C occurs due to over sized Outlook PST file. To Deal with increasing PST file size, you will need to compact, archive or split PST to reduce its size. 

You can try the following methods to resolve the error

Method 1: In order to reduce the overall PST file size,  you can empty the unnecessarily occupied space by permanently deleting the unwanted emails and other items from Outlook inbox, Deleted Items folder and other Outlook folders.

Method 2: You can reduce the PST file size by compacting it.

Method 3: You can crate a new PST file to archive data from your old PST files.

Method 4: You can split the large PST file into smaller PST files to reduce the PST file size.
Note: You can also use the '2 GB Truncation Utility' to create a truncated copy of the .pst file that contains a user defined amount of data from the file.

You can easily download it from Microsoft download center: 

You need to get a powerful, advanced and safe PST File Splitter software to split large sized pst file into smaller PSTs without causing any data loss.
You can find a lot of PST File Splitter software by making an ample online search.

Method 5: You can try Outlook's free in-built utilities i.e. Scanpst.exe or Scanost.exe to deal with the OST/PST corruption issues.

Method 6: Re-creating the OST file can help you to resolve the problem.

Method 7:  In order to deal with the error, you might also require getting an updated patch issued by Microsoft.

ScanPST and ScanOST can handle only low level corruption in PST and OST files. If the corruption level is high then these tools fail to perform efficient OST/PST recovery.

If PST file corruption is high then you need to opt for a third party PST repair solution that can efficiently deal with the all types and levels of PST corruption and help you get your data back.The PST repair software repairs the corrupt PST file and restores the recovered PST file data into a new or exiting PST file. You can also decide the location where you want to save the recovered file. Along with these features, the PST repair software provides a lot of other additional and beneficial features that overcome the limitations of ScanPST and ScanPST utilities.

You can find various PST repair software online. You just need to make an ample of online search for finding the best PST repair solution that suits your needs and budget.

If the corrupted OST fie is causing the problem then Re-creating the .ost file can help you. As OST files are exact replica of exchange data so, you don’t need to backup them, just recreating the OST file can resolve your problem.

Follow the given Steps to re-create an offline Outlook Data File (.ost) :

1. Close Outlook application. 
2. Go to Control Panel.
3. Go to Mail Setup dialog box title bar that contains the name of the current profile. If you want to select a different existing profile other than the current profile then, click Show Profiles and  select the profile name .
4. Click Properties > Mail. 
5. Go to E-mail tab >Exchange account, and then click Change button. 
3. Uncheck the Use Cached Exchange Mode check box.
4. Click More Settings. 
5. Go to Advanced tab > Offline Folder File Settings
6. Click Disable Offline Use.
Note: If you don’t uncheck Use Cached Exchange Mode check box then, Disable Offline Use will not be clickable. 
7. After clicking Disable Offline Use, a dialog box will appear, click Yes to confirm. 
8. Click Offline Folder File Settings. 
9. Click OK
10. In the dialog box that appears, click Yes
11. Check  the Use Cached Exchange Mode check box from Cached Exchange Mode Settings 
12. Click OK.
13. Click Next.
14. Then, finally click Finish
15. Click Close to close the Account Settings and Mail Setup dialog boxes. 

If it doesn’t help you then, you need to search some OST repair solution. You can try Scanost.exe or OST integrity check tool. But if it also fails to recover your ost file then, you need some powerful OST recovery solution.

There are lot of OST to PST converter software that fix the damage or corruption in OST file and convert corrupt or orphaned OST file to importable PST file. The best part of the OST to PST converter software is that they keep the original data formatting intact and restores all OST data emails, attachments, contacts, notes, etc. into PST format. It doesn't matter, whether you file is containing HTML and RTF messages, you will find them intact after conversion. Moreover, the software saves the converted OST file at your desired location.

To evaluate the functioning of various available OST to PST converter software, you can download and try the DEMO version that shows the preview of all recoverable items before converting the OST file to usable PST file. If you are satisfied with the Output of Demo version then you can go ahead for software purchase.