About Exchange Errors

Occasionally when you use Exchange for email in several permutations sync errors can occur between them. This is particularly prevalent between the Outlook Web App (OWA) and the Outlook desktop client (Outlook). Fortunately, there is a simple and quick way to resolve the problem.

About Clearing OST Files

First, confirm that you do have a synchronization error. Remember, for Concordia users, what you see on the Outlook Web App is the truest representation of what we have on the server. So to check if you're missing messages or calendar items, simply log in to OWA, open Outlook, and do a quick comparison. If you're missing messages in Outlook that are appearing in OWA, you have a sync error that needs resolving.

Resolving sync errors is a simple as deleting the local copy of your Outlook, referred to as OST files. Deleting the local copy of this file forces your Outlook client to re-associate your local profile with the server's record; no files are lost, because the server is the true record. The next time you open Outlook, it will pull this server copy back to your hard drive, resolving any previous errors cause by synchronization failure.

Deleting OST Files

Close Outlook before attempting this method

1. Paste this filepath into the Search box. If you are on Windows 10, then just hit Ctrl + V when you open the Start Menu:

• Windows 7/10: C:\users\%username%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook

Then search for and delete the Outlook Data File associated with your Concordia email.

The next time you open Outlook, you will see your inbox being rebuilt. Depending on how large this .OST file is, this can take anywhere from 30 seconds to several minutes.