Summary:

An oversized Outlook data file in your profile will surely act as an invitation to performance issues. Besides multiple error message, a large file also prompts to application pauses. The resolution to this problem lies in reducing the size of Outlook data file (.ost). In this guide, we will explore how to fix error- “Application Pauses if You Have a Large OST File.” The post will also put an OST to PST converter tool in the limelight to prevent this issue.

Introduction:

Microsoft Outlook is trusted email client all across the globe. Outlook’s distinctive features and user-friendly interface have won laurels from are trusted by individuals and business for its superb mailbox management capabilities. And what provides boost to Outlook’s capabilities are its two file formats– OST (Offline Storage Table) and PST (Personal Storage Table). The PST file serves as the main location to store email messages, contacts, tasks, and other mailbox data.

Offline Storage Table (OST) file is created by Microsoft Outlook, when it is configured with Exchange or IMAP account, to store all the online mailbox data on the local system. However, Microsoft has defined a particular limit for the OST file size. While Outlook versions 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021 support up to 20GB, the versions 2010 and later support up to 50GB of data. If this file size limit is breached, the user may experience different performance related issues, including the ‘application pause.’ In this post, we will discuss ways to troubleshoot “Application Pauses if You Have a Large OST File” error. We will also cover an expert-recommended solution using OST to PST converter tool.

Understanding the Error and its Symptoms:

The OST file is a cornerstone of Microsoft Outlook’s functionality. It is created when you set up an Exchange email account on Outlook. But sometimes, the user faces application pauses owing to an oversized OST file. The Outlook application may get paused or become unresponsive when the user tries to open emails or compose email messages or searching the inbox. With the increase in OST file size, these issues also get increased, leading to frustration as well as loss of productive time. The issues arise when the size of an OST file exceeds 10 gigabytes (GB) or more.

Methods to Fix the Application Pauses Issue:

After understanding the error and its symptoms, let’s move on to resolve this error. In this section of the post, we will explore how to fix error-“Application Pauses if You Have a Large OST File.” Some of the popular methods to resolve this issue are listed below:

Fix 1: Archive Outlook Items: In your endeavour to reduce the mailbox (OST) size, we can archive old or unwanted mailbox content. Follow the below steps for the same:

Step 1: Navigate to the Outlook App, go to the File menu and hit on Tools option.

Step 2: Enter the Clean Up old items option.

Step 3: Explore the “Archive this folder and all subfolders” section, select the particular folder you want to archive.

Step 4: You can even select the entire mailbox to archive, opt for the email address to select the entire mailbox.

Step 5: Under Archive items older than an option, choose the Date Range.

Step 6: After that, Hit on Browse to save the archived mailbox and click the OK tab.

Fix 2: Auto-Archive Old Emails: Outlook is equipped with a powerful feature to transfer old emails to a separate archive folder. Enabling this feature ensures more space for Outlook data files. Follow the below steps to enable this great feature:

Step1: Explore the Outlook App and hit the File Option.

Step 2: Choose ‘Options’ from the left panel.

Step 3: Run Outlook and select the File option in the ribbon.

Step 4: Go for ‘Advanced’ from the left side Menu, then select ‘auto-archive setting’ from Auto-Archive section and press ‘OK’.

Step 5: Click on the Run AutoArchive every ‘n’ day’s box and specify how frequent you want Outlook to run AutoArchive.

Step 6: Once this process is completed, an Archive Folder will appear in your Outlook account.

Fix 3: Disable the Option for Cached Exchange Mode for Delegate Mailbox: Outlook’s Delegate Access features provides authorization to other users to perform functions like creating email messages or responding to meeting requests, etc. on your behalf. Enabling this feature means adding more to the size of the OST file. By disabling this feature, we can prevent the size of the OST file from exceeding the limit. Follow the below steps for the same:

Step 1: Explore to the MS Outlook application and navigate to the File tab.

Step 2: Choose Account Settings > Account Settings and press on your Exchange account. After that, press on ‘Change’ and then select ‘More Settings’ option.

Step 3: Then press Cached Exchange Mode Settings option.

Step 4: After that choose Advance tab, and uncheck the Download Shared Folder or Download Public Folder Favorites option.

Step 5: Press ‘Apply’ and then click ‘OK’.

Step 6: Restart your Outlook application.

Other Proactive Approaches to Fix Large OST Files:

In the above section, we have discussed sole popular methods to troubleshoot application pause issue arising because of a large OST file. In this part of the post, we will discuss some proactive approaches using which we can prevent the issue of ‘application pauses if you have a large OST file.’ Some of the recommended approaches are listed below:

• Set Items per Folder Limit: Setting a folder limit is a better idea. It may be noted that the Microsoft has set a limit of 100,000 items per folder in 2019, 2016, 2013, and 2010. If this limit exceeds, the Outlook will start experiencing performance issues. Thus, relying on the principle of ‘prevention is better than to cure’, we must set a limit per folder to minimize the possibility of performance issues arising from large OST file.
• Remove Expired Files: The next approach is to remove unwanted and expired data folders (email folders only) from Outlook. This feature is off by default and is available under options. Choose this check box to delete messages after their aging period has passed.
• Transfer Aging or Old Items: This feature of Outlook facilitates to move old emails and other data to archived PST files.

What Steps Should I take if all Methods Fail?

So, you have tried all above-mentioned methods and proactive approaches, but the problem of application pause due to large OST file still persists. In this case, we can use an OST to PST converter like Stellar Converter for OST to convert the OST file. It executes the fastest conversion of large OST file to PST. This software features an Auto-Split option that automatically splits an oversized Outlook PST file while saving the converted email items from OST files. This converter is available in 3 versions-Corporate, Technician and Toolkit versions to choose from.

Conclusion:

An oversized OST file is likely to get corrupted sooner or later. In addition to this, this large OST file also causes issues like performance degradation, application pauses, and other problems. In the above guide, we have discussed how to fix error- “application pauses if you have a large OST file.” We have also explored some proactive techniques like setting folder limits, removing old files, etc. to prevent this issue.

A large Outlook OST file can also become inaccessible. In such scenario, we can convert the damaged outlook data file using any OST to PST converter tool, like Stellar Converter for OST. It is worth mentioning that Stellar’s converter offers the fastest conversion of large OST to PST. This software also assures to preserve the original integrity of mailbox items.

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