Lost my Inbox and contacts after deleting an Exchange account from Outlook

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Hankster12330

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I originally had a company exchange account in Outlook. I left the company and started using a new Gmail account in my Outlook program. All my .pst folders and Inbox, Contacts, etc. seemed to transition over just fine. Then...I got tired of the error messages when the exchange account would try to connect back to the company's server so today I deleted that account. And wham...I lost my Inbox, contacts, etc. I know they are in my computer but how to find them? I can see all of the .pst folders and still have that mail...
 
Okay your a little confused because your mixing Email types, locations, and how things are stored.
As you are no longer with the company, all your Email from any other source is not a possibility (backups, offline in Corporate Profile, resynch with Exchange, etc.).
As you stated you 'migrated' your email to your Gmail account, Gmail is normally iMAP, which creates mirror copies of your email both on www.gmail.com and on your Outlook / Email Client. So I would first access GMail via my webbrowser, do you see the contacts, inbox, etc. listed in there (yes it will be DIFFERENT and you will HAVE TO POKE AROUND, but it is important to know WHAT Gmail has and what Gmail does NOT have).
If you found all your 'missing' stuff then stop HERE.

Now if you do NOT find any of the stuff in Gmail, then you MAY have multiple offline PST files. PST files are OFFLINE MODE (not connected to Exchange) storage of OLD (not this minute) emails. You will also have a ARCHIVE PST (REALLY OLD emails) that stuff was moved to to keep Exchange from CRASHING just because you / someone else is a Email Hog (WAIT! What do you mean I can delete 5 year old emails? I may need it someday - NO you won't ever even the Feds don't demand that far back). You can 'See' those ones by simply selecting from FILE>OPEN then selecting that PST, the largest will have the most emails.

Now the one (PST) associated with your Exchange account, SHOULD be there under with the rest at
C:\Users\YOURUSERNAME\AppData\Local\MicrosoftOutlook unless your / your company had some special setups (possible) or was set to a NETWORK PATH (like the Company N:\ Drive) which would normally be accessible via VPN or while in the office. Again as I said above, this is NOT a resource, so yeah that data would be GONE.
 

Hankster12330

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Thank for the quick response.
Yes - using my web browser I still have access to Gmail, contacts, etc. But I like using Outlook on my PC and usually delete things from the browser that I still have in the Inbox on my PC. Also, anything sent from the PC stays in the Sent folder, etc.
So...I deleted the old email account from the PC's Outlook 'Account Settings' and that's when i lost everything. I can find all the .pst folders and have them on the sidebar of Outlook...except for the Inbox, Sent, AND my contacts. Can't seem to find that folder.

Do not have any kind of VPN access back to the exchange server (have not had it since June). That's why I think the missing data is in my computer somewhere...
 
What I was saying was, as you 'killed' off the Exchange settings, and you do NOT have the PST someplace else, you deleted the PST accidentally in your misteps and well, you dont' work there anymore, and you have no BACKUPS, and you didn't forward them to your GMail account or use the steps to migrate from Exchage to Gmail your email, then the emails are GONE.

They ONLY reside in a PST for offline access, otherwise they are synch online with the Exchange and reside on the Exchange till a copy is provided to your computer when you synch. No Exchange then the ONLY COPY was in the PST associated with the Exchange as I noted the location OR you have to call your ex-company IT guys and ask where they 'mapped' the PST to, but you said you looked, so....
It is gone when you mistakenly killed off the Exchange Settings.
 

ex_bubblehead

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Hankster12330

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Ok...back from Halloween action with the kids..again, thank you for helping.

Recap: I am trying to recover about 25 recent emails in the Inbox plus my Outlook calendar and my Outlook contacts. I still have the .pst folders showing along the sidebar. And I have figured out how to map new emails coming in to one of the .pst folders so I am getting email/have the new Sent folder.
I have been off the Exchange account for 3 months but even a few old emails were still in my Inbox...I just have to be sure I have selected my Gmail if I was replying to them.

I have my back-up hard drive and it has all the same .pst folders and no .ost folders.

Also, what is weird is that as I compose a new email and type in a name the choices from my address book show up as choices even though my address book shows as 'no entries".

 


*FacePalms* Mod was right I completely forgot newer editions used OSTs... but yeah that is still a issue.

OP: Okay I think I see what your trying to do, your trying to have Outlook ACT like it is still connected to Exchange, with Inbox, Sent, etc. like your used to. STOP THEN.

1) You can't do it that way without issues, as your trying to use your OFFLINE (PST) mode as a ONLINE account, which isn't setup for doing it that way.
2) You went DEFAULT with GMail, and as a IMAP it has its folders listed, THAT is where your Inbox, Sent, etc. your supposed to use NOW resides. You would need to MIGRATE to the GMAIL Inbox, Sent, etc. and use THOSE, as a best practice.

Simple solution: STOP all your doing right now. Go to https://tools.google.com/dlpage/outlookmigration and get this tool. It will walk you through migrating all your PSTs (as noted by me and Mod there may be MULTIPLE PSTs they are deafult located here C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook) to GMAIL. Then right click and REMOVE all the PSTs you have in the left (the top of the PST Folders list named PST like Archive) and only use GMAIL, as noted will have all the emails, contacts, etc.
 
OP: By the by it would be seriously negligent of me NOT to advise you about the Emails, and you serious PERSONAL LIABILITY.
Unless the terms to the termination of your employment agreement were amended, noted, or inclusive of a EXCEPTION, those contacts and emails were, are and always will be the PROPERTY of your ex-employer, just as much as if (in the court's eyes) you took your office furniture, put it into the company van and drove both home (THEFT) without permission of your ex-employer. Typically the use of the contact/email in any way can be grounds for Federal Charges of Theft, Insider TRADING, Proprietary information, Corporate Espionage; all with FEDERAL jail time. The 'least' would be the ex-employer lawyer sues you for Breach of Contract, Misrepresentation for the purpose of Fraud, Breach of NDA, Breach of NON-COMPETE clauses, etc. which TYPICALLY are $100,000 or the value of the loss (unlimited $ as noted in the DCMA song pirating lawsuits or Hacker lawsuits for $100M, etc.) PLUS ex-employee Civil, Legal, and Lawyer Costs.

If your terms of termination had you agree that you provided back all assets to the ex-employee, that includes ALL those emails and contacts, etc. The ONLY exception that protects you from MOST (not all) of this (you can still be personally liable - SIGH!!) is WhistleBlower protection law, but as noted you can still be sued and court order pay back for 'damages incurred by plaintiff' even if it was a Whistleblowing they poisoned and killed 100,000 people knowing, etc.
 
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