09/05/2015

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You cannot change the

location of the offline
Outlook Data File (.ost) in
Microsoft Outlook 2013
Symptoms
When you try to change the location of the offline Outlook Data File .ost in Microsoft
Outlook 2013, the Browse button on the Outlook Data File Settings page is disabled.

Cause
https://support.microsoft.com/enus/kb/2752583/

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This issue occurs because of the deprecation of the classic offline mode in Outlook
2013. This mode is a legacy data access method for online mode connections to
Microsoft Exchange Server.

Workaround
To work around this problem, use one of the following methods.

Method 1: Create a new Outlook Profile and then change the location
of the .ost file
1. Copy the existing .ost file to the new location that you want to use. If you want to
create a new .ost file isntead, you can skip this step.
2. Open Control Panel.
For Windows 7
Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
For Windows 8
a. Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, and then tap Search. If you are
using a mouse, point to the upperright corner of the screen, move the
mouse pointer down, and then click Search.
b. In the Apps box, type control panel. In the results pane, click Control Panel
to open itThe screen shot for this step is listed below.

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3. In Control Panel, type mail to search for the Mail item, and then open it. If there
are two Mail items, choose the one that is labeled Microsoft Outlook 2013 or
Microsoft Outlook 15The screen shot for this step is listed below.

4. Click Add The screen shot for this step is listed below.

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5. In the Profile Name box, type the name that you want to use for the new email
profile, and then click OK The screen shot for this step is listed below.

6. Click Next after Outlook finds your account information The screen shot for this
step is listed below.

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7. After Outlook finishes the setup for your account, select the Change account
settings option, and then click Next The screen shot for this step is listed below.

8. In the Server Settings section, click More Settings The screen shot for this step
is listed below.
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9. On the Advanced tab, click Outlook Data File Settings The screen shot for this
step is listed below.

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10. Click Browse, browse to the .ost file that you copied in step 1, and then click
Open. If you want to create a new .ost file, browse to the location where you
want to save the new .ost file, type the file name that you want to use, and then
click Open. Outlook will create the new .ost fileThe screen shot for this step is
listed below.

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11. Click Finish to finish the setup for your email account.
12. Open Control Panel, and then open the Mail item for Outlook 2013.
13. Click Always use this profile, select the new profile that you created, and then
click OK The screen shot for this step is listed below.

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Method 2: Set the ForceOSTPath registry entry to change the location

of the .ost file
Note The value of the ForceOSTPath registry entry only works for a new Outlook profile.
Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the

registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly.
Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back
up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem
occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the
following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
322756 /enus/kb/322756 How to back up and restore the registry in Windows
To have us change the location of the .ost file for you, go to the "Fix it for me "
section. If you prefer to change the location of the .ost file yourself, go to the "Let me
fix it myself " section.

Fix it for me

To change the location of the .ost file, click the Fix it button or link. Then click Run in
the File Download dialog box, and follow the steps in the Fix it wizard.
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http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9828784
Fix this problem http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9828784

Notes

This Fix it solution will help you set the default location of the .ost file to
C:\Users\UserName\Desktop.
Firstly, you need to make sure you have Create files / write data Permission in
the folder. Then, follow the steps in the Fix it wizard to change the default
location to the folder where you want to store the .ost file.
This wizard may be in English only. However, the automatic fix also works for
other language versions of Windows.
If you are not on the computer that has the problem, save the Fix it solution to a
flash drive or a CD and then run it on the computer that has the problem.
We would appreciate your feedback. To provide feedback or to report any issues
with this solution, please leave a comment on the "Fix it for me
http://blogs.technet.com/fixit4me/" blog or send us an email
mailto:fixit4me@microsoft.com?Subject=KB message.

Let me fix it myself

To set the ForceOSTPath registry entry in order to change the location of the .ost
file,follow these steps:
1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
2. Locate and then select the following registry subkey:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\15.0\Outlook
3. Rightclick Outlook, select New, and then click Expandable String Value.
4. Type ForceOSTPath, and then press Enter.
5. Rightclick ForceOSTPath, and then click Modify.
6. In the Value data box, type the full path of where you want to store the .ost file
such as D:\MyOST, and then click OK.
7. On the File menu, click Exit to exit Registry Editor.

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Properties
Article ID: 2752583 Last Review: 09/03/2013 09:34:00 Revision: 3.0

Microsoft Outlook 2013

kbsurveynew kbtshoot kbexpertiseinter kbfixme kbmsifixme KB2752583

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