How to Convert EDB to PST in 2020 the Easy Way

Converting user mailboxes from Exchange Server files to Outlook files can help IT professionals manage backup tasks that otherwise would be pretty difficult, and occasionally even impossible, to complete. While there are a handful of tools out there to help you convert .edb files, none quite stoke our fire like Stellar’s EDB to PST Converter (we get excited easily).

Stellar is a company that first came to our attention while evaluating the best data recovery software on the market today. The company’s product, Stellar Data Recovery, provides a combination of features, performance and usability that convinced us to give it top marks over close rivals EaseUS and Prosoft Engineering (check out all our data recovery software reviews for more on those two).

In addition to its flagship data recovery product, Stellar has developed a whole range of nifty tools that’ll make your average Joe (this guy) look like an IT savant. Those tools include its .edb to .pst converter, which will be taking a look at below.

Who Needs an EDB to PST Converter?

Exchange database files (.edb) are used to hold data for Microsoft Exchange Server mailboxes. The problem with these files is that they can a bit tricky to work with. For example, when archiving server data, keeping your .edb files as they are would require unmounting the server database, which would halt productivity. This poses a problem for IT professionals tasked with performing backup maintenance and other user management tasks.

Where .edb files seem to enjoy making life difficult, Outlook personal storage table (.pst) files are far more flexible. They can be backed up easily, moved from machine to machine without hiccup and opened using a variety of different mail clients.

By converting an .edb file to .pst, you can archive data without having to unmount your database and disrupt your organization, too, keeping everyone happy. Doing so also lets you maintain and later access old .edb data, in addition to cleaning up space on your Exchange server.

While simple in theory, extracting Exchange mailboxes isn’t possible without a tool to help, which is where Stellar EDB to PST Converter comes in. Using this tool, you can convert single or multiple mailboxes from a live Exchange Server to .pst file types, while keeping their original format intact.

You can also recover accidentally deleted mailboxes and export offline .edb files to Live Exchange or Office 365. In addition to conversion to .pst, Stellar’s tool can also be used to transform.edb files into .eml, .msg, .rtf. .pdf and .html formats, providing even more flexibility.

The tool also supports most versions of MS Exchange Server (2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, 2003, 2000).

Basically, it does everything we’d expect it to, without being too complicated to use. We’ll take a closer look at the user experience in a moment. First, let’s review what it all costs.

Stellar EDB to PST Converter Licensing

Before you get started with using Stellar Data Recovery’s converter to turn your .edb files into more workable .pst files, you’ll need to get a software license. There are three options available, two “corporate” license and one technician license.

Of the three, the technician plan is by far the best value, despite also being the most expensive. That’s because both corporate licenses are only good for one year, and the lower-cost one can only be used to convert up to fifty mailboxes. The technician license, on the other hand, is good for life and unlimited mailbox conversions.

If you don’t want to incur the cost without first making sure the product works, you can download a free version from Stellar’s website. The unlicensed version can’t be used to actually convert files, but you can use it to scan and preview your .edb file.

All three plans come with free technical support if you get stuck, though the tools themselves are pretty easy to use, as well demonstrate next.

Using Stellar EDB to PST Converter

Once you’ve decided on a license type and downloaded the software, you can start converting mailbox files. Launch the tool and you’ll be prompted to indicate the location of the .edb file you want to work with.

You can access both offline and online files. If you don’t feel like hunting for them, Stellar EDB to PST Converter has a “find” function to speed things along.

If using the find function, you’ll be presented with a list of .edb files located. Highlight the one you want and hit “OK.” Then, hit “start” to tell the converter to scan the file.

Once done, the converter will do you a solid by asking you if you’d like to include additional .edb files, which will conserve time when working with multiple files.

Either way, the scan results look more or less the same. The output, in fact, is laid out just like a mailbox, making it mostly intuitive to work with.

A navigation tree on the left side has options for the inbox, outbox, calendar, contacts and other common mailbox fields. It works like you’d expect it to: click on inbox and the pane to the immediate right will show emails in that inbox, while the pane to the right of that will show the email content.

Stellar Convert EDB to PST also has a search feature to find specific messages using criteria like the “to” and “from” fields or the body of the email itself.

The initial scan result can be saved if you don’t want to complete the conversion just yet. Click the “save scan info” button to preserve those results as a .dat file. The “load scan info” button can be used to restore the .dat later on.

If you’re ready to convert the scan, click the “save” button instead.

You’ll be given the choice of converting the scan to a .pst file, or one of the conversion types supported by Stellar EDB to PST Converter like .msg or .pdf. Click “OK” when you’ve made your selection. The conversion process itself will just take a second.

If you prefer, you don’t have to convert the entire scan: you can convert individual emails to different file formats, instead. While that takes .pst off the table, the rest of the options (.msg, .html, .pdf, etc.) are available.

Once you’ve converted your Exchange mailbox file to a .pst or other file type, those files can be transferred to other machines for use or easily backed up to the cloud using CloudBerry Backup (read our CloudBerry Backup review) or any of the other best online backup tools available.

Final Thoughts

That’s really all there is to using Stellar EDB to PST Converter. As you can see, it all pretty easy, as is the case with most Stellar Products. If you do need help, the help tab of the client has direct links to the product manual, in addition to Stellar’s online knowledgebase and a form for direct contact.

Be sure and check out our Stellar Data Recovery review for a look the company’s flagship data recovery product. We also have a guide on using Stellar OST to PST Converter and the company’s Outlook repair tool, both fine IT tools in their own right.

Let us know if you have questions about the process in the comments below, and we’ll do our best to get answers for you. As always, thanks for reading.