How-to Restore PST

Email Restoration Process – For Affected Hosted Exchange Users

 There are two paths to restoration, and it is highly dependent upon how the affected user is currently set up. If the user already has an installed copy of Outlook (version is not significant), or if they were only using webmail, or a different email application. 

It is very important to understand that Rackspace is only providing the PST for 30 days. We are however taking precautions to persist the data for email boxes we control until the email boxes are fully restored. However, franchisees that have their own accounts need to act fast.

This first step is essential/required to either type of user, as both users will need their PST file:

 Step #1 Check if the PST file is ready, and download if it is ready

  • You will need to check to see if the affected users PST has been provisioned by Rackspace
  • Log into the Rackspace Control panel via: https://cp.rackspace.com
  • Click Hosted Exchange at the top of the page
  • Find the domain in the list you need a PST for
  • Note the following page will load: https://cp.rackspace.com/Exchange/Mail/Mailboxes/List#
    • The above page occasionally takes a full minute to render, so please be patient
    • On the far-right column you will either see a clickable button Download Mailbox, or it will be grayed out
    • Click the Download Mailbox button if is clickable, also take note of the size
      • You will need to tick the checkbox to the left and agree to the terms
      • From here you have two options:
        • If you are restoring a box we control, click the Copy Link button
          • Then email the link you copied to the store you are helping to restore, also make sure you let them know the size of the file, so they are adequately prepared. 
          • They have 24 hours to download the file tied to the link, after that it will expire and will require provisioning a new link.
          • They will need to click the link you sent so they can download the PST and download it to the computer they need to restore the email to
        • If a franchisee controls their own Rackspace account, they will need to login as above, and check/download as well using the above directions.


Optional Step – If the user doesn’t have Outlook installed on their PC
This step is only used when the user primarily used webmail, or an email client other than Outlook.

Part 1 – Acquire License 

  • You will need to temporarily purchase and assign another license to the Office 365 Tenant, and then assign that license to the user(s) that allows them to download a copy of Outlook.
  • You or the franchisee (if they control the Rackspace account) will need to go to the license portal: http://office365.cp.rackspace.com
  • Click Sign in with Microsoft
  • Login with your Office 365 Admin user/pass
  • Click +Add New Business Product on the top right of the screen
  • In the search field each for Microsoft 365 Apps for business this will pull up a $9.96 license
  • Click Add Subscriptions
  • Select the quantity you need 
  • Select monthly from the term dropdown, then click Add
  • Click Submit at the bottom of the page
    • As a reminder this is a temporary step; the license can be removed after the PST is restored and mail finishes syncing back to the cloud
  • It may take a few mins for the licenses to provision

Part 2 – Apply license

  • Next on the left side bar, under More…, click Microsoft 365 Admin Center
  • This will take you to the Office 365 Control Panel, login with your admin user/2FA if needed
  • On the left sidebar click Users -> Active Users
  • In the user list click the user that needs the Outlook license
  • An options panel will appear from the right
  • Click the Licenses and apps tab
  • Add a tick in the checkbox next to Microsoft 365 Apps for business, then click the Save Changes button at the bottom
  • Log out from The Microsoft 365 Admin Center

Part 3 – Install Outlook

  • You will need to wait about 10m or so after you apply the license before continuing
  • Go to: https://portal.office.com
  • Login with a user that you assigned the apps license to
  • On the right side of the dashboard will be a button that says: Install Apps
  • Select Premium Microsoft 365 apps  from the drop down
  • Find the installer, run it, and install Outlook only
  • Once installed proceed to step 3

Step #3 How-to Restore the PST into Outlook (desktop)

  • If you prefer to watch a video, you can check this one Rackspace created: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-DTWtGHspQ
  • You will need to have your email address configured in Outlook: https://docs.rackspace.com/support/how-to/set-up-your-microsoft-365-exchange-online-mailbox-in-outlook-for-windows/
  • Make sure you have retrieved / downloaded the PST file via the prior directions, and that the PST file is on the machine
  • Open Outlook
  • Select File
  • Click Open & Export
  • Then click the Import & Export button
  • This opens the import/export wizard
  • Select Import from another program or file, then click Next
  • Select the Outlook Data File (.pst) and click Next
  • Click Browse to search for the .pst file you want to import. Under Options, choose how you want to handle duplicate items, then click Next.
    • Most people may want to select replace duplicates with items imported, but this is dependent upon the user’s needs.
  • Make sure the checkbox for include subfolders is checked and the Import items into the same folder in: is selected, with your mailbox selected in the drop-down menu.
  • Click Finish. Outlook will begin importing the contents of your PST file. This process can take anywhere from a few seconds to a few hours depending on the size of the PST file.
  • Please make sure to leave your computer on and leave Outlook alone while the import is being processed. 
  • Also, you will want to leave the machine on after the import is on so that Outlook can sync its restored data back to the cloud.

Step #4 for users that had to invoke the optional step:

  • After the email has been restored and the email was sent back up to the server, we will need to disable and remove the license for Outlook.
  • It is crucial that the email has had time to sync back to the cloud before proceeding
  • The user essentially follows the same process, but in reverse
  • Uninstall Outlook
  • Login to: https://admin.microsoft.com
  • On the left sidebar click Users -> Active Users
  • In the user list click the user that needs the Outlook license
  • An options panel will appear from the right
  • Click the Licenses and apps tab
  • Remove the tick from the checkbox next to Microsoft 365 Apps for business, then click the Save Changes button at the bottom
  • Log out from The Microsoft 365 Admin Center
  • Login to the license portal: http://office365.cp.rackspace.com
  • Select the Microsoft 365 Apps for business license type
  • Remove all the licenses (make sure you only remove the ones you just added, nothing else).
  • Click Submit