How to restore contacts to a previous date

Question

How to restore contacts to a previous date

Paul Huleatt 0

I installed a new monitor that caused my outlook email inbox folders to disappear. In my attempts to restore the compact view option, I was advised to delete a Olk file, that I understood was just a temp file. But after I deleted the file, I was prompted to sign-in into MS365. When I did, I was prompted to create a new outlook email. And while I can see all my yahoo emails, I don't see any of my outlook contact records or calendar entries.

Can I simply restore my outlook contacts from a previous date? It appears I might be able to restore the OLK file from the recycle bin on my laptop. But that is far as I have progressed. Thanks.

Hornblower409 12,060 Reputation points

2026-07-18T01:57:09.9433333+00:00

@Paul Huleatt said

I was advised to delete a Olk file, that I understood was just a temp file.

Not a fix, just so you know what happened. And how you can prevent it from happening again.

The file you deleted was an .OST file. It stores a copy of your Yahoo emails so Outlook can access them quickly. But it also stores any Calendar and Contacts you created in Outlook and these are NOT also stored on the Yahoo server. So when the OST file was deleted, so were all of your Calendars and Contacts.

The way to prevent it is to store your Calendars and Contacts in a .PST file that is separate from your email storage in the .OST file. This way, if you delete the OST file (it will be re-created the next time you connect to the Yahoo email server) you don't lose your other data.

For detailed instructions:

[External Non-Microsoft Site] https://robert365.com/article/do-not-risk-losing-your-contacts-and-calendar-when-using-imap
Adam Folukes 0 Reputation points

2026-07-27T17:05:34.2366667+00:00

If your contacts were synced with a cloud service like Google or iCloud, you may be able to restore them from a previous backup or recovery option. Check your account's contact management settings for available restore dates. If no backup exists, recovery may not be possible, so enable regular backups going forward.

2 answers

Your answer

Hornblower409 12,060 Reputation points

2026-07-18T01:57:09.9433333+00:00

@Paul Huleatt said

I was advised to delete a Olk file, that I understood was just a temp file.

Not a fix, just so you know what happened. And how you can prevent it from happening again.

The file you deleted was an .OST file. It stores a copy of your Yahoo emails so Outlook can access them quickly. But it also stores any Calendar and Contacts you created in Outlook and these are NOT also stored on the Yahoo server. So when the OST file was deleted, so were all of your Calendars and Contacts.

The way to prevent it is to store your Calendars and Contacts in a .PST file that is separate from your email storage in the .OST file. This way, if you delete the OST file (it will be re-created the next time you connect to the Yahoo email server) you don't lose your other data.

For detailed instructions:

[External Non-Microsoft Site] https://robert365.com/article/do-not-risk-losing-your-contacts-and-calendar-when-using-imap
Adam Folukes 0 Reputation points

2026-07-27T17:05:34.2366667+00:00

If your contacts were synced with a cloud service like Google or iCloud, you may be able to restore them from a previous backup or recovery option. Check your account's contact management settings for available restore dates. If no backup exists, recovery may not be possible, so enable regular backups going forward.

Answer 1

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Answer 2

Alice-N 13,250 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi Paul Huleatt

Please reply with only these details, without posting email addresses or screenshots with personal information:

Whether the missing contacts/calendar were under Yahoo, Outlook.com, or another account.
Whether you found any .pst file.
Whether the contacts appear in Outlook People or Yahoo Contacts online.
Whether the missing folder was named Contacts (This computer only) or Calendar (This computer only).

I would love to hear from you soon. Have a lovely day !

Alice-N 13,250 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-18T03:49:10.6833333+00:00

Hi Paul Huleatt

I hope you are doing well! I just want to check if you have had a chance to check my reply earlier? Please let me know when you have time.

Have a lovely day!