Question on removing an alias

[Donnat]

Hi. The email I used to create my MS account is compromised and I have to delete it. It is a hotmail id. It was the primary alias on my account, but I created 2 new alias accounts and changed the primary to a new one in Feb 2021. Now have three aliases:

1. The primary alias which is my MS account id. I try to limit usage of this id. I use it to logon to my MS account.
2. An alias used for account logons and to give out for emails.
3. The compromised account, which is blocked from being able to logon to my MS account and has been removed from almost all online accounts.

I see the instructions on how to delete the alias and I think: Simple, but FINAL and IRREVOCABLE, so be careful!

Add or remove an email alias in Outlook.com

Create an alias to give you an additional email address which uses the same inbox, contact list, and account settings as your primary email address in Outlook.com.

support.microsoft.com

Q1 - when I delete the hotmail alias, since I have 2 other aliases, I assume I will not lose any data. The primary alias (and the 2nd one) will still function and all my data should be intact. Is that correct? I had read a recent post on MS forum which I could not find again bc I wanted to re-read it!!! that the user had added an id for xbox and followed the instructions to delete an old id and turned out she deleted her mother’s email and lost her mother’s entire db- 30 years’ worth of emails!!! I couldn’t understand how that happened, MS will not let you delete an alias unless you have at least a primary and if you have one alias - you will always have your emails, right? I am worried about losing data.

Q2 So, I exported a copy of my OST which will only allow me to save as PST, but I read online that you can import an OST to a PST, correct?

Q3 My OST file is in Users->App Data->Local->Microsoft->Outlook. I see two OSTs, (the exported file is elsewhere named backup.pst) both with current dates - one is my primaryemail.outlook.com.ost and the other is the alias I want to delete file name: xx@hotmail.com - New .ost
What is that? Why do I have 2 OSTs and does this mean I will lose what is in the hotmail OST file when I delete the hotmail alias???? And if so, what do I need to do to preserve the data that is in the hotmail OST when I delete the hotmail alias?

I just don’t want to make any mistakes; I cannot afford to lose my data. If you could answer my questions and have any suggestions to ensure a smooth process, I’d appreciate it.. thanks! Donna

 

[Diane Poremsky]

Q1: You will not lose any mail already in the mailbox. On the xbox issue - not totally sure what happens if they delete it on the xbox, I know kids have screwed up parents accounts though. As long as you delete it account.microsoft.com/manage, you will not risk closing your account. Just make sure you remove the right address because you cant get it back.


Q2: You need a 3rd party utility to convert and ost to a pst. If you exported the mailbox to a pst, you are good - you can open it in any version of outlook, any profile. If you exported from outlook, did you verify that you had all mail synced? Go to File > Account Settings > Account Settings. Double click on the account and check the sync slider.


Q3: I think its just a weird thing outlook does... when you change the alias, outlook eventually made a new ost with the new alias but touches the first before opening the second. If you close outlook and rename the old one, it shouldn't make a new one.