Microsoft Outlook is one of the most commonly used E-mail clients. So it is natural that users might have lot of issues with it, like common start-up problems, freezing, slow response, etc. I’ll suggest a few tips that would help you in resolving these issues.
1) ADD-IN ISSUES.
Most of the time the issues with Outlook are caused by poorly written add-ins that are installed with software; which most of the times we won’t even know! As the first step we should try to disable the add-ins and see if that resolves the problem. Add-ins can cause Outlook, not to open. It can even freeze or cause ‘not-responding’ issues! Here are a few methods, I suggest, which you may use to disable the add-in’s.
Method one:
If you can open Outlook then we can disable it from there.
Outlook 2003: Go to Tools > Options > Advance > Add-in Manager
Outlook 2007: Tools > Trust center > Add-ins
Outlook 2010: File > Options > Add-ins. There you’ll find COM Add-ins select that option and uncheck all non-Microsoft related add-ins you would also select the Exchange add-ins and disable it from there as well. Then close Outlook.
Sometime Outlook just won’t close; it will continue to be still running in Task Manager. So we have to open the Task Manager, go to Process tab and look for Outlook.exe and kill the service. Then re-open Outlook and see if the problem is still there.
Method two:
Download OfficeIns from Nirsoft. Close Outlook. Make sure it’s not running in the Task Manager. Then open OfficeIns. Select the Add-in and Right Click on it. You’ll find an option call “Change Start Mode” and select Disabled and the Select “Change Connect Mode” and select No. Follow the same process for all non-Microsoft add-ins. Once you disable all the add-ins, the open Outlook and test it.
Method three:
The next Method is disabling it from Registry.
Note: This option is for advance users. Change the value incorrectly can cause potential damage to Computer be very cautious.
Go to Start and type in Regedit. Then let’s make a backup of the Registry.
Click “Computer” then Go to File > Export > type the File name as Registry back and click on Save. Then go to:
(32- Bit System) : HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\Outlook\Addins
(64-Bit System) : HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Office\Outlook\Addins
Under Add-in key you’ll find the List of add-ins. To remove the simply highlight the one Right Click on it and Delete.
To disable it temporarily on the Right side Pane you’ll find a Value called “Load Behavior” double click on it and change the Value data from “3” to “0” Click OK. Once you do that close the Registry and open Outlook and test it.
2) CORRUPT PST / PROFILE.
Sometime it’s the PST that can cause the outlook to crash. If can cause to crash due to a improper shutdown of Outlook, sometime the PST size is huge like around 2 or 3 GB it time to use a new PST for better performance of Outlook.
Fixing PST:
Microsoft Outlook has a inbuilt Tool called “SCANPST.exe” using that program you can scan and repair issues with PST.
Select the PST using the Browser button and Select Start. Sometimes it might take a long time to complete. So don’t disturb the process.
Fixing Profile:
Most of the times corrupt Profile can use Outlook not to open or error message etc. To test that you could try creating a new Outlook Profile.
To create a new Profile, go to Start > Control Panel > Mail
Then Select Show Profiles
Then Select Add and type a new Name for Profile then setup the E-mail account and click Finish. Then under “Always use this Profile” Select new profile name and Click OK. Then open Outlook and test it.
If that works then you have to move your old PST that has all the E-mails to new Outlook Profile. Go to Control Panel > Mail > E-mail Account, and Select the Data tab.
There Click on Add and Select the Old PST File. Once you select it Click on “Set as Default” so it will default to your Old PST’s Inbox. Then open Outlook again.
3) OFFICE DIAGNOSTIC.
Office Diagnostic is a Powerful method to fix most of outlook setup related issues or missing file to Registry related problems.
To run Office Diagnostic:
Outlook 2003: Go to Help and Select on Detect and Repair
Outlook 2007: Go to Help and Select Office Diagnostic or Go to All Programs > Microsoft Office > Microsoft Office Tools > Office Diagnostic
Office 2010: In Office 2010 Microsoft have remove that option and they have replaced with Automatic Repair option.
- From any Microsoft Office 2010 application, click the File tab, then click Options.
- On the Options screen, select Trust Center, then click Trust Center Settings.
- From the Trust Center screen, select Privacy Options on the left.
- Under the Privacy Options section on the right, check the box for Download a file periodically that helps determine system problems.
- Click OK to save these settings.
If that doesnt work go to Program and Features and On the list of programs, select Microsoft Office 2010, and click Change. On the change screen, select Repair, and click Continue.
4) TROUBLESHOOTING USING COMMAND SWITCHES.
There are lot of command switches for different types of troubleshooting Few of them are very popular. I’m listing a few that would be helpful.
Start > Run > Outlook /<Switch> (Without <>)
Outlook /Safe - To open the Outlook is Safe mode
Outlook /Resetnavpane – This will reset Navigation Pane is Outlook. It will resolve common issues like “Cannot start Outlook…” etc.
Outlook /resetfolders – Restores missing folders for the default delivery location.
Outlook /cleanreminders – If Outlook freezes while opening due to Alarms using this switch will fix it.
More command line can be found at OutlookTips.
Hope it helps!
