Common Troubleshooting Guide For Issues with Microsoft Outlook

These are some troubleshooting steps to fix common Outlook issues like unable to open or crashing while doing something in Outlook etc.

1. Start up problem of Outlook

This is one of the most common problems with Microsoft office. Whenever this problem occurs the Office comes up with an error message "Cannot start Microsoft Office Outlook". 
This error can persist even after repairing and reinstalling the software. By this time the program also cannot be started in the Safe Mode. The possible reason behind this issue may be the wrong way of outlook shutdown which in turn leads to a problematic navigation panel. One way of resolving the error is by running the “Outlook.exe /resetnavpane “command. 

Start | Run | Outlook.exe /resetnavpane and Hit Ok that would open your Outlook. 



2. PST file problems

Often the computer users may come up a PST file problem while using the Office Outlook. A corruption in the PST (Personal Storage Table) leads to a damaged inbox where all your vital information is stored. Several troubleshooting methods are there to solve the problem. First try to run from the Safe Mode to identify the cause of the problem. If it does not work, then there is 100% chance of PST corruption which can be handled by an official tool popularly known as Outlook Inbox Repair Tool. 

3. The Mail Client Error

Another most serious error in the Outlook is the "Mail Client" Error. The Office Outlook troubleshooting methods can help you in solving this problem. 

GoTo Start | Regedit 

Code:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Clients\Mail\Microsoft Outlook

and delete Microsoft Outlook and close the Registry Editor. 

Then GoTo Start |Control Panel | Programs and Features. Select the Office click "Change". At the last step click on "Repair" followed by clicking the "Continue" button.


4. General Issue Troubleshooting 

Most of the Errors and Issues can be fixed by running a Office Diagnostic. 

5. Damage Add-ins Issue

And most of the crashes like non-responding or freezes in middle of something most of the time it used be a bad or corrupted add-in. So the best thing to do is Disable add-ins and see if it happens. 


Follow these steps to Disable them

1. On the Tools menu, click Trust Center, and then click Add-ins.
2. In the Add-ins box, identify the add-in that you want to enable or disable and note the Add-in type located in the Type column.
3. Select the Add-in type in the Manage box and then click Go.
4. Select or clear the check box for the Add-in that you want enable or disable and then click OK.

In case if you can't open Outlook but you want to disable the add-ins you could use OfficeIns it a great tool to fix such issues. 

For Advance Troubleshooting you could use Outlook Tools. OutlookTools is a support and advanced settings tool for Microsoft Office Outlook. It gives you easy access to Outlook settings and data folders and allows you to change settings that are normally only possible through the registry.

Also in short

1. Run scanpst.exe on your Personal Folder. The default location of scanpst.exe is:
C:\Program Files\Common Files\System\MSMAPI\

2. Rename outcmd.dat to .old and restart Outlook to reset all the toolbars (a common Outlook problem). The file location is: C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook

3. You can try recreating the profile in Control Panel > Mail > Show Profiles

4. Try running Outlook with the /safe switch: Start > Run > type: outlook /safe
In some cases you may have to enter the full path to Outlook: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office11\Outlook.exe" /safe
Once Outlook is running, run Help > Detect and Repair

5. Start in safe mode again and disable individual add-ons in Tools > Options > Other > Advanced E-mail Options > Add-In Manager/COM Add-ins

Hope this helps,
Naresh