Outlook 2010 - slow when deleting emails

I have Outlook 2010 running on Windows 7. I'm a remote worker and use it for my work email and on a day I can't remember making any changes (updates, downloads, etc.). After months of running perfectly, all of the sudden, deleting emails is taking up to 24 seconds each. No error message, and no other speed issues when performing any other functions. This includes Shift+Del which is lightening fast. (I'd just do this all the time, but I choose to keep my deleted emails for several months. At the end of every workday, I move them to a folder I created.)

I've been though every troubleshooting guide I can find online and even called my IT guy at work. He had me give him remote access and he tried a bunch of stuff. Nothing fixed it. He downloaded Windows Live 2012 and it does NOT have a speed issue when deleting. He did rule out any problems with my HP laptop. We are at a loss. His solution is for me to start using Windows Live, but I paid for Outlook and it makes integrating with Salesforce so easy, I want to continue using it.

I have:
2 .pst files (511MB and 16MB)
zero RSS feeds
used the Control Panel to "repair"
tried safe mode with the same results/problem
disabled add-ins manually with the same results/problem
installed all critical and most recommended updates (2 security updates for Windows have repeated failed attempts)
run Microsoft FixIt
run defrag
compacted


Thanks in advance. Any ideas appreciated.

 

There are a number of variables in play here. How congested is the VPN infrastructure, with road warriors like you, what kind of hardware is your employer using for their modem, router, managed switches, speed of their connection they are paying for, how much traffic is going in and out of that connection, how are they running the Exchange server ( is it in a Virtual Machine), what kind of hardware are they running it on.

Then there is the factors of how many emails are in your inbox, in your archieve, have the system admin tried to do a Post box repair on your .PST & .OST.

Now of course, when was the last time the machine you are using, defray was ran, Disk Cleanup was also ran. How much memory is in it. What is the manufacturer & model of the computer you use?

Really in your situation, they should be using a Webmail solution for the road warriors, then using Outlook on it, while you are connecting from outside the domain. They can still allow you to use Outlook 2k10 when you go to the office and connect directly to the domain.

There is some really good information at Slipstick.com, regarding Outlook, Exchange, etc..

I know that with most companies, the IT department will be hard to find a lot of the stuff out, that I inquired about, but they are there to help you resolve problems between you and the servers. That is what they are getting paid to do.

Also make sure you have no issues with your own connection, if these issues are happening from your home. The biggest problem that most Road Warrior a have, is not being able to get a decent package through their own ISP. Especially if you live in a very rural area.

If you are paying for a decent package (24meg or faster), but on a home package, you may want to move to a business Internet package for the home office.

The best thing about business Internet packages, is that if the modem goes out, or the connection goes bad, your ISP will bend over backwards to get you back online, if they are any decent.

 

Thank you! Here 's some additional info:

I'm not on a VPN or Exchange Server. I can access my Earthlink hosted webmail via internet, but I don't like it at all. That's what prompted me to purchase Outlook. (If it matters, deleting items in webmail works perfectly fast.) IT helped me with the settings to get Outlook set up, but I'm the only employee using Outlook.

I travel to the corporate office once, maybe twice a year, and have no need to access the software or programs they use. I use my local copy of Microsoft Office including Outlook 2010 and Salesforce via the web. That's all I need. I chose to use my personal laptop so I could forgo their rules about non-essential web sites (which would stop me from playing Mafia Wars and Candy Crush on FB) on company property. It's much easier than switching machines in my home office, or traveling with two laptops.

I live in Dallas, TX so definitely not rural. My cable internet has download speeds up to 30Mbps and upload speeds up to 5Mbps.

In Outlook, my Inbox has 57 items in the folder. Deleted and Sent Items are cleared out every night, making those folders 0 items. I've never archived anything. Defrag and Disk Cleanup are run regularly, most recently two days ago. I do not know if my IT guy attempted a post box repair on the .PST & .OST files. The same files worked perfectly well when added to Windows Live.

Here's some technical info from Belarc Advisor:

Hewlett-Packard HP ProBook 4535s
Windows 7 Home Premium (x64) Service Pack 1 (build 7601)

Processor
1.90 gigahertz AMD A4-3300M APU with Radeon HD Graphics
256 kilobyte primary memory cache
2048 kilobyte secondary memory cache
64-bit ready
Multi-core (2 total)
Not hyper-threaded

Main Circuit Board
Board: Hewlett-Packard 168B KBC Version 32.1B
Bus Clock: 100 megahertz
BIOS: Hewlett-Packard 68CPC Ver. F.40 03/11/2013

Drives
319.94 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
240.28 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space
hp CDDVDW TS-L633R SATA CdRom Device [Optical drive]
WDC XXXXXXXXXXXX-60PVMT0 [Hard drive] (320.07 GB) -- drive 0, s/n WD-XXXXXXXXXXXX, rev 01.01A01, SMART Status: Healthy

Memory Modules
3554 Megabytes Usable Installed Memory
Slot 'Bottom-Slot 1(top)' is Empty
Slot 'Bottom-Slot 2(under)' has 4096 MB (serial number XXXXXXXX)

Local Drive Volumes
c: (NTFS on drive 0) * 314.59 GB 238.01 GB free
e: (FAT32 on drive 0) 5.36 GB 2.27 GB free
* Operating System is installed on c:

Thank you again. I'm open to ideas and appreciate of your time.

 

Check out slipstick.com. Since you are able to choose your own software, run Mozilla's Thunderbird alongside Outlook. Set Thunderbird to not delete emails, but to leave on the server, while running your trial.

Thunderbird should pull the settings from Outlook.

Have IT repair your mailbox on the company servers also, to make sure that the problem is not on their end.

What Modem and Router do you have for your home LAN? Do a Traceroute, ping test to your company servers or website if hosted in house, see if there is any packet loss.

Runs speed test at http://www.test.my.net and post tha...l, because the connection is having problems.

 

Thank you for your continued help. Sadly, I need you to explain at a level I can understand.

I went to slipstick.com and I'm not sure what I'm supposed to look for, or do with all the links and info they have posted.

I'm happy to download Thunderbird, but do I need to, since we know the problem did not occur in Windows Live? I got the idea from my IT gut that we have isolated the problem to my copy of Outlook. I could be wrong...

I will ask my IT guy to repair my mailbox on the company servers, if he hasn’t done so already.

I Googled for sites to do a Traceroute and ping test. They all ask me for a domain or IP address. How do I find what to enter in that field?

All my equipment is from Time Warner Cable. We lease one of their Motorola modem/routers. It’s the SURFboard model and according to their customer service, it’s their latest greatest for high speed.

http://www.test.my.net never opened. Did you mean www.testmy.net? If so, it says my download speed is 27.4 Mbps.

Please note, Outlook works lightening fast when downloading, previewing, opening, moving, or permanently deleting emails. The problem ONLY happens when I hit the delete key.

Again, I appreciate the help!!