Outlook 2010

Greetings all.....

Some time ago Outlook started to act up, it would start (it looked normal at startup) but I was unable to use it. I did a little research, followed the steps that were given but never solved the problem.

For the past 4 or so months I have been starting it in safe mode (run, then outlook /safe), I am able to use it but would like to solve the problem. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance......

Crapgame

 

Do you have any add-ins installed, such as electronic signing or a spam filter? If you do, you might try disabling all of the add-ins and then enabling them one at a time to find which one is the culprit.

Once Outlook has started in Safe Mode, navigate to File -> Options -> Add-Ins. In the lower left hand corner, there will be a dropdown box with the prefix "Manage:". Make sure that "COM Add-ins" is selected, and then click "Go..."

You will be presented with a dialog box with a list of the installed Add-ins, and checkboxes to enable/disable them. After you've disabled (unchecked) them all, just hit "OK", and try to start Outlook normally (without /safe switch).

If Outlook successfully starts (and runs the way it should), then you can begin the process of enabling one add-in at a time, restarting outlook each time you enable a add-in.

Hope this helps,
Xern

 

Thanks for your reply......

Unchecked the two Add-Ins (Microsoft Outlook Social Connector & OneNote Notes about Outlook Items) restarted and the I still have the same issue.

Crapgame

 

Well from what I've typically encountered, that usually points to one of two things:

1. Your Outlook profile (PST and/or OST file) got corrupted
2. An Outlook program file got corrupted

Let's start with seeing if your profile is the culprit. Luckily, a utility (Inbox Repair Tool) to repair corrupted PST and OST files is included with Outlook.

1a. If you're running Windows Vista or newer, you can search for "scanpst.exe" via the Start/Charms (Win 8) search function. Right click and choose "Run as Administrator".

1b. If you're running Windows XP, navigate to the following folder:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE14, and double click on scanpst.exe.

2. You'll need to browse or enter the path to the PST/OST files. Unless you specified otherwise, they should be stored in your User Appdata folder (C:\Users\%username%\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\*.pst (and *.ost)

3. Before you click "Repair", it's never a bad idea to make a backup of these files. Even copying them to the desktop would work.

4. Now click "Repair"

5. Once you've repaired the PST/OST files for your accounts, try firing Outlook up normally.

Note: You might find a new folder inside of Outlook called "Recovered Personal Folders" or a Lost and Found folder. These are usually empty. These folders store what was recovered by scanpst.exe (Inbox Repair Tool). Since the tool rebuilds the files, there's usually no orphans.

Best of luck!
-Xern

 

I found 3 using explorer:
one in program files, two in windows\installer\$patchCache$managed\00004109D30000000000000000F01FEC

I assume the one in program files?

Thanks Again......

I need to head out to the tire store and will be back in an hour or so.......

 

I presume you're referring to scanpst.exe? For that, yes, you'd want the copy that is in your Program Files directory.

 

Back from the tire store.....

I ran the program on both my PST & Archive files, errors were found & repaired.

Still no change, Outlook opens, looks like it should but as soon as I try to do anything it just minimizes to the task bar showing it is running but I cant even bring it back up.

Thanks again

Crapgame

 

If you feel comfortable editing the Windows Registry, you can delete the following key as a fix to try.
:majorALWAYS make a system restore point, or backup the hive before editing the registry.:major

1. Press Windows Key + R to open the run dialog
2. Type in "regedit", and click OK
3. Click "Yes" to the UAC prompt that appears, if you have it enabled
4. Using the dropdown arrow, expand "HKEY_CURRENT_USER"->"Software"->"Microsoft"->"Office"->"14.0"->"Outlook"->"Office Explorer"
5. You should see two keys in the right pane that read "(Default)" and "Frame"
6. Right click on "Frame" and click that good ol' Delete button
7. Click "Yes" to the Confirm Value Delete dialog box
8. Reboot your computer

And try launching Outlook.

If you do not feel comfortable editing the Registry, I would be more than happy to write a script for you to use.

 

Done........

That worked!!!!!!!! What exactly did I delete?

Crapgame

 

Glad to hear it! :highfive

The particular registry key that you deleted held the size (or "frame") of the Outlook window. In this case, it somehow got set to an impossible value (this can happen when Outlook crashes), and deleting the registry key reset the window frame size back to default.

 

Cool, thanks again......

Have a great day!!!!

Crapgame