Startups

Technology

Reviews

Apps

Outlook Won’t Open?- 6 Fixes You Need To Know

www.techsunk.com

Startups

Technology

Reviews

Apps

The outlook is one of the most used email software programs after Google’s Gmail. Microsoft Outlook is an email software program that lets you send and receive emails on your computer. It is used widely by organizations for its user-friendly and advanced features. It is enabled with an intuitive user interface or UI, a wide range of add-ons, and even contacts can be added and created. 

However, like most of the online services and applications, even Outlook starts to malfunction. Sometimes, Outlook won’t open and returns an error message to you. This becomes a great inconvenience when you are in the middle of your work and you need to send an urgent email to your client or boss.

In case your Outlook is also not opening and you don’t know what to do. Then don’t panic, we are here to help. In this article, we will walk you through some of the causes of this malfunction and a few easy fixes that you can apply.

Reasons Why Outlook Won’t Open

There could be many reasons why your outlook won’t open or function properly. Below, we have listed down some of the common reasons that cause such malfunctioning.

  1. Problematic add-ins.
  2. Damaged and corrupted Files
  3. A corrupted profile or your Outlook Profile belongs to an older version of outlook.
  4. Navigation pane issues.
  5. Virus or malware infection
  6. Incorrect configuration of the Outlook application
  7. Improper installation of the Outlook application.

Getting Outlook to work again properly and efficiently is not that hard. But, having some specific knowledge about the inner workings of Outlook may help you to solve it easily. In case, you are new to using Outlook then, don’t worry. Just follow the steps we provide to resolve your issue.

Also read: 6 Outlook Tips and Tricks that You Should Know

How to Fix Outlook Not Opening Issue?

Below, we will provide various fixes that you can try on your outlook to solve the issue. However, remember you may or may not have to try all of these. But you will have to keep patience till you find one.

Is Outlook Down?

Before attempting all fixes, make sure whether you are the only one whose Outlook won’t open or is everyone facing this issue. In case everyone is facing this issue, then contact the Microsoft support team and ask whether the outlook is down or not. Even though it is most unlikely to happen, if the problem is from Microsoft’s end, then and wait till they fix their servers.

Sometimes, if you use a poor network connection also you will face difficulty in sending your emails. Hence, we suggest you rule out these two options first, then proceed with the fixes.

Fixes for Solving the Issue

Below are the fixes for solving the outlook issue:

1. Reset the Navigation Pane Configuration File

In most cases, the Outlook malfunctioning issue is caused by a corrupted Navigation Pane settings file.

  • Click on the “Run” on the Start Menu of your Windows. You can even press the Windows key plus “R” to open the “Run” dialogue box.
  • Inside that Run dialogue box, type in the command “outlook.exe /resetnaypane” (black space is necessary) into the text field.
  • Then, confirm it by selecting “OK”.
  • Now, again start Outlook.

2. Repair the Data Using the Inbox Repair Tool

In case you have reinstalled Outlook recently, then something would have gone wrong while removing the previous version. There is a chance that the default Outlook data file might have been deleted or damaged. This could be one of the reasons why Outlook is not opening.

  • Open your Windows Explorer and navigate to the folder in which your Microsoft Office is set up.
  • Find the Inbox Repair Tool from the list shown and select it. If you want, you can even type in the search box that can be visible at the top.
  • Select your default Outlook.pst file.
  • Now, try to open Outlook and check whether it starts without any problems or errors.

3. Identifying Defective Add-ins During Safe Mode

Outdated versions of Add-ins can cause an issue when you try to open Outlook in your system. The identification of this problem only works in the safe mode.

  • Click on the “Run” dialogue box from the start. Or press the Windows key plus “R” from the keyboard.
  • Type in the text “outlook.exe /safe” (space is inclusive) and then press “OK”.
  • When the “Choose Profile” box opens, select the standard settings and click on “OK”.
  • Your outlook will now run on safe mode.
  • On the top-left side of Outlook, select “File”. Then click on “Options”.
  • Choose “Add-Ins” from the left side of the window and then select “Go”.
  • Deactivate all the add-ins by unchecking the boxes and then restart Outlook.

If Outlook reopened successfully then the problem is caused by add-ins. You will have to manually again select all add-ins and then uncheck one add-in at a time and restart. Whenever your outlook fails to reopen, then that particular add-in is causing the problem.

4. Repairing your Outlook Profile

Corruption of Outlook profile could be one of the reasons why Outlook is malfunctioning.

  • Click on the “File”. Then select “Account Settings”.
  • Now, go to the “Email” tab.
  • Choose “Repair”. Follow the prompts to finish the wizard and then restart the Outlook.

How to Fix Outlook Not Opening in Mac?

The following are a few simple techniques that you can apply to Outlook 2016 and Outlook 2011 in your Mac system.

1. Check For Updates

Check for updates in your system for Outlook. Most of the time a simple, quick update could fix the problem of not being able to open Outlook. Check for any updates, even if you cannot open the Outlook and update then if you have any.

  • Click on “Help”. Then, click on the “Check for Updates” section.
  • Choose the “Update” to download and install all available updates from there.

2. Rebuild the Outlook Database

By using the Microsoft utility to rebuild a corrupted database might solve the ongoing issue of your Outlook Won’t Open on a Mac. In case you have a Microsoft Exchange account, rebuilding the database might end up deleting any information that is not synced with the server. Therefore, make sure you back up any Outlook data stored on your system before you rebuild the database.

  • Exit all the Microsoft Office applications that might be open on your system.
  • Click on the “Option” key and then, click on the “Outlook” icon in the Dock to open the “Microsoft Database Utility”.
  • Select the database you want to rebuild.
  • Then, choose the Rebuild key.
  • When the process gets over, you can restart Outlook and check whether your Outlook won’t open still or is resolved.

Latest Articles

Loading...