10 Common Outlook Errors and How to Fix Them

Microsoft Outlook is a widely popular email client and a preferred choice for all Microsoft Exchange/Microsoft 365 users and many IMAP/POP3 email account users. Similar to any other software on Windows, Microsoft Outlook also experiences various issues and errors that may be frustrating and time-consuming to fix.

In this article, you will learn about 10 common Outlook errors that you may encounter while using the email client and the solutions to fix them.

1. Cannot Start Microsoft Outlook

“Cannot Start Microsoft Outlook” is one of the common errors that Outlook users encounter. The error may occur due to several reasons, including Outlook data file (PST) corruption or damaged Outlook profile.

2. Outlook is Not Responding

Another common Outlook error that many users encounter is "Outlook is not responding." The error usually occurs when Outlook cannot process a request or action. This may happen due to low memory, storage issues, or processor performance.

To fix this error, you can try freeing up the memory and processing power by closing other applications. ?

3. Outlook Keeps Asking for Password

Sometimes, when a user opens the Outlook client, they see a prompt on the screen asking for the password. Even after entering the password, it pops up again. This may occur when there is an issue with your Email Account settings or when the password is incorrect/recently changed.

If your Outlook keeps asking for the password, you can try the following:

• Check that the password you entered is correct. If not sure, reset the password and enter it.
• Check your Email Account settings and verify that they are correct.
• Disable add-ins that you have installed recently or from an untrusted third party in Outlook.
• Repair your existing profile or create a new one.

For detailed steps, scroll down to the solutions section.

4. Outlook Data File Cannot Be Accessed

"Outlook data file cannot be accessed" is another common Outlook error message that usually occurs when the data file (PST) associated with the Outlook profile gets oversized, damaged, or corrupt. It may also occur due to issues with the storage media.

5. Outlook Calendar Not Syncing

If you use the Outlook calendar to manage your schedule, you may encounter the error message "Outlook calendar not syncing." This error usually occurs when there is an issue with the synchronization settings or when there is a conflict with other applications.

6. Outlook Emails Stuck in Outbox

Synchronization issues are common in Outlook that can lead to a plethora of errors, such as the "Outlook emails stuck in Outbox" error message. The error occurs when there is,

• Issue with the email account settings.
• Problem with the network connection.
• Problem with Outlook profile.
• Corruption in Outlook data file.

7. Outlook Attachments Not Opening

If you are not able to open attachments received in the emails in Outlook, you may encounter an error message "Outlook attachments not opening." The error usually occurs when,

• There is an issue with the attached file type.
• The file format is not supported.
• There is problem with the security software settings.

8. Outlook Search Not Working

This is another common Outlook error that may pop up in the email client when Outlook search isn’t working or shows results slowly due to,

• Issues with the search index.
• Corrupt or damaged Outlook profile.
• Corrupt Outlook data file (PST).

9. Outlook Rules Not Working

Outlook users use rules to efficiently manage their incoming and outgoing emails. ?But sometimes the rules do not work. If you try to run the rules manually, you may get the "Outlook rules not working" error.

This error usually occurs due to,

• An issue with the rule settings.
• Corruption in the Outlook profile.
• Damaged, oversized, or corrupt Outlook data file (PST).

To fix this error, you can follow the below steps to recreate the rules.

• Open Outlook and click Rules > Manage Rules and Alerts.

• Select the rule that is not working and delete it.
• Create the same rule again.

If this did not fix the error, follow the solutions given below.

10. File Access Denied – Outlook Data File

The error “File access is denied. You do not have permission to access the file C:[email protected]” error occurs when there is some issues or problems with the Outlook PST file. The error is critical as it prevents you from accessing or opening the emails. ??

How to Fix the Common Outlook Errors?

To fix these 10 common Outlook errors, you can follow the below methods. In case these methods can’t help you fix these errors, you can use Stellar Repair for Outlook to repair the PST file as most of these errors are a result of corrupt or damaged Outlook data file, i.e., PST.

The software helps you repair the corrupt PST file, recover all the mail items, including emails, contacts, attachments, etc., and save them to a new healthy PST file. You can import this PST file into your new profile and fix the error permanently without any risk of losing mail items.

You can also manage your PST file using the Technician edition of Stellar Repair for Outlook, which helps you,

• Compress the large or oversized PST file by saving and linking the PST and attachments in a separate folder.
• Split the oversized or large PST files.
• Export the repaired PST file directly to Microsoft 365 and live Exchange Server.

By using the software, you can overcome these common Outlook errors in a much more efficient way. ?

1.Repair Outlook Profile

Follow these steps to repair your Outlook profile to fix the error “Cannot Start Microsoft Outlook.”

• Close Outlook and open the Control Panel.
• Click on "Mail" and then click "Data Files."
• Click on the "Email" tab and choose your email account.

• Click on the "Repair" button.

After the repair process is finished, restart Outlook to check if the error is resolved.

2. Create a New Outlook Profile

You may also try creating a new profile if repairing the existing one did not work for you. To do this, follow these steps:

• Close Outlook and open the Control Panel.
• Go to User Accounts > Mail and then click "Show Profiles."

• Click on Add and type the new profile.
• Click OK and follow the prompts to set up your email account under this new profile.
• After the configuration, open Outlook and select the new profile. This will load your emails in the new profile and may fix the error.?

3. Run Outlook in Safe Mode

You can also try starting Outlook in Safe Mode and disabling the add-ins. The steps are as follows:

• Close Outlook. Then, launch Outlook using a double left mouse click while holding the Shift key. Alternatively, you may press Windows + R, type outlook.exe /safe, and click OK or press the Enter key.

• Click on "Yes" when prompted to launch Outlook in Safe Mode.

4. Disable and Remove Faulty or Incompatible Add-Ins

If the error does not appear in the Safe Mode, follow the below steps to find and disable the incompatible Add-ins.

• Open Outlook and click on File > Options > Add-ins.
• Select "COM Add-ins" from the dropdown list and click on the "Go" button.
• Uncheck all the add-ins and click on "OK".

• Restart Outlook normally and see if the error is resolved. If it’s resolved, activate one add-in at a time to see which add-in was leading to the error and then remove it from the Outlook client.

5. Reduce PST File Size

To reduce the PST file size, follow the below steps:

• Close Outlook and open the Control Panel.
• Click on "Mail" and then "Data Files."
• Select the Outlook data file associated with the Outlook profile and click "Settings."
• Go to the Advanced tab and open Outlook Data File Settings.
• Click "Compact Now."

• Wait for the process to complete and then try opening Outlook again.

?6. Check System Date and Time

Changes in date and time can lead to calendar synchronization issues in Outlook. To fix this, follow the below steps:

• Check and fix the computer's date and time settings. Make sure you are in sync with the mailbox server. For this, right-click on the date and time at the bottom right corner and choose Adjust date/time.

• Click Sync Now.

If the error is not fixed,

• Check your calendar synchronizations settings.
• Delete the existing calendar and create a new one.

7. Rebuild the Search Index

To fix slow search or no search result-related errors in Outlook, follow these steps to rebuild the search index.

• Open Outlook and go to File > Options > Search.
• Click on Indexing Options > Advanced. Provide administrator access.
• Click on the "Delete and Rebuild Index” or “Rebuild” button.
• Wait for the process to complete and then restart the system.
• After the restart, try searching in Outlook again. The search should be fixed now.

8. Repair the Outlook Data File

To repair the Outlook data file (PST), you can use the built-in ScanPST.exe tool located in the %programfiles%/Microsoft Office/ directory. The steps are as follows:

• Close Outlook and locate the SCANPST.exe.
• Launch the SCANPST.exe. Click the Browse button to select the PST file.
• Then click the Start button. This will start the scan process.

• After the scan, click the Repair button.
• The SCANPST.exe will attempt to repair the PST file.

SCANPST may fail to repair your PST file, if the file is,

• Severely corrupt
• Encrypted or password-protected
• Larger than 2 GB

If the tool stops responding or crashes, use Stellar Repair for Outlook to repair the PST file. The software can repair severely damaged PST files of size 50 GB or more with complete integrity and precision. It also maintains the original folder structure and hierarchy while repairing the PST file. It saves the recovered mail items in a new Outlook importable PST file. ??

Conclusion

Similar to any other Windows application or software, Outlook is also prone to errors. This article mentioned 10 most common Outlook errors that users may experience while using Outlook for their daily email communications. By following the methods explained in this article, Outlook users can try to fix these errors. However, if the errors can’t be fixed, they can always rely on Stellar Repair for Outlook to rescue their mail items.