Microsoft Outlook is a free email service developed to ease the entire experience of emailing. It is an excellent service to utilize when you need to carry out emailing activities like sending, receiving, forwarding, or replying to emails.
It is no doubt that it is a highly reliable email service, but just how it is with other services, you may face issues with Microsoft Outlook. These issues may turn up unexpectedly, and you may not know what you can do about them. Such problems can be pretty inconvenient, especially since you don’t know how to fix them. Similar to such difficulties is Outlook not opening.
If you face a similar issue, please read this blog thoroughly to find out the best solutions you can imply to resolve the issue.
CAUSES FOR OUTLOOK NOT OPENING
Before we jump right into the solution, it would be great to learn about the causes behind the problem and what may be causing the issue. There can be several reasons behind this issue, such as:
- Damaged Files: if your system has damaged files, it will lead to an unexpected error, such as when Outlook won’t start corrupted profile: If your file is corrupted on Outlook, it can again cause this very problem
- Problematic add-ins: To see if there is a problematic add-in on your system, try disabling all and see if it works okay, then
- Navigation pane issues: If there is an issue in your navigation pane, such errors will take place
Now that we know what may be the reason for causing this issue on your Outlook, we should move on to solving it.
SOLUTIONS TO FIX OUTLOOK NOT OPENING
The problem occurs when a user tries to open Outlook on their system, but Outlook won’t open at all. This usually leads to frustration and significant inconvenience; however, if you’re a Windows user and face this very problem, please try the solutions mentioned below.
OUTLOOK SAFE MODE
The first solution to fix Outlook not opening is opening Outlook in safe mode. By opening Outlook in safe mode, you can get rid of all add-ins and see if it is working correctly without them. Please note that you may not benefit entirely from Outlook safe mode as it has limited features compared with regular Outlook. To open Outlook in safe mode, please refer to the steps mentioned below:
- Locate the start button at the bottom-left corner of the screen and right-click on it to choose Run
- The run dialog box should open on your screen
- Click on the text box and enter Outlook.exe \safe to launch Outlook in a safe mode
Opening outlook in safe mode should temporarily resolve Outlook not opening problem, but you need a more permanent fix to this problem. So, move onto the next solution.
DISABLE ADD-INS
As we discussed before, faulty add-ins can cause more problems than good. For example, they can cause functional problems for applications and software. To see if this is why Outlook won’t start, you can disable add-ins from your computer. To disable add-ins, please follow the steps mentioned below.
- Open Outlook in safe mode on your computer by following the steps mentioned above
- Click on the File option placed at the top-left corner and select Options
- From the list now, on Add-ins
- Locate the Manage section from the options and choose Go to proceed
- A list of all add-ins should appear on the screen, clear the checkboxes next to all add-ins
- Removing the checkboxes will disable the add-ins
- Finally, select Ok to complete the process
After you’ve disabled all add-ins, try opening Outlook, usually to ensure if the add-ins were creating the problem. If it still doesn’t open, go back and enable all add-ins. Try the following solutions.
REPAIR OUTLOOK
The third solution to fix Outlook disconnected on your system is to repair Outlook altogether. Please note that to repair Microsoft Outlook, you will have to repair the entire Microsoft Office. To fix the Microsoft Office, please follow the steps mentioned below.
- First and foremost, close all applications on your system
- Click on the Start button placed at the bottom-left corner of the screen to select the Control Panel
- Click on Control Panel to open it and choose the Category View
- You should see a column named Programs, locate the Uninstall a Program option below it
- Navigate the Microsoft Office and right-click on it to select Change
- You should see two options on the screen; namely, Online Repair or Repair – choose one of them
- Finally, choose Yes when a user account control prompt displays on your screen
- Restart your Outlook to ensure that you have resolved the Outlook won’t open problem
Repairing Outlook should resolve your issue quite instantly. However, if it doesn’t, please try the next solution.
REPAIR OUTLOOK PROFILE
As I mentioned before, a corrupted profile may be the reason for Outlook not opening. So, we can fix this issue by repairing Outlook profile. Please follow the steps mentioned below to repair your Outlook profile.
- Open Outlook on your system and click on the File option placed at the top-left corner of your screen
- Click on Account Settings next and go to the Email tab
- You should see the Repair option, click on it to open the Repair wizard
- Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process
- After it finishes, please restart Outlook and see if you have successfully resolved the issue.
Repairing Outlook profile should solve the problem for you if the problem persisted in the Outlook profile. However, if the issue is in the navigation pane, you should imply the following solution.
RESET NAVIGATION PANE
One of the four causes is a problem in the navigation pane – so to rule out any possibility of this reason causing Outlook disconnected issues, it would be best to reset the navigation pane. Please follow the steps mentioned below to do so.
- Exit Outlook from your system
- Click on the start button at the bottom-left corner and press Run, or you can press the Windows and R keys together to launch the Run dialog
- Enter Outlook.exe /resetnavpane and click on Ok
This solution will reset the navigation pane for your account, and it should serve to solve the problem for you. In this blog, you have learned that problematic add-ins, damaged files, corrupted profiles, and navigation pane issues cause the problem.
You have also learned that you can solve this issue by opening Outlook in safe mode, disabling Add-ins, Repairing Outlook, repairing Outlook profile, and resetting the navigation pane. If you need any more information, please feel free to check out our other blogs.
