Outlook Does NOT work

Question

Outlook will not work. It has not opened in two days. It says that I need to Contact Support.

(PII Removed).

<Moved from: Microsoft 365 and Office | Other>

Answer 1

Phone support cannot be provided. Use the following steps to troubleshoot Outlook not opening:

1. Try starting Outlook in Safe Mode:
   • Close Outlook.
   • In Windows 10, select Start, type Outlook.exe /safe, then press Enter.
   • If Outlook opens, close it again and then open it normally.
2. Check for stuck dialog boxes:
   • Press Alt+Tab to see if any Outlook dialog box (for example, a confirmation window) is open and blocking Outlook. If found, respond to or close it.
3. Confirm Outlook is not busy with a long operation:
   • If Outlook starts but appears frozen, check the status bar at the bottom for operations like deleting or moving many items. If shown, wait a few minutes for it to finish.
4. Repair Office installation:
   • Close all Office apps.
   • Open Control Panel → Programs and Features.
   • Right‑click the Microsoft Office product (for example, Microsoft 365 Apps, Office 2016/2019) → Repair.
5. Repair Outlook data files if Outlook starts briefly and then hangs when opening or sending items:
   • Close Outlook.
   • Run the Inbox Repair Tool (scanpst.exe) and follow the steps in Repair Outlook Data Files (.pst and .ost).
6. If Outlook still will not start and shows startup errors such as “Cannot start Microsoft Outlook. Cannot open the Outlook window,” run the classic Outlook startup troubleshooter:
   • Use the Start button in the article “I can’t start Microsoft Outlook or receive the error ‘Cannot start Microsoft Outlook. Cannot open the Outlook Window’” to launch the troubleshooter and follow the prompts.

If these steps do not resolve the issue, use the Microsoft 365 admin center (for business accounts) or the support options in the referenced articles to open a support case so an engineer can review logs and assist further.

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References:

• Outlook not responding, stuck at "Processing," stopped working, or freezes
• Outlook not responding error or Outlook freezes when you open a file or send mail
• I can’t start Microsoft Outlook or receive the error “Cannot start Microsoft Outlook. Cannot open the Outlook Window”
• Outlook won’t open or is stuck at loading profile