Outlook 2021 started giving error messages when doing Send/Receive

Thanks for the response. I’ve maintained dozens of PCs in the past 25 years and have always been able to figure things out by web searches. This is my first posted question.

I had a list of 10 other details to include, but felt they were not really relevant because the error appears to be long before the app tries to make a connection to the outside world (i.e., can’t reach to web if it can’t “find” the data file with the parameters). I keep things as local as I can, so I stay away from any web-based apps (e.g., 365, webmails, etc.), so if I can’t “get to my router” I figure externals are not affecting me.

I've followed, multiple times, the steps in the page you linked to. I've even done them in various order just in case there would be an interaction between steps. And, remember, I've have done a complete uninstall/reinstall of Office 2021 to try to resolve this problem. I setup Outlook as though it was the first time it was on the PC, in order to generate a virgin .pst. That did not help. Copying in the active .pst showed all my messages and network parameters, but still failed.

1. To clarify your first statement: the .pst (“data”) files open correctly and show all my included messages and folder structures. Nothing appears to break until a Send/Receive is attempted when it says it can’t access the “data files”. That tells me that there is a second process that must get the comms/encryption data and it then separately accesses (tries to access) the files (that are already open as message stores) for the stored parameters.
2. I’m using a POP3 account that I have used since the mid-80s. (Admittedly, I’ve had many hours of grief since my provider changed their server/encryption settings last month, but I have two other PCs limping along until I can resolve those problems fully – the currently “dead” laptop was working fine after those new settings were implemented – then this latest problem hit.
3. Yes, as I listed, Outlook is pointing to the correct .pst files. When I moved the files to alternate test directories, I verified that the Outlook pointers were correctly changed. I’ve changed the names of the .pst files and Outlook continues to see them correctly.
4. I also moved the active .pst files to another directory and had Outlook create new (essentially empty) .pst files. The errors continued. This is what lead me to look in the registry because it seemed that Outlook knew about the files as message repositories but didn’t want to use any “execution data” from them, even if it had just created them from scratch.
5. I didn’t explicitly state: I get the error message four times for each Send/Receive command: twice for each affected account. (I assume it is trying to separately access the file for a send and receive for each account.)
6. Another thing I neglected to include: third-party and Windows security apps are turned off.
7. As expected, I have not received any new emails for either account since this error popped up four days ago. My other two PCs are receiving new emails.
8. Just to verify that the laptop could get to my email provider, I installed Thunderbird and it is working quite well. At least that gives me access to any emails that I may need until I resolve Outlook.
9. I have tried copied .pst files from both my other PCs (Outlook 2010 and Outlook 2021). As expected, the broken laptop sees all the emails, but I still get the data file access error.

I can’t think of any other info that would be useful.

Thanks for any ideas you can come up with. I’m going to again look for that suspicious registry entry.

Hello Hap,

The data files open ok in Outlook it's just send and receive that is a problem, correct?

What type of email account do you have configured in Outlook? POP, IMAP, Outlook.com, or Microsoft Exchange? If you aren't sure, go to File > Account Settings > Account Settings > Email tab to check.

If you are using a POP account, in File > Account Settings > Account Settings. Select the email account - is the correct path listed by the change folder button? If it is blank, select a different folder in a different data file and apply, then go back and select the correct Inbox folder.

This error usually means a corrupted profile - this is Microsoft article on it. But you've tried everything in the article, correct?

https://learn.microsoft.com/outlook/troubleshoo...

-- Diane

The issue has somehow been resolved. Things had to get worse before they got better.

1. I noticed that I could define the data files by editing the profile and by using the Control Panel Email definition feature.
2. But, whenever I started Outlook now, there would be no file name listed. (Both Control Panel and profile still maintained the correct data file name.)
3. I could go through the process of adding a data file name in the Accounts Setting screen, but it wouldn't "stick". It would always remain blank.
4. I decided this probably meant there was some piece of data somewhere that was blocking the new data file definition.
5. I removed all account names and blanked out the fields in Profiles.
6. I started again defining the accounts. I remembered reading a few years ago that Outlook followed a different process if you let it try automatically assigning server settings (and fail) than if you said you wanted to do it manually from the beginning.
7. So, I let it try and when it failed, I defined the appropriate parameters and everything magically worked.
8. The process (slightly altered) worked to define the second account.
9. Mysteries: have no idea what caused the problem in the first place; have no idea why it stopped remembering the data file names after four days of always showing the right file names; have no idea why my redefinition made it work (unless it was the auto setup failure)

I DID find out that there are five different screens for defining server information, depending on the path used to get to that point. They have slightly different formats and data fields. One is from (at least) Office 2010 and is badly formatted such that you can't read the labels on the data fields - you have to remember what item each blank is expecting.

Thanks for your time - I'm sorry I couldn't resolve this earlier. I just figured that 12 hours or investigation was enough.

The registry entry tells you that Outlook found some corruption and fixed it.

On 5, yes, you'll get one error for send, one for receive.

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9. I have tried copied .pst files from both my other PCs (Outlook 2010 and Outlook 2021). As expected, the broken laptop sees all the emails, but I still get the data file access error.

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So when you try using the data file on the old computer, you get the same error? But not if you use the data file the accounts were using? That would indicate corruption in the data file - but you said a new profile with new pst files also failed?

I found the suspect registry entry. This was likely NOT cleared out by the Office reinstall:

HKEY_CURRENT\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\PST

Default REG_SZ            (value not set)

EnableMarch2018BestBodyfix          REG_DWORD 0x00000000 (0)

LastCorruptStore            REG_SZ             c:\Users\hap\OneDrive\Documents\Outlook Files\xxx.pst

Where “xxx” is the filename of one of the accounts.

Shouldn't the "Default" entry point to somewhere (presumably the site of the .pst).