My outlook desktop app keeps freezing on me, how do I fix this?

Question

My outlook freezes on me, the messahe "Not Responding" is what pops up every time I go on. I am receiving all my emails, I just can't get as far as reading one message until it freezes again. I've even hired an IT consultant, and he was not able to help me.

Answer 1

@Hannah Adona said

I deleted all my email accounts, and created a new user profile. .. but I was unable to recover my folders and any emails before 01/15/2026

If your email account was using POP or IMAP to get mail from your email server, then the old emails might still be in a PST/OST file on your local computer.

Open the Control Panel Mail app:

See "Edit a profile with the Mail applet in Control Panel" in
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/edit-an-outlook-profile-e93ea161-f742-4119-bfa1-9dca4c3e48fa

Click [Show Profiles].
Is your old profile still listed?

If so, select the old profile in the list and click [Properties] and then [Data Files].
For each file in the list click [Open File Location ...]
Do any of them still exist?
If so, make a note of the file locations.

Back in Outlook, try to "Open" any of the old files you found.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/open-and-close-outlook-data-files-pst-381b776d-7511-45a0-953a-0935c79d24f2#id0ebbf=classic_outlook

Answer 2

If your Outlook desktop app keeps freezing and displaying the "Not Responding" message, you can try the following steps to resolve the issue:

1. Repair Office Programs: You can automatically repair your Office program files. To do this:
   • Exit any running Microsoft Office programs.
   • Open Control Panel and navigate to Programs and Features.
   • Right-click on your version of Microsoft Office (e.g., Microsoft Office 2016) and select Repair.
2. Repair Outlook Data Files: Use the Inbox repair tool (scanpst.exe) to scan and repair your Outlook data files. To do this:
   • Exit Outlook.
   • Follow the steps in Repair Outlook Data Files (.pst and .ost).
3. Check Antivirus Software: Ensure your antivirus software is up-to-date, as outdated antivirus can cause Outlook to freeze. Additionally, check if your antivirus software conflicts with Outlook by disabling any Outlook integration within the antivirus software.
4. Create a New User Profile: Sometimes, creating a new Outlook profile can resolve freezing issues. To do this:
   • Go to Control Panel, select Mail, then Show Profiles.
   • Remove the existing profile and add a new one by following the prompts.
5. Perform a Selective Startup: This advanced step involves starting Windows with a minimal set of drivers and startup programs to help identify if background applications are causing the issue.

If these steps do not resolve the issue, consider reaching out to Microsoft support for further assistance.

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References:

• Outlook not responding error or Outlook freezes when you open a file or send mail
• How to troubleshoot issues that cause Outlook to crash or stop responding when used with Microsoft 365
• Repair Outlook Data Files (.pst and .ost)
• Planning considerations for deploying Outlook 2016 for Windows
• Consumer antivirus software providers for Windows
• Plan antivirus scanning for Outlook 2010