The Outlook app stopped working over the weekend

Question

When retrieving an old email over the weekend, my Outlook app stopped working, now it will not load.

Answer 1

Hi Bruce Johnson, 

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A Forum! have a good day and I hope you're doing well!

I understand how disruptive this can be to your workflow. Based on my research and similar cases, please try the following steps: 

I. First, have you tried restarting your PC? Sometimes Outlook issues are resolved simply by performing a full Windows restart, as this clears temporary processes that may be causing the crash. 

II. Open Outlook in Safe Mode: Please try starting Outlook in Safe Mode: 

1. Press Windows + R 

2. Type: outlook.exe /safe

3. Press Enter 

4. If Outlook opens in Safe Mode, the issue is likely related to an add-in. 

If it does open: 

• Go to File > Options > Add-ins 
• At the bottom, select COM Add-ins > Go 
• Uncheck all add-ins > Click OK 
• Close and reopen Outlook normally. 

III. Repair Office: If the issue persists, I recommend repairing your Office installation. Sometimes Outlook may fail to launch due to corrupted program files or a recent update issue. 

Please follow the detailed steps here: Repair an Office application 

Start with Quick Repair first. If that does not resolve the issue, proceed with Online Repair. 

IV. Create a new Outlook profile: If the steps above do not resolve the problem, your Outlook profile may be corrupted. Creating a new profile can often fix startup issues. 

Please follow the detailed guide here: Create an Outlook profile 

I hope these steps help and that the issue is resolved quickly so it does not continue affecting your workflow. If you have any updates, if something is unclear, or if I misunderstood anything, please feel free to reach out anytime. I’m happy to assist further. 

Thank you for your patience and cooperation.

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Answer 2

Try the following steps in order, testing Outlook after each step:

1. Install latest Windows and Office updates

• Outlook works best when fully updated.
• Install all pending Windows and Office updates as described in Install Office updates.

2. Repair Office

• Close all Office apps.
• Open Control Panel → Programs and Features.
• Find Microsoft 365/Office in the list, right-click it, and select Change.
• Run a repair (per the guidance in the Outlook not responding article).

3. If Outlook still will not load, uninstall and reinstall Office

• Use the normal uninstall from Control Panel.
• If the Microsoft 365 uninstall troubleshooter does not completely remove Office, follow the steps to manually uninstall Office from manually uninstall Office.
• Reinstall Office from the Microsoft 365 portal or installation source, then try Outlook again.

4. Update device drivers and Windows

• Out-of-date drivers (especially video, printer, mouse, keyboard) can cause Outlook to stop working.
• For Windows 10: Start → Settings → Update & security → Windows Update → Check online for updates from Microsoft Update and install all available updates.
• If using Windows 8/8.1 or Windows 7, follow the Windows Update steps for that version in the referenced article.
• If on Windows 7 without Service Pack 1, install the latest service pack and updates from the Windows Service Pack and Update Center.
• If the issue persists, download the latest drivers for video card, printer, mouse, keyboard, and (for laptops) any vendor-specific drivers from the manufacturer’s site.

If Outlook still fails to open after these steps, capture any exact error message shown when starting Outlook and use that to search the Outlook troubleshooting articles or open a support case.

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References:

• I get a "stopped working" error when I start Office applications on my PC
• Outlook not responding, stuck at "Processing," stopped working, or freezes
• Microsoft "Office app" stopped working. Windows is verifying a solution for this...
• What to do when Outlook will not open on my PC? - Microsoft Q&A
• Outlook keeps crashing - Microsoft Q&A