Outlook 2011 for Mac database will not rebuild

Question

When I try to start Outlook 2011 for Mac (after an earlier forced shutdown of the computer when Outlook was already closed), I am told I must rebuild the database.  The attempted rebuild has failed three times, and without it Outlook will not open.  What can I do to recover?  I should add that I have the option to upgrade to Office 2016.  Would installing the newer version of Outlook restore what I cannot access now?

Matt F.

Answer 1

Hi Matt F,

I’m glad that you can open Outlook and recover all emails currently on servers for your various addresses.

Regarding the emails in on my computer folder, please try to move the folders under new Identity to the Desktop(Open the Microsoft Database Utility. The default location is in /Applications/Microsoft Office 2011/Office/.)Then copy your old original folder from the old identity folder to the newidentity. Then open Outlook and allow it to find your original database and emails.

If the emails in on my computer folders have lost/broken in the old identity, it will not work.

And if you have Time Machine backed up them, you can restore from Time Machine through: /Users/username/Documents/Microsoft User Data/Office 2011 Identities/

Note: To avoid data loss, please back up everything before you take any action.

Regards,

Monique

Answer 2

Hi Matt F,

Please try the following to see if you can fix the issue on Outlook 2011 for Mac:

1.To rebuild the database, please make sure that you have enough free space. This article is for your reference.

2.If you are using Exchange accounts, you can create a new Identity and let Outlook download all mail from server rather than rebuild.

3.Restart your Mac in safe mode to see if it works.

You can install Outlook 2016 for Mac, but I’d like to confirm which account you are using, Office 365, Outlook.com or others and how your account is configured in Outlook, Exchange, POP/IMAP.

If you are using Exchange account, you can install Outlook 2016 for Mac and configure your account, all data will be downloaded from the server to Outlook.

If you are using POP/IMAP account, you can import identities from Outlook for Mac 2011 to outlook 2016 for Mac.

To avoid data loss, please back up everything before you take any action.

Regards,

Monique

Answer 3

What error message do you get?

Have you verified your startup volume using Disk Utility? I would do that before trying any other troubleshooting step.

I suggest restoring the most recent working copy of your Microsoft User Data folder in Documents using Time Machine. But check your startup volume using Disk Utility first.

Answer 4

Creating a new identity enabled me to open Outlook and recover all mail currently on servers for my various addresses.  However, it was necessary to obtain a third-party program to recover my large archive of mail stored locally on my computer.  Thanks for the answers here, folks.

Answer 5

Hi Matt F,

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Regards,

Monique