I can't open Outlook 2013 because it recreates a corrupt OST file that prevents it from opening

Question

I am running Outlook 2013 on Windows 10. I tried to set up an email account that is on Microsoft 365 but it failed, probably because I don't have Microsoft 365. I use Gmail. However, the attempt created a corrupt OST file which has zero file size. If I delete the OST file it comes back next time I try to open Outlook. The error message I get is "Your administrator has blocked the version of Outlook you are using." When I click on that the message says something about __ @ ___.com.OST is not an Outlook data file (.OST). I probably get this message because the corrupt file has zero file size -- zero bytes.

I have tried software that converts OST to PST which failed, again, probably because the OST file has zero file size. I have tried stopping all Outlook processes and I uninstalled and reinstalled Outlook -- no joy. I understand there is a setting in the Group Policy Editor to tell Outlook not to allow an OST file to be created, but I can't reach this setting -- think I need a Microsoft Office account to reach it.

I have two Windows 10 accounts on my decktop machine -- one regular user and one admin. Interestingly, Outlook works just fine in the Admin account. The User account has the problem. I think I need a registry hack or Group Policy hack that will let me tell Outlook not to create OST files. Can anybody help me? Thanks. Zaffer

Answer 1

Hi @Zaffer ,

Welcome to our forum!

Your administrator has blocked the version of Outlook you are using."

As I know, on February 28, 2022, Microsoft will start the rollout of the new minimum requirement for Outlook 2013 connecting to Exchange Online. Outlook 2013 customers need only update to the latest supported build as listed on Latest updates for versions of Outlook that use Windows Installer (MSI). Please update your Outlook 2013 to the Latest Public Update.

Please try to create a new profile(Control Panel>Mail>Show Profiles>add) and add your account again after updating Outlook 2013.

If the issue still exists, considering recently Gmail announced Outlook 2016 or earlier has less secure access to Gmail account, it's suggested that you could add other accounts(such as Outlook.com account and other Gmail account) to check if the issue still exists.

If the issue only related to Gmail account, I'm afraid if we want to continue using Outlook with Gmail account , we need to upgrade to Outlook 2019 or newer.

Hope the above help!

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