In Outlook 2010 and Outlook 2013, switch to the File tab, click ' Options', choose ' Add-ins' and click Go. In Outlook 2007, go to the Tools menu, click ' Trust Center', then choose ' Add-ins' and click Go. This helps to pin down the culprit that causes Outlook to freeze. I usually disable them one-by-one, closing Outlook with each change. If the 'Outlook Not Responding' issue did not cause you troubles in the past, it stands to reason to turn off the recently installed add-ins. You'll see a message asking you to confirm that you really want to start Outlook in Safe mode, click Yes.ĭoes this cure the problem? If it does and Outlook starts working properly, then most likely the problem is with one of your add-ins, which leads us to the next step. To start Outlook in Safe mode, click on its icon holding the Ctrl key, or enter outlook.exe /safe in the command line. What does it actually mean? Simply that Outlook will be loaded without your add-ins and customization files. When something goes wrong with Outlook, Microsoft recommends that we start it in Safe mode. Click on each OUTLOOK.EXE to select it and hit the ' End Process' button. Then switch to the Processes tab and find all OUTLOOK.EXE items in the list. To do this, start up the Windows Task Manager either by pressing Ctrl + Alt + Del, or by right clicking the taskbar and choosing ' Start Task Manager'. The first thing we need to do is kill all hanging Outlook processes.

This problem existed in earlier versions and it may occur with recent Outlook 20. Technically, it means that one or more outlook.exe processes would stay in memory preventing the Outlook application from closing correctly and not letting us, users, start a new Outlook instance.

Let Outlook auto-archive or synchronize without interruptionįrom time to time Microsoft Outlook adopts quite an annoying habit to hang around even if the user persistently attempts to shut it down.

Reduce the size of your mailbox and Outlook data file.

Close all open programs and applications.

We'll start with very basic steps that address the most obvious reasons why Outlook stops working: In this article I will show you easy solutions, tested on my own experience (and working!), to fix issues with Outlook hanging, freezing or crashing. Has it happened to you that you work with Microsoft Outlook as usual, click on a message to read or reply to it, or take some other action you performed hundreds of times in the past, and all of a sudden Outlook won't open and not responding? The solutions work for Outlook 2019, 2016, 2013, and earlier versions Our 9 working solutions will help you fix the 'Outlook Not Responding' issue and bring your Outlook back to life. This article explains how to resolve problems with Microsoft Outlook hanging, freezing or crashing.

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