Why Outlook Won’t Open? [Explained And Solved]

Microsoft Outlook is an application that is mainly used for sending or receiving emails. But sometimes, Outlook won’t open and an error message might appear at that time. 

Mostly, this happens if there are more than one add-ins in Outlook. The corrupted version of Outlook fails to open sometimes. Furthermore, for downloading the corrupted version of Outlook, you can face this error. 

But whatever be the reason behind this error, you need to fix the error at the earliest. And to learn the possible means to fix the error, you need to move to the next section.

What to do if Outlook not opening: Quick and Easy Methods

In this section, we are going to talk about the possible methods that will help you open the Outlook without any hassle. You just need to implement the hacks as it is instructed below. 

Method 1: Disable the add-Ins

For enabling more than one add-ins it can create issues at the time of opening Outlook. In that case, you need to disable the add-ins. And to disable the add-ins, you need to first open Outlook in Safe Mode. 

To disable add-ins, you need to follow the below-mentioned steps:

• Open Outlook by enabling the Safe Mode. Now, get to the File section.
• Now, go to the Options tab and choose the “add-ins’ ‘ option from there.
• Go to the “Manage” box and check if the “COM Add-ins” is selected.
• Tap on the “Go” tab and then check the list of the add-ins in this section.
• From the “COM Add-ins” clear all the chosen checkboxes.
• Tap on the “Remove” button now and then tap on the “File” option.
• Select the “Exit” button next to close the Outlook window.

Open the Outlook and check if the error is solved. If you are still unable to open Outlook, then you need to move to the next section.

Method 2: Repair the Outlook

Using the damaged version of Outlook can cause this issue. As a result, Outlook won’t open. Thus, you need to repair the damaged Outlook. 

To repair the damaged Outlook, you need to follow the below-mentioned steps:

Windows 10:

• Make sure no Microsoft Office related applications are open.
• Now, go to the Start Search box and write the “Apps & Features” section.
• Tap on the “Apps & Features” option and then search for the “Microsoft Office” application from the list of the apps.
• Choose the “Modify” option next and then tap on the “Yes” option when the User account window will appear on the screen. 
• Tap on the “Online Repair” and when the “Repair” button appears on the screen and tap on it.

Now, open Outlook and check if you can carry out your daily work. If you are still facing any issues to open the Outlook, then you need to move to the next section.

Windows 8:

• First, you need to close all the Microsoft Office related apps.
• Now, go to the Start Button. From there, go to the “Control Panel”. 
• Go to the “Category” section and then tap on the “View By” option. 
• From there, go to the “Programs” section and go to the “Uninstall a Program” section. 
• Now, search for the Microsoft Office application and right-click on it.
• From the drop-down menu, choose the “Change” option.
• Next, choose the “Online Repair” option and choose “Repair” next. 
• You will be prompted with the User Account Control window. Tap on the “Yes” button to confirm the action. 

Restart the Microsoft Outlook Application and check if you can open it properly. If not, then you need to move to the next section. 

Method 3: Create a New Profile

Sometimes the Outlook profiles can be corrupted. In that case, the application can lead to random issues. So, you need to create a new profile in Outlook to avoid such issues. 

To create a new profile in Outlook, you need to follow the below-mentioned steps:

• Open the Outlook application. Next, go to the “File” section.
• From there, go to the “Account Settings” and choose the “Manage Profiles” option. 
• Choose the “Show Profiles”’ next and then move to the “Add” section.
• Go to the Blank file of the “Profile Name” section and give a name to the newly created profile. 
• Read the onscreen instructions to set up the email account with the new profile.
• Now, restart the Outlook and then move to the “File” section. 
• Next, choose the “Account Settings” option and move to the “Change profile” option from the drop-down menu.
• Tap on the” OK” button when you get the “Outlook will close” message.

Now, reopen the Microsoft Outlook application and then choose the recently created profile. Tap on the Ok button next to confirm the profile. 

Now, try to open Outlook and check if you open the application. If you are still unable to do that you need to repair the Outlook data files to fix the issue.

Method 4: Repair the Outlook Data Files

For the corrupted data files in Outlook, the whole application won’t open properly. In that case, you need to repair the corrupted files. To do that, you need to follow the below-mentioned steps:

• If you use the Office Outlook 2019, then search for the “Outlook 2019: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Office16 ” file location.
• For Outlook 2016, search for the “Outlook 2016: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Office16”.
• If you use the older version of Outlook, such as Outlook 2013, then search for the “Outlook 2016: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Office16”.
• Now, scroll down and tap on the “SCANPST.EXE” file. Check if the Outlook data file is listed over there.
• Tap on the Start button and click on the “Repair” button to fix the Outlook issues

After repairing the Outlook files, you will be able to open the application. And if you are still encountering problems, then you need to move to the next section. 

Method 5: Reset the Navigation Pane

You can get the startup issues due to the navigation pane. In that case, you need to reset the navigation pane of Outlook. To reset the navigation pane, you need to follow the below-mentioned steps:

• Hold the Windows and R keys together to open the Run dialog box.
• In the Run dialog box, write “Outlook.exe /resetnavpane”. Hit the “Enter” button next. 

After resetting the navigation pane of Outlook, you can open the application. And if you are still facing issues, it is suggested to check the updates of Outlook.