Is your Outlook giving you a ‘Not responding’ error or does it freeze when sending an email? Such problems do occur at times and there are multiple reasons for this to happen. In this blog post, we discuss some effective solutions to resolve this error.
But before we proceed, there are some simple things you can verify to make sure that isn’t causing the error. For instance, make sure that no dialogue box is open. Secondly, make sure Outlook is not working on a large process like deleting a number of emails etc. These things though very basic can cause the error at times. Once you’re sure of that, proceed with the steps below.
Solution 1: Use Outlook’s safe mode
Safe mode in Outlook opens without extensions and with a minimum set of features. This mode is helpful to troubleshoot issues.
- Click on the Start button and type ‘exe /safe’
- Hit Enter and this will open Outlook in safe mode
- Then close Outlook that was opened in safe mode and open it the usual way
If you’re Outlook still continues to produce the error or freeze, move on to the next step.
Solution 2: Update Microsoft Office
Microsoft Updates provides bug fixes, features, and security improvements; so it is recommended that you install the updates from Microsoft and keep your computer up to date.
After installing updates, check if Outlook behaves normally. If the error still persists, check if your Office program has issues and needs repair.
Solution 3: Repair Microsoft Office
Issues with Office can also produce errors or cause problems such as freezes. In that case, try repairing Office using the steps below:
- Click on Windows + X and select Control Panel
- Select Programs & Features
- Look for your version of Microsoft Office and click Change
- Then click Quick Repair > Repair
As a final step, restart your computer and see if Outlook works fine. If you still have issues, proceed to the next step.
Solution 4: Repair PST files
Corruption in Outlook data files is one of the major factors for issues with Outlook. If the data file is corrupted, it can be repaired using a built-in tool called Scanpst.exe.
To repair the file, all you have to do is search for Scanpst.exe in File Explorer and open it. Then select the PST data file (Open Outlook > File > Info tab > Account Settings > Account Settings > Data files to find the location of the file). Click on Repair and your file will be repaired.
Scanpst is known to resolve many kinds of corruption issues but not all of them. Secondly, if the data file is too large, you may encounter Scanpst not responding issues. To overcome these drawbacks professional tools such as Remo Repair PST are very useful. It can solve PST corruption issues without affecting your original PST file. Once the file is repaired, you can easily recover all Outlook attributes like emails, calendars, contacts, etc.
Conclusion
If none of the methods help solve Outlook problems, you can try creating a new Outlook profile. Many users have reported having found this solution helpful. We hope one of these solutions described in the article helps you resolve the error.
