To manage your mailbox by reducing the size of the Outlook data file, see Reduce the size of Outlook Data Files (.pst and .ost). If repairing your Microsoft 365 programs didn’t resolve your issue, move on to the next step. If Outlook isn’t stuck at a screen that says “Processing,” or this didn’t resolve your issue, continue to the steps below. If those steps don’t work, see Need additional help? This option could be useful if you constantly have to wait for Outlook to rebuild its data file when you restart.
If the network is performing slowly, Outlook must wait for read and write operations to the AppData directory to finish. To manage your mailbox by using the AutoArchive feature, see AutoArchive settings explained. Make sure that the latest updates for Outlook are installed. For more information, see How to install the latest applicable updates for Microsoft Outlook (US English only). Upgrade to Microsoft Edge to take advantage of the latest features, security updates, and technical support. It’s also crucial to ensure that the version of Outlook you’re using is compatible with your Windows operating system version.
To work around the issue, you will need to end all Office processes that are running and disable the presence features. Restart the Outlook application and check if the issue persists. Further, start the application again to check if the error has been fixed. Here, we have mentioned an overview of all possible troubleshooting solutions. Begin by creating a brand-new profile for Outlook and set it up with a POP email account. If it opens successfully, the problem isn’t with Outlook but with the PST file from your previous account, which can be damaged.
The navigation pane, which typically displays your Inbox, Sent Items, and other folders on the left sidebar, can sometimes become corrupted. A simple reset often resolves this and allows Outlook to open correctly. If the uninstall process fails, you can manually uninstall Office from your computer or use the Office https://fixoutlookhelp.wordpress.com/2025/10/29/repair-outlook-ost-and-pst-files-2025-guide/ Uninstall Support Tool (OffScrub.exe).
One of the first and most effective steps is to launch Outlook in Safe Mode. This mode turns off all add-ins and custom settings, helping you quickly identify if a third-party add-in is causing the https://fixoutlookhelp.wordpress.com/2025/10/29/repair-outlook-ost-and-pst-files-2025-guide/ startup problem. After running any of the above processes, make sure you check for updates again to verify that all updates have been installed. Did Outlook still work correctly the last time you used it?
The first thing we need to do is kill all hanging Outlook processes. To do this, start up the Windows Task Manager either by pressing Ctrl + Alt + Del, or by right clicking https://fixoutlookhelp.wordpress.com/2025/10/29/repair-outlook-ost-and-pst-files-2025-guide/ the taskbar and choosing “Start Task Manager”. Then switch to the Processes tab and find all OUTLOOK.EXE items in the list. Click on each OUTLOOK.EXE to select it and hit the “End Process” button. When this problem occurs, the message remains in your Outbox folder until you manually initiate a Send/Receive operation (for example, press F9 or select send or receive). I decided to try and fix it by uninstalling and reinstalling.
There are different steps to take if you are on Windows (you’ll need to locate the Search Index) or Mac (use Spotlight). First, let’s read about how to check if Outlook is indexing on Windows. A laggy search is one of the most common Microsoft https://fixoutlookhelp.wordpress.com/2025/10/29/repair-outlook-ost-and-pst-files-2025-guide/ Outlook problems. It may arise at different times, depending on your platform or device. Sometimes, it may be your Outlook app itself that is damaged.
I recently uninstalled and reinstalled Office but it only made the issue worse. If you have email messages in an email program, you must import https://fixoutlookhelp.wordpress.com/2025/10/29/repair-outlook-ost-and-pst-files-2025-guide/ your email messages and addresses to the new user profile before you delete the old profile. If everything is working correctly, you can now delete the old profile. Repairing your Office programs can resolve issues with Outlook not responding or freezing. Errors in Microsoft 365 files are repaired automatically. To start Outlook in safe mode, click on its icon holding the Ctrl key, or enter outlook.exe /safe in the Run dialog box.
I would say first things first is figure out if any of these actually resolves her issue, and then (if so) document it on a quick 1-pager that she can follow if/when you’re not available. When the scan is done and errors have been fixed, run scanpst.exe again until no errors are found anymore. If after scanning the file more than 3 or 4 times errors are still found, you might want to copy over your data in a new pst-file. We have tried all things mentioned above (except reconnecting the MS account), but the only solution so far is deleting the users profile.
To find the item with the attachment, scan the list of items in the thread. You can give feedback by selecting Help from the top menu, then Feedback. Post questions, follow discussions and share your knowledge in the Outlook.com Community. If your mailbox is full, we won’t be able to reply to your request.