A data file did not close properly...

[John R.]

Each time I open outlook I recieve the following message

Microsoft Office Outlook
A data file did not close properly the last time it was used and is being
checked for problems. Performance might be affected while the check is in
progress.

I am closing out of outlook properly and not receiving any messages when
logging off. What do I need to do to resolve this issue.

 

[Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]]

Sometimes this is a result of Outlook not closing cleanly. Some common reasons why Outlook will not shut down completely when you click either the X or Exit:

1. PDA synchronization software with your PDA in the cradle.
2. WinFax Pro (especially 10.02 in Outlook 2003) - contact their support for an alleged fix.
3. Franklin-Covey Plan Plus!
4. COM Add-ins.
5. Mail reminder add-ins that keep a stub of Outlook open in the background to check for new mail and fire reminders.
6. Anti-virus/firewall programs that are set to scan incoming and outgoing mail.


--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact. All
unsolicited mail sent to my personal account will be deleted without
reading.

Each time I open outlook I recieve the following message

Microsoft Office Outlook
A data file did not close properly the last time it was used and is being
checked for problems. Performance might be affected while the check is in
progress.

I am closing out of outlook properly and not receiving any messages when
logging off. What do I need to do to resolve this issue.

 

[John R.]

Milly,

Thanks for your help but that did not resolve my issue. I'm running office
2007 on vista. PDA was not connected. I don't use franklin-Covey. No com add
ins that I'm aware of. Don't think I have any mail reminder add ins and I
tried disabling my mail scanning in Norton 360, but still had the isseu. Any
other ideas?

John

 

[Rob]

Milly,

Those are the the canned sources of the problem if Outlook itself was not
the issue. But in my case, and I suspect this one also, the failure to
shutdown properly is related to Outlook 2007 having process handling
problems, it gets locked up on threads it creates, in my case for
send/receive. When you exit Outlook, you have to go to task manager and make
sure that the process actually fully shutsdown. If it does, you come out of
the exit clean.

I get these problems if I let Outlook remain open over night, if I hibernate
the operating system, or if a problem with my internet connection creates a
temporary loss of contact with the hosting mail servers when Outlook is
trying to connect.

From the small number of threads in this discussion group on just one page,
I suspect this is actually a big bug in Outlook so I hope you MVPs are going
beyond defending the product with all the chaffe of other products causing
the problem and getting MS to look into this more seriously. Since the
problem is not reproducible on demand, but is frequent (averaging once or
more every day) so action plan to discover the true source of the problem is
possible and reasonable for the users to expect MS to do something about this.

Rob

 

[Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]]

As I indicated in my post, this is certainly the result of Outlook not closing cleanly. Was this not the first thing I said?

As for MVPs pushing Microsoft to fix things, when you admit yourself that you cannot consistently reproduce the problem, what do you think the MVPs can do to push a fix for a moving target issue?

You yourself have provided answers to some of the problems, none of which are directly related to Outlook - the OS hibernating, Internet connection issues, etc.

If you really expect a faster fix from Microsoft, then you need to open a support incident directly with Product Support Services. As I understand it, you get 90 days free support from the first report of a support issue. And, even after that time, if MS PSS discovers that it IS a bug in the product, you are not charged for the incident report.

--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact. All
unsolicited mail sent to my personal account will be deleted without
reading.

Milly,

Those are the the canned sources of the problem if Outlook itself was not
the issue. But in my case, and I suspect this one also, the failure to
shutdown properly is related to Outlook 2007 having process handling
problems, it gets locked up on threads it creates, in my case for
send/receive. When you exit Outlook, you have to go to task manager and make
sure that the process actually fully shutsdown. If it does, you come out of
the exit clean.

I get these problems if I let Outlook remain open over night, if I hibernate
the operating system, or if a problem with my internet connection creates a
temporary loss of contact with the hosting mail servers when Outlook is
trying to connect.

From the small number of threads in this discussion group on just one page,
I suspect this is actually a big bug in Outlook so I hope you MVPs are going
beyond defending the product with all the chaffe of other products causing
the problem and getting MS to look into this more seriously. Since the
problem is not reproducible on demand, but is frequent (averaging once or
more every day) so action plan to discover the true source of the problem is
possible and reasonable for the users to expect MS to do something about this.

Rob

Sometimes this is a result of Outlook not closing cleanly. Some common
reasons why Outlook will not shut down completely when you click either
the X or Exit:

1. PDA synchronization software with your PDA in the cradle.
2. WinFax Pro (especially 10.02 in Outlook 2003) - contact their support
for an alleged fix.
3. Franklin-Covey Plan Plus!
4. COM Add-ins.
5. Mail reminder add-ins that keep a stub of Outlook open in the
background to check for new mail and fire reminders.
6. Anti-virus/firewall programs that are set to scan incoming and
outgoing mail.


--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact. All
unsolicited mail sent to my personal account will be deleted without
reading.

Each time I open outlook I recieve the following message

Microsoft Office Outlook
A data file did not close properly the last time it was used and is being
checked for problems. Performance might be affected while the check is in
progress.

I am closing out of outlook properly and not receiving any messages when
logging off. What do I need to do to resolve this issue.

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

There are countless reasons this error might occur. It is naive to think it
is simply a "big bug in Outlook." Only you have the information one would
need to figure out why Outlook is not exiting cleanly in your particular
setting. We can only tell you where to look. If you are connected to a
hosted Exchange Service over the Internet, then the answer should be
obvious. You also need to factor in the Indexing Service provided with
Outlook 2007 and examine its status while you do your troubleshooting.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Milly,

Those are the the canned sources of the problem if Outlook itself was not
the issue. But in my case, and I suspect this one also, the failure to
shutdown properly is related to Outlook 2007 having process handling
problems, it gets locked up on threads it creates, in my case for
send/receive. When you exit Outlook, you have to go to task manager and
make
sure that the process actually fully shutsdown. If it does, you come out
of
the exit clean.

I get these problems if I let Outlook remain open over night, if I
hibernate
the operating system, or if a problem with my internet connection creates
a
temporary loss of contact with the hosting mail servers when Outlook is
trying to connect.

From the small number of threads in this discussion group on just one
page,
I suspect this is actually a big bug in Outlook so I hope you MVPs are
going
beyond defending the product with all the chaffe of other products causing
the problem and getting MS to look into this more seriously. Since the
problem is not reproducible on demand, but is frequent (averaging once or
more every day) so action plan to discover the true source of the problem
is
possible and reasonable for the users to expect MS to do something about
this.

Rob

Sometimes this is a result of Outlook not closing cleanly. Some common
reasons why Outlook will not shut down completely when you click either
the X or Exit:

1. PDA synchronization software with your PDA in the cradle.
2. WinFax Pro (especially 10.02 in Outlook 2003) - contact their support
for an alleged fix.
3. Franklin-Covey Plan Plus!
4. COM Add-ins.
5. Mail reminder add-ins that keep a stub of Outlook open in the
background to check for new mail and fire reminders.
6. Anti-virus/firewall programs that are set to scan incoming and
outgoing mail.


--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact. All
unsolicited mail sent to my personal account will be deleted without
reading.

Each time I open outlook I recieve the following message

Microsoft Office Outlook
A data file did not close properly the last time it was used and is being
checked for problems. Performance might be affected while the check is
in
progress.

I am closing out of outlook properly and not receiving any messages when
logging off. What do I need to do to resolve this issue.

 

[Peter Fahrenheit]

I had the same problem and found that after I deleted 8Mb of previously
downloaded mail which i had inadvertently left on the ISP server, the message
disappeared.

 

[Hugh LaFollette]

This is clearly an Outlook problem. Like an earlier author, I hope MS doesn't try to fob it off on everyone else - as it seems they are wont to do.

I have PRECISELY the same setup I had with Office 2003; the second I installed 2007, I started getting the message.

I have scanned and rescanned all pst files. They are fine. I have also made sure Outlook has shut down. However, as someone noted, that doesn't mean that there are no remnants open with are causing the problem.

The problem is too pervasive for too many people to ignore this further. For it seems it will eventually create problems with the PST files if the system is not fully exiting Outlook before shutting down.

Hugh

 

[Roady [MVP]]

This is clearly an Outlook problem.
Nope, the root cause is not Outlook but another add-in or program not
releasing its lock on Outlook (and thus the pst-file).

Considering the fact that you upgraded from a previous version of Outlook it
could be that one of your add-ins is not fully Outlook 2007 compatible.
Disable or update that add-in and try again.

 

[Hugh LaFollette]

All the add-ins are updated, and come from reliable sources (who admit their problems when they are theirs -- how quaint!).

This problem is not unique to me. I find it spattered all over the web.

Hugh

 

[mauidan]

Hope this helps!

I had similar problems with Outlook 2007. Turned out to be (with high
certainty) GOOGLE DESKTOP OUTLOOK TOOLBAR.

My computer (and Outlook in particular) is very complex. My list of add-ins
is almost as long as my inbox.

*IT IS ALMOST ALWAYS GOING TO BE AN ADD-IN THAT GIVES YOU THIS PROBLEM*

First thing to do is make sure Outlook IS closing properly. Open Task
Manager (CTRL+SHIFT+ESC) and click the PROCESSES tab. Look for outlook.exe.
Exit outlook and watch that the process does, in fact, disappear. Then
re-open outlook. Do you get the "Data file" error? If you do, and outlook
DID close completely, that's a sign that it's likely an addin.

Next, go to addins. Tools - Trust Center - COM Addins - Go.
Disable one. Exit outlook (making sure the process is cleared in Task
Manager). Reopen. If you still get the error, reenable that addin and
disable another. Repeat until you find the offending addin.

In my case, it was GOOGLE DESKTOP OUTLOOK TOOLBAR. Interestingly, it
appears that just by disabling it (which stopped the error!) then re-enabling
it fixed the problem. That reminded me about what is different about this
computer versus my previous build. First, my previous build didn't have GDOT
(sign #1) and the previous build worked perfectly. Second, this computer had
GDOT installed FIRST, THEN Outlook 2007 was installed. Perhaps that is a
clue. Especially since disabling, restarting Outlook, then reenabling seems
to have fixed it.

Final words. My actual experience, in detail, was:
1) Disable GDOT
2) Exit Outlook
3) Restart - No Error
4) Exit Outlook
5) Restart - Got a warning that "outlook encountered problems with GDOT. Do
you want to disable the addin". Interesting... I HAD disabled it!... but I
clicked YES to disable it. Figured if Outlook still thought it was having
issues, I should agree with Outlook. Glad I did.
6) Outlook continued starting - No Error
7) Exit Outlook
8) Restart - No problem
9) Reenable GDOT
10) Exit Outlook
11) Restart. no problem. seems to be fixed!

Best wishes,
Dan

 

[JAKE]

I have for consistently been getting this message and then Outlook closes
automatically. I cant get to my mail. I cant get to Tools to check the
add-ins. All the threads suggestions I can't do because of the automatic
closing of Outlook.

Please advise

I am Outlook 2007 which is an upgrade from Outlook 2003.

 

[Sproxton]

Hi Dan
Your post is very detailed and helpful but I am now stuck. I didn't
understand how to DISABLE the GDOT when I followd your instructions. When I
got to COM Add-Ins<Go, the GDOT was there in the list but I could see no way
to disable it (I double-clicked and right clicked). The only option was to
highlight it and click Remove. Sure enough, the Data File problem has now
gone but I couldn't re-enable the GDOT as you did in your Step (9).

And now, of course, it's completely gone from the list... how do I get it
back?

Thanks. And it was going so well!

Sproxton