Outlook 2003 problem - Unable to open default email folders

[GNelson]

I've been using Outlook 2003 for several years. Suddenly, I get the error
message "Unable to open default email folders. The server is not available.
Contact your administrator if the condition persists." After I click on the
error message, Outlook shuts down.

I have tried the fixes posted on earlier threads - delete extend.dat, create
new mail profile, run scanpst, reset navpane, etc. None have worked. I am not
on an Exchange server.

 

[DL]

So you created a new Profile (not copied) added a data file and the account
and OL still fails to open?

 

[GNelson]

Yes. I even reinstalled Outlook from the Office CD and started from the
beginning with setting up email through the Mail control panel, etc. After
completing the setup process, when I launched Outlook, it showed the error
message.

 

[GNelson]

Fixed the problem.

I upgraded to Office 2007, which I had been putting off. When I opened
Outlook 07, it wouldn't start, but had a different error message. It WOULD
start in safe mode, however.

I searched for "Outlook 2007 safe mode" and "Outlook doesn't start" and
found a list of suggestions to try. One of them was "Try renaming outcmd.dat
to .old and restart. The default location for this file is C:\Documents and
Settings\%username%\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook." I did this and it
worked. I was able to import my old Personal Folder into Outlook 07.

Don't know if this fix would have worked on Outlook 03 or not, but might be
worth a try if anyone else has this problem.

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

I was able to import my old Personal Folder into Outlook 07.

Never import a PST into Outlook. You lose data that way and it can mess up
the mail profile. INstead, open the file with File>Open>Outlook Data File.

 

[GNelson]

Thanks for the info, but the import was successful. No data lost (email,
calendar, contacts) as far as I can determine, and my mail profile is correct.

If importing is a bad idea, why is it an option on the Import and Export
Wizard?

Wish I had gotten an answer to my original question as quickly.........

Thanks.

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

Thanks for the info, but the import was successful. No data lost (email,
calendar, contacts) as far as I can determine, and my mail profile is
correct.

Distribution lists and the links between contacts and calendar entries are two
examples of data that rarely, if ever, survive an export ot import. You did
lose data. It may be data you don't need, but that doesn't mean it wasn;t
lost.

If importing is a bad idea, why is it an option on the Import and Export
Wizard?

Importing and exporting is intended to move data between disparate
applications. You don't import doc files into Word or xls files into Excel.
you also don't import PSTs into Outlook.

Wish I had gotten an answer to my original question as quickly.........

You were answered (with a question asking for additional information and
suggesting something to try) 15 minutes after posting you posted originally
and then you didn't respond to that for six more days. Granted, after that,
you didn't get a response for another eight days, and then you were the
respondent, but if you didn't show any interest in clarifying or stating the
outcome of the first suggestion you were given, it's possible others didn't
have that interest, either.

The other reasons people might not answer are multifold. First, this is a
peer-to-peer newsgroup. People answer when the can and if they have a
suggestion or need clarification. Second, it's fairly easy to search the
newsgroup (using Google Groups) for prior postings of the same or a similar
issue and you could use the intervening time to do that. Other reasons exist
as well.

We still don't know if you tried a new mail profile. Uninstalling and
reinstalling doesn't do that.

 

[GNelson]

It's not my intent to get into a protracted discussion about this, so this
is my last post. In answer to the "wish I had gotten an answer to my
original question as quickly..." response:
1. the first answer to my original post was five days later, not 15 minutes,
First post was on 10/15; first response was on 10/20.
2. I responded to the first answer on 10/21, not six days later. My response
to the new mail profile question was "Yes", (along with additional
information), so there wasn't any need to "clarify".
3. I had already searched the newsgroup as well as Googled the original
error message before posting my question. I continued to search for answers -
if I hadn't, my Outlook would still be non-functional.

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

1. the first answer to my original post was five days later, not 15 minutes,
First post was on 10/15; first response was on 10/20.

Your first post was 10/15 at 12:24 PM Eastern time. "DL" responded to you on
October 15 at 12:39 PM. That's 15 minutes by my calculation.

2. I responded to the first answer on 10/21, not six days later.

October 15 to October 21 is six days on my calendar. What calendar are you
using?

My response
to the new mail profile question was "Yes", (along with additional
information), so there wasn't any need to "clarify".

While you did say you tried a new mail profile, do don't elucidate on the
exact steps, so we have no idea if what you did matches what we meant by a new
profile.

3. I had already searched the newsgroup as well as Googled the original
error message before posting my question. I continued to search for
answers -
if I hadn't, my Outlook would still be non-functional.

When you've tried something, state what you've tried so that people don't
suggest something you've tried.