Outlook 2003 - prompt for profile not working

[Linz]

Hi,

Im running Outlook 2003 which has been working fine for the past 2 years
while set up like this. I have 3 profiles set up for 3 different mail
accounts. Outlook usually prompts me to choose a profile when i start up
outlook, for some reason this is no longer giving me the option and just
opening one of the three profiles. I have tried a few things now to fix it -
even if i set it to "always open this profile" its not that profile that
opens. Anyone know why this could suddenly stop asking me which profile to
use?

I've tried re-installing office and also doing a detect and repair - this
hasn't fixed the issue.

Thanks in advance

Lindsey

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Usually means Outlook never exited completely. Check and see.

 

[Linz]

how do i check this then as i have tried everything - clicked on File - Exit
to exit the application properly.

Usually means Outlook never exited completely. Check and see.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Hi,

Im running Outlook 2003 which has been working fine for the past 2 years
while set up like this. I have 3 profiles set up for 3 different mail
accounts. Outlook usually prompts me to choose a profile when i start up
outlook, for some reason this is no longer giving me the option and just
opening one of the three profiles. I have tried a few things now to fix
it -
even if i set it to "always open this profile" its not that profile that
opens. Anyone know why this could suddenly stop asking me which profile
to
use?

I've tried re-installing office and also doing a detect and repair - this
hasn't fixed the issue.

Thanks in advance

Lindsey

 

[Linz]

oh i think i also mentioned it doesn't matter if i restart or shutdown the PC
when it starts back up it still doesn't ask me anymore which profile to use
so im sure it nothing to do with outlook not closing properly.

Usually means Outlook never exited completely. Check and see.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Hi,

Im running Outlook 2003 which has been working fine for the past 2 years
while set up like this. I have 3 profiles set up for 3 different mail
accounts. Outlook usually prompts me to choose a profile when i start up
outlook, for some reason this is no longer giving me the option and just
opening one of the three profiles. I have tried a few things now to fix
it -
even if i set it to "always open this profile" its not that profile that
opens. Anyone know why this could suddenly stop asking me which profile
to
use?

I've tried re-installing office and also doing a detect and repair - this
hasn't fixed the issue.

Thanks in advance

Lindsey

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

You look in Task Manager to see if Outlook is still running. There are many
reasons Outlook might fail to close.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

how do i check this then as i have tried everything - clicked on File -
Exit
to exit the application properly.

Usually means Outlook never exited completely. Check and see.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Hi,

Im running Outlook 2003 which has been working fine for the past 2
years
while set up like this. I have 3 profiles set up for 3 different mail
accounts. Outlook usually prompts me to choose a profile when i start
up
outlook, for some reason this is no longer giving me the option and
just
opening one of the three profiles. I have tried a few things now to
fix
it -
even if i set it to "always open this profile" its not that profile
that
opens. Anyone know why this could suddenly stop asking me which
profile
to
use?

I've tried re-installing office and also doing a detect and repair -
this
hasn't fixed the issue.

Thanks in advance

Lindsey

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

No. You did not mention that. Nice to know that, finally. Does Outlook
always open with the same profile? State the steps you used to get Outlook
to prompt. Does Outlook always open to the same profile? If so, what
transports re in that profile?
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

oh i think i also mentioned it doesn't matter if i restart or shutdown the
PC
when it starts back up it still doesn't ask me anymore which profile to
use
so im sure it nothing to do with outlook not closing properly.

Usually means Outlook never exited completely. Check and see.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Hi,

Im running Outlook 2003 which has been working fine for the past 2
years
while set up like this. I have 3 profiles set up for 3 different mail
accounts. Outlook usually prompts me to choose a profile when i start
up
outlook, for some reason this is no longer giving me the option and
just
opening one of the three profiles. I have tried a few things now to
fix
it -
even if i set it to "always open this profile" its not that profile
that
opens. Anyone know why this could suddenly stop asking me which
profile
to
use?

I've tried re-installing office and also doing a detect and repair -
this
hasn't fixed the issue.

Thanks in advance

Lindsey

 

[Linz]

Hi Russ,

Im not sure the tone in which you answer people's issues is quite
appriorpriate or if im taking what you say the wrong way as i dont really
think the "finally" part of your message was required.

Ok for the past 6 months when i opened outlook it prompted me which profile
to use which i would select and use ok for that email address, i then close
down outlook, start outlook up again and select a different profile. Nothing
has changed on the PC other than maybe some updates sent from Microsoft.

The "Prompt for profile to be used" is selected which i have checked by
going to Control Panel - Mail - Show Profiles.

But when i try to open Outlook it is no longer prompting me which profile to
use and opening im guessing the last one it used before it suddenly started
misbehaving.

Thank you to anyone that can help in advance.

Linz

No. You did not mention that. Nice to know that, finally. Does Outlook
always open with the same profile? State the steps you used to get Outlook
to prompt. Does Outlook always open to the same profile? If so, what
transports re in that profile?
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

oh i think i also mentioned it doesn't matter if i restart or shutdown the
PC
when it starts back up it still doesn't ask me anymore which profile to
use
so im sure it nothing to do with outlook not closing properly.

Usually means Outlook never exited completely. Check and see.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
Hi,

Im running Outlook 2003 which has been working fine for the past 2
years
while set up like this. I have 3 profiles set up for 3 different mail
accounts. Outlook usually prompts me to choose a profile when i start
up
outlook, for some reason this is no longer giving me the option and
just
opening one of the three profiles. I have tried a few things now to
fix
it -
even if i set it to "always open this profile" its not that profile
that
opens. Anyone know why this could suddenly stop asking me which
profile
to
use?

I've tried re-installing office and also doing a detect and repair -
this
hasn't fixed the issue.

Thanks in advance

Lindsey

 

[Linz]

I have also removed the profiles and recreated them just incase and this
still hasn't solved the issue.

No. You did not mention that. Nice to know that, finally. Does Outlook
always open with the same profile? State the steps you used to get Outlook
to prompt. Does Outlook always open to the same profile? If so, what
transports re in that profile?
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

oh i think i also mentioned it doesn't matter if i restart or shutdown the
PC
when it starts back up it still doesn't ask me anymore which profile to
use
so im sure it nothing to do with outlook not closing properly.

Usually means Outlook never exited completely. Check and see.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
Hi,

Im running Outlook 2003 which has been working fine for the past 2
years
while set up like this. I have 3 profiles set up for 3 different mail
accounts. Outlook usually prompts me to choose a profile when i start
up
outlook, for some reason this is no longer giving me the option and
just
opening one of the three profiles. I have tried a few things now to
fix
it -
even if i set it to "always open this profile" its not that profile
that
opens. Anyone know why this could suddenly stop asking me which
profile
to
use?

I've tried re-installing office and also doing a detect and repair -
this
hasn't fixed the issue.

Thanks in advance

Lindsey

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

The only thing we've ever seen cause this consistently is that Outlook is
already running (perhaps in the background) when you launch it. That of
course will bypass the "Prompt for Profile" request. 99% of these are from
Outlook's failure to exit completely, which can be cause by any number of
add-ins and synch programs. That's why when you eventually mentioned that it
happens after a full reboot, you just eliminated 99% of the causes of the
behavior. That's information that would have been very helpful at the start
and that you claimed you had already given, but you hadn't. Trying to
troubleshoot problems when valuable information is missing is much more
difficult and time consuming.
You still need to look for more troubleshooting information. Nothing happens
for no reason or all by itself. Think of any configuration changes that were
made to your system or Outlook configuration. Look for any programs that run
at startup that might invoke Outlook, like email AV scanning or synch
software. Beyond that, I have no ideas other than to recreate the profile
that always launches to see if it is corrupt. Be sure to give it a unique
name if you do.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Hi Russ,

Im not sure the tone in which you answer people's issues is quite
appriorpriate or if im taking what you say the wrong way as i dont really
think the "finally" part of your message was required.

Ok for the past 6 months when i opened outlook it prompted me which
profile
to use which i would select and use ok for that email address, i then
close
down outlook, start outlook up again and select a different profile.
Nothing
has changed on the PC other than maybe some updates sent from Microsoft.

The "Prompt for profile to be used" is selected which i have checked by
going to Control Panel - Mail - Show Profiles.

But when i try to open Outlook it is no longer prompting me which profile
to
use and opening im guessing the last one it used before it suddenly
started
misbehaving.

Thank you to anyone that can help in advance.

Linz

No. You did not mention that. Nice to know that, finally. Does Outlook
always open with the same profile? State the steps you used to get
Outlook
to prompt. Does Outlook always open to the same profile? If so, what
transports re in that profile?
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

oh i think i also mentioned it doesn't matter if i restart or shutdown
the
PC
when it starts back up it still doesn't ask me anymore which profile to
use
so im sure it nothing to do with outlook not closing properly.

:

Usually means Outlook never exited completely. Check and see.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
Hi,

Im running Outlook 2003 which has been working fine for the past 2
years
while set up like this. I have 3 profiles set up for 3 different
mail
accounts. Outlook usually prompts me to choose a profile when i
start
up
outlook, for some reason this is no longer giving me the option and
just
opening one of the three profiles. I have tried a few things now to
fix
it -
even if i set it to "always open this profile" its not that profile
that
opens. Anyone know why this could suddenly stop asking me which
profile
to
use?

I've tried re-installing office and also doing a detect and repair -
this
hasn't fixed the issue.

Thanks in advance

Lindsey

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

If you did not give them each new, unique names, you did not recreate them.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

I have also removed the profiles and recreated them just incase and this
still hasn't solved the issue.

No. You did not mention that. Nice to know that, finally. Does Outlook
always open with the same profile? State the steps you used to get
Outlook
to prompt. Does Outlook always open to the same profile? If so, what
transports re in that profile?
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

oh i think i also mentioned it doesn't matter if i restart or shutdown
the
PC
when it starts back up it still doesn't ask me anymore which profile to
use
so im sure it nothing to do with outlook not closing properly.

:

Usually means Outlook never exited completely. Check and see.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
Hi,

Im running Outlook 2003 which has been working fine for the past 2
years
while set up like this. I have 3 profiles set up for 3 different
mail
accounts. Outlook usually prompts me to choose a profile when i
start
up
outlook, for some reason this is no longer giving me the option and
just
opening one of the three profiles. I have tried a few things now to
fix
it -
even if i set it to "always open this profile" its not that profile
that
opens. Anyone know why this could suddenly stop asking me which
profile
to
use?

I've tried re-installing office and also doing a detect and repair -
this
hasn't fixed the issue.

Thanks in advance

Lindsey

 

[Linz]

Russ,

I really do find your way of talking to people very patronising. I have
come on here looking for help to resolve a problem. I am a senior support
technician myself and haven't meant to leave any information out - i wrote i
thought i had mentioned in my first ever post that when it rebooted it still
didn't prompt for a profile because i thought i had but i have given the
information anyways in that second post of mine.

You have wrote: You still need to look for more troubleshooting information.

That is why i have come on here for someone to help me trouble shoot this
problem further and try to help me resolve this.

Therefore Russ i request you do not post again unless it is to help me out
and if anyone else can help it would be greatly appreciated. i think i have
noted now all that i have done to trouble shoot the issue i cant think of
anything else to try........

The only thing we've ever seen cause this consistently is that Outlook is
already running (perhaps in the background) when you launch it. That of
course will bypass the "Prompt for Profile" request. 99% of these are from
Outlook's failure to exit completely, which can be cause by any number of
add-ins and synch programs. That's why when you eventually mentioned that it
happens after a full reboot, you just eliminated 99% of the causes of the
behavior. That's information that would have been very helpful at the start
and that you claimed you had already given, but you hadn't. Trying to
troubleshoot problems when valuable information is missing is much more
difficult and time consuming.
You still need to look for more troubleshooting information. Nothing happens
for no reason or all by itself. Think of any configuration changes that were
made to your system or Outlook configuration. Look for any programs that run
at startup that might invoke Outlook, like email AV scanning or synch
software. Beyond that, I have no ideas other than to recreate the profile
that always launches to see if it is corrupt. Be sure to give it a unique
name if you do.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Hi Russ,

Im not sure the tone in which you answer people's issues is quite
appriorpriate or if im taking what you say the wrong way as i dont really
think the "finally" part of your message was required.

Ok for the past 6 months when i opened outlook it prompted me which
profile
to use which i would select and use ok for that email address, i then
close
down outlook, start outlook up again and select a different profile.
Nothing
has changed on the PC other than maybe some updates sent from Microsoft.

The "Prompt for profile to be used" is selected which i have checked by
going to Control Panel - Mail - Show Profiles.

But when i try to open Outlook it is no longer prompting me which profile
to
use and opening im guessing the last one it used before it suddenly
started
misbehaving.

Thank you to anyone that can help in advance.

Linz

No. You did not mention that. Nice to know that, finally. Does Outlook
always open with the same profile? State the steps you used to get
Outlook
to prompt. Does Outlook always open to the same profile? If so, what
transports re in that profile?
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
oh i think i also mentioned it doesn't matter if i restart or shutdown
the
PC
when it starts back up it still doesn't ask me anymore which profile to
use
so im sure it nothing to do with outlook not closing properly.

:

Usually means Outlook never exited completely. Check and see.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
Hi,

Im running Outlook 2003 which has been working fine for the past 2
years
while set up like this. I have 3 profiles set up for 3 different
mail
accounts. Outlook usually prompts me to choose a profile when i
start
up
outlook, for some reason this is no longer giving me the option and
just
opening one of the three profiles. I have tried a few things now to
fix
it -
even if i set it to "always open this profile" its not that profile
that
opens. Anyone know why this could suddenly stop asking me which
profile
to
use?

I've tried re-installing office and also doing a detect and repair -
this
hasn't fixed the issue.

Thanks in advance

Lindsey

 

[Linz]

i gave the profiles different names but i used the same .pst files

If you did not give them each new, unique names, you did not recreate them.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

I have also removed the profiles and recreated them just incase and this
still hasn't solved the issue.

No. You did not mention that. Nice to know that, finally. Does Outlook
always open with the same profile? State the steps you used to get
Outlook
to prompt. Does Outlook always open to the same profile? If so, what
transports re in that profile?
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
oh i think i also mentioned it doesn't matter if i restart or shutdown
the
PC
when it starts back up it still doesn't ask me anymore which profile to
use
so im sure it nothing to do with outlook not closing properly.

:

Usually means Outlook never exited completely. Check and see.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
Hi,

Im running Outlook 2003 which has been working fine for the past 2
years
while set up like this. I have 3 profiles set up for 3 different
mail
accounts. Outlook usually prompts me to choose a profile when i
start
up
outlook, for some reason this is no longer giving me the option and
just
opening one of the three profiles. I have tried a few things now to
fix
it -
even if i set it to "always open this profile" its not that profile
that
opens. Anyone know why this could suddenly stop asking me which
profile
to
use?

I've tried re-installing office and also doing a detect and repair -
this
hasn't fixed the issue.

Thanks in advance

Lindsey

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Sorry. I didn't mean to sound patronizing (if I did). I am not a senior
support technician. I'm just a stupid volunteer. As a senior support
technician, I'm sure you realize how frustrating it is to receive
information in the _third_ exchange with someone that completely obviates
the efforts you've already put in trying to solve an issue. Failing to
provide accurate and complete information in a newsgroup setting just
wastes everyone's time.
I have already provided you the only other ideas I can think of to solve
this. I'm sure others have posted theirs as well. Do post back when you
figure this out so we can all learn from it.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Russ,

I really do find your way of talking to people very patronising. I have
come on here looking for help to resolve a problem. I am a senior support
technician myself and haven't meant to leave any information out - i wrote
i
thought i had mentioned in my first ever post that when it rebooted it
still
didn't prompt for a profile because i thought i had but i have given the
information anyways in that second post of mine.

You have wrote: You still need to look for more troubleshooting
information.

That is why i have come on here for someone to help me trouble shoot this
problem further and try to help me resolve this.

Therefore Russ i request you do not post again unless it is to help me out
and if anyone else can help it would be greatly appreciated. i think i
have
noted now all that i have done to trouble shoot the issue i cant think of
anything else to try........

The only thing we've ever seen cause this consistently is that Outlook is
already running (perhaps in the background) when you launch it. That of
course will bypass the "Prompt for Profile" request. 99% of these are
from
Outlook's failure to exit completely, which can be cause by any number of
add-ins and synch programs. That's why when you eventually mentioned that
it
happens after a full reboot, you just eliminated 99% of the causes of the
behavior. That's information that would have been very helpful at the
start
and that you claimed you had already given, but you hadn't. Trying to
troubleshoot problems when valuable information is missing is much more
difficult and time consuming.
You still need to look for more troubleshooting information. Nothing
happens
for no reason or all by itself. Think of any configuration changes that
were
made to your system or Outlook configuration. Look for any programs that
run
at startup that might invoke Outlook, like email AV scanning or synch
software. Beyond that, I have no ideas other than to recreate the profile
that always launches to see if it is corrupt. Be sure to give it a unique
name if you do.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Hi Russ,

Im not sure the tone in which you answer people's issues is quite
appriorpriate or if im taking what you say the wrong way as i dont
really
think the "finally" part of your message was required.

Ok for the past 6 months when i opened outlook it prompted me which
profile
to use which i would select and use ok for that email address, i then
close
down outlook, start outlook up again and select a different profile.
Nothing
has changed on the PC other than maybe some updates sent from
Microsoft.

The "Prompt for profile to be used" is selected which i have checked by
going to Control Panel - Mail - Show Profiles.

But when i try to open Outlook it is no longer prompting me which
profile
to
use and opening im guessing the last one it used before it suddenly
started
misbehaving.

Thank you to anyone that can help in advance.

Linz

:

No. You did not mention that. Nice to know that, finally. Does Outlook
always open with the same profile? State the steps you used to get
Outlook
to prompt. Does Outlook always open to the same profile? If so, what
transports re in that profile?
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
oh i think i also mentioned it doesn't matter if i restart or
shutdown
the
PC
when it starts back up it still doesn't ask me anymore which profile
to
use
so im sure it nothing to do with outlook not closing properly.

:

Usually means Outlook never exited completely. Check and see.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
Hi,

Im running Outlook 2003 which has been working fine for the past
2
years
while set up like this. I have 3 profiles set up for 3 different
mail
accounts. Outlook usually prompts me to choose a profile when i
start
up
outlook, for some reason this is no longer giving me the option
and
just
opening one of the three profiles. I have tried a few things now
to
fix
it -
even if i set it to "always open this profile" its not that
profile
that
opens. Anyone know why this could suddenly stop asking me which
profile
to
use?

I've tried re-installing office and also doing a detect and
repair -
this
hasn't fixed the issue.

Thanks in advance

Lindsey

 

[DL]

This is just a thought;
In msconfig, disable all startups, in services tab hide all MS and disable
the rest
(This will disable any software firewall and AV app)
Reboot & accept the msconfig msg
Try OL again, if it now works its probably a long process of illimination

i gave the profiles different names but i used the same .pst files

If you did not give them each new, unique names, you did not recreate
them.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

I have also removed the profiles and recreated them just incase and this
still hasn't solved the issue.

:

No. You did not mention that. Nice to know that, finally. Does Outlook
always open with the same profile? State the steps you used to get
Outlook
to prompt. Does Outlook always open to the same profile? If so, what
transports re in that profile?
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
oh i think i also mentioned it doesn't matter if i restart or
shutdown
the
PC
when it starts back up it still doesn't ask me anymore which profile
to
use
so im sure it nothing to do with outlook not closing properly.

:

Usually means Outlook never exited completely. Check and see.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
Hi,

Im running Outlook 2003 which has been working fine for the past
2
years
while set up like this. I have 3 profiles set up for 3 different
mail
accounts. Outlook usually prompts me to choose a profile when i
start
up
outlook, for some reason this is no longer giving me the option
and
just
opening one of the three profiles. I have tried a few things now
to
fix
it -
even if i set it to "always open this profile" its not that
profile
that
opens. Anyone know why this could suddenly stop asking me which
profile
to
use?

I've tried re-installing office and also doing a detect and
repair -
this
hasn't fixed the issue.

Thanks in advance

Lindsey