Outlook 2003 won't open; Control Panel->Mail won't open. Help!

[werp]

I've spent hours trying to resolve this problem: I can't open Outlook 2003.
I can't open Control Panel->Mail, either.
Eventvwr shows no error.

I've uninstalled and reinstalled Outlook. No help.
I've run Scanpst on the .pst files. No help.
Scanost.exe will not execute, however.
I deleted msmapi32.dll and run detect and repair. No success after fixing.

Process Explorer shows that the Outlook thread hangs with:
"ntkrnlpa.exe!KiUnexpectedInterrupt+0x121"

I am loth to delete and recreate my entire Windows user account to fix this
Outlook issue. (BTW: Outlook works under a different user account.) That's
way overkill.

Ideas or thoughts to fix Outlook?

 

[neo [mvp outlook]]

Does Outlook start in safe mode?

How to:
Start > Run
Type: outlook.exe /safe
OK button

If it does, it just means a couple of items to rule out.

* 3rd party addin that needs to be uninstalled/disabled under your windows
logon id
---> start outlook in safe mode and then go to tools > options > other >
advanced options > com addins and/or addins

* Corrupted outlook data file that only exists under your id
---> extend.dat (tracks what addins should be loading and sometimes gets
out of sync)
---> corrupted toolbar (delete outcmd.dat)

 

[werp]

Great advice, Neo.

I'm sorry that I failed to mention that I had disabled the 3rd party addins
in a previous attempt. I also tried starting Outlook from the command line
with /noextensions.
Outlook won't start in Safe mode or with switches /safe:1-4
It won't start with command line /cleanprofile, /firstrun, /recycle, either.

Your ideas about extend.dat or outcmd.dat were excellent insight.
I renamed "extend.dat" to "xextend.xdat"; no success.
I do not have an "outcmd.dat" in my c:/"document and settings/User1/Local
settings/Application Data/Microsoft/Outlook" directory.

Here is a thought: My issues began when I connected my laptop to my
companiy's exchange server. I added a profile so that my POP3 accounts would
not funnel sent emails through my company's exchange server.

Looking at my registry, I found my profiles in a key in
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersin\Windows Messaging
Subsystem\Profiles. One of the keys has the profile connecting to my
company's exchange server.
I'm thinking: delete this key (a profile) and try again. But I'm a little
scared to try this. Thoughts?

Thank you for your considerations.

 

[neo [mvp outlook]]

outcmd.dat should be under \doc & set\<userid>\application
data\microsoft\outlook if it exists.

As for removing the registy keys. That would be safe. Just export/delete
the "DefaultProfile" value from HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows
NT\CurrentVersion\Windows Messaging Subsystem\Profiles and then every folder
beneath the "Profiles" folders.

Other "data" type files that you could rename/delete would be:
<outlook profile name>.xml (the shortcut panel in Outlook)
<outlook profile name>.srs (send/receive settings in Outlook)

 

[werp]

Neo! Hurrah! Outlook works!

I don't know which of the two solutions -- renaming the .xml/.srs or
deleting the profiles in the registry worked, but it worked! (I was
concerned that doing each separately might create further corruption.)

Also, I didn't delete the registry's entire Profiles key, either. I only
deleted the profile that I created for the microsoft exchange server at my
company. I left the POP3 profiles alone because I believed that those were
probably not corrupted. Apparently, correctly, it was the Exchange server
profile that caused me issues.

The other two things that I had to do to resolve the solution (not fully
investigating if they are necessary to do, unfortunately):
1.) Add the deleted profile name (accurately and in full) to the following
key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows
Messaging Subsystem\Deleted Profiles
2.) Run "Detect and Repair".

Too bad that /cleanprofile switch doesn't seem to work.

Thank you for your help, suggestions, and assurances. I really appreciate it!

 

[neo [mvp outlook]]

Glad and worked and I'll have to ask around what the "Deleted Profiles" key
is all about since I don't have it on my machine.