Outlook Wont Open

[J]

Outlook does not open on my PC. I am running Vista OS and have Office 2007
installed.

When I try to open Outlook the icon displays in the system tray and shows as
an open program in task manager but will not pop up and display at all so I
cant access my emails.

Rebooting and ending the program in task manager doesnt make any difference.

Please help.

 

[Vince Averello]

If you double click the icon in the system tray, does Outlook pop up?

 

[J]

Hi Vince

No it doesnt pop up at all, it displays on the system tray but wont expand
to view outlook.

J

 

[J]

Outlook does not open on my PC. I am running Vista OS and have Office 2007
installed.

When I try to open Outlook the icon displays in the system tray and shows as
an open program in task manager but will not pop up and display at all so I
cant access my emails.

Rebooting and ending the program in task manager doesnt make any difference.

Please help.

 

[Kathleen Orland]

Was your Outlook PST created in a much earlier version of Outlook, say 2002
or older? Can you verify that Outlook closes properly and does not continue
to run in the Task Manager > Processes after you have closed it? Have you
tried opening Outlook in safe mode? Start > Start Search > outlook.exe /safe
(note the space between outlook.exe and /safe).

Have you read the troubleshooting steps listed here:
http://www.howto-outlook.com/faq/outlookdoesntstart.htm

 

[J]

Was your Outlook PST created in a much earlier version of Outlook, say 2002
or older? Can you verify that Outlook closes properly and does not continue
to run in the Task Manager > Processes after you have closed it? Have you
tried opening Outlook in safe mode? Start > Start Search > outlook.exe /safe
(note the space between outlook.exe and /safe).

Have you read the troubleshooting steps listed here:
http://www.howto-outlook.com/faq/outlookdoesntstart.htm

Hi Kathleen

My local profile was created in Vista as this is a new PC. Although it is
an Exchange account that has been valid for many years.

I have tried to Run Outlook in safe mode but it does not work.

When Outlook is visable in the system tray it is running a process. The
only way I can exit the process is through Task Manager or by shutting down
my PC. Outlook doesnt work on reboot.

J

 

[Kathleen Orland]

If this is an Exchange account, have you had your Exchange Admin or Systems
Admin have a look at it?

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Outlook does not open on my PC. I am running Vista OS and have Office 2007
installed.

When I try to open Outlook the icon displays in the system tray and shows as
an open program in task manager but will not pop up and display at all so I
cant access my emails.

Rebooting and ending the program in task manager doesnt make any difference.

Will it run Maximized if you choose that option on the Task Bar icon,
rather than "Restore"? If so, do the following:

1. Make sure it's not running Maximized.

2. Right-click the Outlook icon on the task bar and then type "M" for
Move.

3. Use the arrow keys to move left or down. Once you start using the
arrow keys the mouse will work, and you can use the mouse to move the
window into view.

4. If that didn't work, the window is probably set to a 0x0 size.
Right click on the icon again, but this time, type "S" for Size. Use
the arrow keys, then the mouse as before to resize it.

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

When Outlook is visable in the system tray it is running a process. The
only way I can exit the process is through Task Manager or by shutting down
my PC. Outlook doesnt work on reboot.

Stop Outlook in Task Manager, then try deleting the file outcmd.dat in the
(usually hidden) folder
%AppData%\Microsoft\Outlook. Does that make a difference?

 

[J]

Will it run Maximized if you choose that option on the Task Bar icon,
rather than "Restore"? If so, do the following:

1. Make sure it's not running Maximized.

2. Right-click the Outlook icon on the task bar and then type "M" for
Move.

3. Use the arrow keys to move left or down. Once you start using the
arrow keys the mouse will work, and you can use the mouse to move the
window into view.

4. If that didn't work, the window is probably set to a 0x0 size.
Right click on the icon again, but this time, type "S" for Size. Use
the arrow keys, then the mouse as before to resize it.

Hi Ken

Unfortunately there is no response to the right click and M or the right
click and S commands

J

 

[J]

Hi Brian


The OUTCMD.dat file is not in that folder. all hidden folders are selected
to be visible so its a bit strange.

 

[J]

They havent seen this problem before. So its been left to me to find out.
Im normally quite tech savvy so thought I would try to find a solution. But
to no avail. Its getting getting frustrating using web outlook to get my
emails as it also doesnt offer the full functionality of Outlook.

 

[Kathleen Orland]

Then do a search for outcmd.dat and include all hidden folders/files in the
search. Close Outlook. Rename the file (eg: outcmd.dat_old).

If that doesn't work, try the /resetnavpane switch. I think you said you
were using Vista?

Start > Start Search > outlook.exe /resetnavpane

(note the space between outlook.exe and /resetnavpane)

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Hi Ken

Unfortunately there is no response to the right click and M or the right
click and S commands

OK, then sorry my suggestion didn't help.

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

The OUTCMD.dat file is not in that folder. all hidden folders are selected
to be visible so its a bit strange.

Open Windows Explorer and enter %AppData%\Microsoft\Outlook in the Address
field. Click Go. What do you see?

 

[J]

Hi Ken,

Do you know the registry value to change to resize the window (i.e. the
window is probably set to a 0x0 size.)

As for some reason right clicking the icon is not working.

Thanks

 

[J]

Hi Brian,

Thanks for that, I did find the outcmd.dat files and deleted it but the
problem continues.

Do you have any more suggestions please.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Hi Ken,

Do you know the registry value to change to resize the window (i.e. the
window is probably set to a 0x0 size.)

Sorry, no I don't.

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

Thanks for that, I did find the outcmd.dat files and deleted it but the
problem continues.

Do you have any more suggestions please.

The only other thing that crosses my mind is a complete uninstall, being sure
that all the files are gone and the associated registry keys removed, and a
reinstall. If that doesn't work, I'm stuck.

 

[Kathleen Orland]

If Brian's suggestion of a reinstall doesn't work, you should consider
creating a new profile on the computer, then creating your Outlook profile
logged in with that profile to see if that resolves your Outlook issue. It's
possible your NT profile is corrupted.