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Fixed:’ Cannot start Microsoft Outlook can’t open the outlook window’
If you have been using the Outlook version of 2013, 2016, 2019. You may face an issue with this particular problem. This article will explore methods from which you can use to resolve the issue. The following solution has been tested on all versions of outlook, This means you’ll find a working solution for your error.
Why ‘cannot start Microsoft outlook cannot open the outlook window ‘ error occurs?
There is no definite answer to the question. The error appears when you try to start outlook, A dialogue box appears stating ‘Cannot start Microsoft Office Outlook’ error. If we visit the Microsoft official help center, They suggest the main reason for the error could be the corrupted Navigation Pane settings file.
Which is profilename.xml. You can easily recognize this case; If your size of the particular file is 0 KB. As Microsoft keeps all the old and new files on the same software such error is common, And you may never know what is causing the issue. Anyhow, You can still fix the issue by making some changes.
Solution for ‘cannot begin/start Microsoft outlook can’t open the outlook window error’
After you got a little idea about the error, we can use some methods to try to resolve it. I have mentioned multiple methods, So if one doesn’t work you can move forward to another.
Fixing the Navigation Pane configuration file
As I have stated earlier, the corrupted Navigation Pane file is the culprit behind most such errors. If we repair the following we might able to solve the issue.
1) First up all, you can click on the windows START button for the left-bottom of your PC screen.
And then type the following outlook.exe /resetnavpane (Don’t remove the Space)
2) Once you see the file appear then, Press the Enter button, This will reset the Outlook pane file and start Outlook fresh.
On the other hand, You can open and use the run option for your system and resetting the pane file.
1) Press the Windows button + R to make the Run dialogue box appear.
Enter the following command into that run text-box:-
outlook.exe /resetnavpane.
2) Once you click OK, It will reset the pane file and outlook will start fresh.
Removing Navigation pane settings file
If the above method does not work or you were unable to reset the pane file. You can simply delete the file, It will automatically be generated when you start using outlook again. Deleting the pane file is very straightforward and most probably will fix your issue.
1) Firstly, click on the START menu of your windows machine, And Enter the below address. Alternatively, You can also use the run box for entering the address by clicking the windows button + R together.
%appdata%\Microsoft\Outlook
2) Once, You enter the address you will open the Outlook folder. In there, You’ll find the Outlook.xml file, Delete the following and open outlook again.
Change Compatibility mode in Outlook to disable.
A lot of people have said they encounter this issue after they enable the Compatibility mode in outlook. You can simply turn off the following and successfully able to resolve that ‘cannot start Microsoft outlook cannot open the outlook window’ issue.
1) Firstly, You need to visit the Windows File Explorer on your computer, Once there look for the installation path of the Microsoft Office. If unchanged the default path is C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\.
2) From here, Choose the Outlook.exe. Then after you can right-click on your mouse and select the Properties option from the menu.
3) Next, You can change the tab to Compatibility. Of course, here you must need to the untick the option for “Run this program in the compatibility”.
4) Once successfully done, You can make sure to apply the changes, and click on OK.
5) Try to open outlook again, This would have resolved your error for the issue.
(Make sure you are making changes in the installation path, And not to the application itself.)
Use the repair tool to fix the ‘Cannot start Microsoft outlook cannot open the outlook window’ error
Obviously, the inbox repair tool is a useful one that helps you to fix the .pst and .ost files here. While installing or making any changes, These files could get corrupted. And because of that, you might face the error. It is fairly easy to fix such issues with the tool.
1) Firstly, you can open your windows file explorer and find the installation path of your Microsoft office. If you have set the following to default than enter the address C:\Program Files x86\Microsoft Office\ to open the installation location.
2) In the following folder you need to look for the file SCANPST.EXE. Open the file by right-clicking on it.
3) Again browse for the following address in your file explorer C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook. If you have made any changes, you can find the installation path where you have done so.
If the above installation path doesn’t work use this C:\ Documents\Settings\user\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook. Change the USER from the address to your windows name.
4) Then, you can pick the Outlook.pst file, And click OK.
5) Now start the repair process, Once done. Open the outlook file. And your error would have gone.
