How to Fix "Cannot Start Microsoft Outlook. Unable to Open the Outlook Window" Error?

Microsoft Outlook is a part of the Microsoft Office suite and is mainly used as an email application. The most common issue which occurs with Microsoft Outlook is when you try to open the application and it starts hanging and doesn’t open properly. At this time you will get an error ‘Cannot Start Microsoft Outlook’. 

Whenever you face such an issue with Outlook, it is most probably caused due to the corrupted Navigation Pane settings file. The file gets corrupted when its size is reduced to 0kb for an unknown reason. This error can occur in most of the versions of Microsoft Outlook.

The other possible reasons for this error are as follows:

• When you try to run Outlook in the compatibility mode.
• When you are using a profile created in the older version of Outlook.
• When the Outlook data file is corrupted due to wrong or corrupted un-installation or re-installation of Outlook.

These errors will not let you open and use Outlook properly and whenever you encounter such an issue, Outlook Tech Support is available to help you.

In order to fix the "Cannot Start Microsoft Outlook. Unable to open Outlook window" error, you can use the following troubleshooting steps:

1. Recover the Navigation Pane file: The corrupted navigation pane settings file is the most common reason for not being able to open Outlook. To fix the file, follow these steps:

• For Windows 7, 8 or Vista, click on the Start button and enter the following command in the search field- outlook.exe /resetnavpane.
• Click on the file shown to you and then open Outlook.

2.           Repair Outlook data files: If there was a problem during the un-installation of the previous version of Outlook, then there are chances that the default Outlook data file has been deleted or damaged which is not letting Outlook open. You can repair the Outlook.pst file using the Scanpst.exe or inbox repair tool.

3.           Turn off compatibility mode: If you have opted compatibility mode to run Outlook, then it can also add to the error. To turn off the compatibility mode, follow the given procedure:

• Click on the Start button and enter outlook.exe in the search field.
• Right-click on OUTLOOK.EXE and then select Properties.
• Move to the compatibility tab and make sure the ‘Run this program in compatibility mode for’ box is not checked.
• Then click on ‘Ok’ and try to open Outlook.

4.           Create a new Outlook profile: If none of the above steps resolves the issue, then you can try creating a new Outlook profile and check if it helps. To create a new Outlook profile, go through the given steps:

• Go to Control Panel>Mail>Data Files> Add to create a new profile.
• Under the Account Setting section, click on the Data files tab and select the new profile and then click on the ‘Set as Default’ option.
• Now try opening Outlook and if it is working fine with the newly created file then copy the data from your old.pst file.

5.           Start Outlook in Safe Mode: To check if the issue is caused by some of the add-ins, the Outlook can be started in safe mode. If it starts normally then it means the issue is with the add-ins installed in your system. To run Outlook in safe mode, click on its icon holding the control key. Click ‘Yes’ if it is asked that you really want to start Outlook in safe mode.

All these tips are really useful in fixing the ‘can not start Outlook’ error. If unfortunately none of the steps work for you then you can call at the Outlook Phone Number to receive direct technical assistance for the same