When you face a problem with your Outlook account such as “cannot start Microsoft Office Outlook” or “Cannot open the Outlook Window”, you would be suggested to try open in your Outlook program in safe mode. If you don’t know how to open your Outlook program in Safe Mode, you can follow the step-by-step instructions provided in this guide.
Steps to Open Outlook in Safe Mode
NOTE: The objective behind opening Outlook in Safe Mode is to check in case any add-in is preventing the Outlook from opening in your computer. When you open the Outlook in Safe Mode, it launches the program with the basic interface and without any advanced feature, add-ins etc.
1.) On your computer, go to Start > Run option.
2.) In the Run box, enter Outlook /safe and then click on the OK button.
3.) Next, in the Choose Profiles dialog box, you will need to accept the default settings of Outlook and click on the OK button.
4.) If you are prompted to enter your password, do so by selecting the Accept option.
5.) To know if you are working in safe mode or not, you can check the label similar to the following
|
Inbox –[email protected] – Microsoft Outlook (Safe Mode) |
6.) Now, if you see that your Outlook program is opening properly in the Safe Mode, it means the problem is with one of your add-ins.
7.) To make your Outlook program work in normal mode on your computer, you will need to disable all the add-ins before restating your Outlook program.
To disable add-ins, follow the instructions provided below:
DISABLE ADD-INS
1.) In your Outlook program, select File > Options > Add-ins.
2.) Next, go to View and manage Office Add-ins option located at the bottom and make sure that Manage box shows COM Add-ins. After that, click on the Go option.
NOTE: For precaution, when you see the COM Add-ins listing of your current add-ins getting opened, you will need to do one of the following:
- You will need to record the title of every selected add-in listed under Available Add-ins manually.
Or
- You will need to take a screenshot of the property sheet and save the image to the destination of your choice.
3.) Once you have captured the titles of all the selected add-ins, remove the selected checkboxes and choose OK button.
NOTE: To clear a checkbox, you will need to click on it. Make sure you don’t select an add-in and select Remove option. You can delete the add-in when you have administrator rights. To troubleshoot issues, it is best to disable the add-ins instead of removing them.
4.) After that, select File and the Exit option.
TO RESTART OUTLOOK
1.) On your Computer, select Start > Run and type Outlook in the prompted field.
NOTE: If the program loads correctly, it means that one of the add-ins is causing the error. You can identify it by enabling one add-in at a time.
2.) Next, select File > Options > Add-ins option located in the top-right corner of your Outlook window.
3.) Then, select the checkbox next to the add-in you wish to reactivate and then select the OK button.
4.) Similarly, repeat the steps until you have reactivated all the properly-functioning add-ins in your Outlook program.
So, this is how you can open the Outlook in Safe Mode and clear the issue preventing you from accessing your Outlook program in normal mode.
