Microsoft Outlook Troubleshooting Tips

The information on this page has moved to our redesigned site and this page is no longer maintained.If you get an error message when you close Outlook:
Problem- Invalid page fault in module EMALSCAN.DLL in Microsoft Outlook
If Microsoft Outlook won't start minimized..
Problem- Microsoft Outlook will not start minimized
If you get the message "Can't create the item" when you click on a mailto: link in a web page.
Microsoft Outlook error message: "Can't create the item"
User TipsTo reset the Outlook folders and Outlook bar to the defaults that you saw when you first installed Microsoft Outlook:
Restart Outlook with the command:
outlook /resetfolders /resetoutlookbar
If messages are staying in the Outbox, rather than being delivered...
First, take a look at the Outbox. If any messages are listed in normal font, rather than italics, they need to be resent. Open the message, and click the Send button. Any time you open a message in the Outbox, you must send it again.
Send, realize that not all messages are sent from Microsoft Outlook automatically. It depends on the services installed (check Tools Services), the settings for those services and how you connect to your mail server.
For the Internet Mail service, try entering the SMTP server address with the Advanced button on the Internet Mail service Properties dialog box.
For the Internet E-mail service (IMEP patch), if you want messages to be sent automatically via modem, you need to use the workaround for scheduled connections.
If you continue to have problems, then check the Microsoft Knowledgebase article on How to Troubleshoot Mail Stuck in the Outbox for more suggestions. If you are using Microsoft Network, see MSN Mail Not Sent with Category or Contact Attachment.
If you see Personal Folders in Tools Services more than once, try removing the extra copies, then log out of Microsoft Outlook and restart it. Also, try creating a new profile with Control Panel Mail and Fax. Sometimes the problem is a corrupted registry entry for a profile, and creating a new one fixes everything.
Also, if you haven't previously used Microsoft Exchange or Windows Messaging, I would suggest that you get my Exchange Client FAQ. Microsoft Outlook shares messaging components with Microsoft Exchange/Windows Messaging, so many of the questions and problems that you might see with Microsoft Outlook are already covered there.
You get an error message:
A message could not be delivered. Make sure there is sufficient memory and disk space and that the message store is accessible, then try again.
There is a message waiting for you that Outlook cannot handle for some reason.One known cause is an extra comma or semi-colon generating a blank name in the "To" field.
The Internet Mail Enhancement Patch for Microsoft Outlook fixes this problem, sort of. You will be able to retrieve these pesky messages. However, they will appear as attachments that you'll need to double-click to open.
You get one of these error messages:
Outlib.dll [or another .dll] is linked to missing export MAPI32.DLL:239
The ordinal 36 could not be located in the dynamic link library MAPI32.dll.
Other symptoms may be general problems running Outlook or Exchange after installing Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0, Netscape Communicator 4.5, Eudora or a variety of other programs.
The Mapi32.dll file, which is essential to Microsoft Outlook, is missing, damaged or has been replaced by the new software you installed. The MSKB articile ErrMsg: Missing Mapi32.dll:239 when Starting Outlook provides general details on how to restore the right Mapi32.dll for Outlook.
Outlook Express includes a choice on the Tools Options menu for Make Outlook Express my default Simple MAPI client. If you check that, a new Mapi32.dll file is copied to your \Windows\System folder, while the old one is renamed to Mapi32.oe. If you want OE to be your default Simple MAPI client (for File Send, etc.) and use Outlook 97 mainly for appointments and tasks, copy Mapi32.oe to \Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office and rename it to Mapi32.dll. You will also need to remember to start OE before Outlook 97. If you want Outlook 97 to be your MAPI client, rename Mapi32.dll to Mapi32oe.dll, then copy Mapi32.oe to Mapi32.dll or follow the procedure in the MSKB article noted above. (Many thanks to Reinaldo Gregori for figuring this out and posting the solution in the newsgroups.)
This also can occur if you run Eudora, which will overwrite the Mapi32.dll file if you don't explicitly tell it not to. See the Windows Eudora FAQ for instructions on how to keep Eudora from messing with the .dll. Also see Outlook Running With Eudora Pro 3.0 May Cause Errors.
Other sources of this problem are CorelDRAW 7 and Netscape Communicator 4.5.
If you don't see imported addresses in the Address Book or when you insert them in Word.
Addresses imported into the Contacts folder from sources other than the Personal Address Book (a) may not appear in the Address Book display and (b) may not show all fields when Inserting Addresses in Microsoft Word Documents.
In case (a), the e-mail address has not been "resolved," using the Check Names function. Resolved addressees are underlined in the E-mail fields in the Contacts record.You can either open each record and use Tools Check Names or press Ctrl+K (use the Next Item button to browse through quickly) or add VBScript to a form using the technique in the MSKB article How to Programmatically Resolve a Contact E-mail Address. Or, you can use the Resolve E-mail Address Utility.
In case (b), editing the address and saving the record should solve the problem. See the MSKB article Q164477: Address Displays Incorrectly on Imported Contacts. This problem is on the list of items corrected in Outlook 8.02.
If you get any of these error messages when you start Microsoft Outlook 97:
Error in configuration file "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office 97\Office\Addins\.ecf"
The extension configuration file "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office 97\Office\Addins\.ecf" could not be installed. There is an error in the syntax or format of the file.
Unable to load .dll. You may be out of memory, out of system resources, or missing a .dll file
You may have an add-in that is configured incorrectly, a damaged .dll or .ecf file, or a problem with the Extend.dat file, which caches registry extension entries.
To fix these problems, follow the instructions in these MSKB articles:
Q164245 - OL97: ErrMsg in Msspc.ecf and Msspc32.dllQ167264 - OL97: ErrMsg in Extension Configuration File
If Outlook takes a long time to display a message and gives either of these error messages:
WordMail is busy or unavailable
This form requires Word as your e-mail editor, but Word is either busy or cannot be found.
You may have Word Viewer set as the default application for .doc files. See Outlook/WordMail Tries to Use Word Viewer as Editor for instructions on how to fix this problem.
If you get an error message
OUTLOOK caused an invalid page fault in module AWFXCG32.DLL at 014f:7f7ef389.
This error represents a conflict between Microsoft Fax and the DCOM components in Internet Explorer 4.0 and some other recent applications. You can get a new Awfxcg32.dll file, which Microsoft says fixes the problem. See the MSKB article Outlook Caused an Invalid Page Fault in AWFXCG32.DLL for more information.
When you start Outlook, you get an invalid page fault in module Outlrpc.dll.
This probably means that you have an outdated or damaged Msvcrt40.dll file. Copy the one from your Office/Outlook CD.
When you start Outlook, you get an invalid page fault in module Mso97.dll.
This may mean that you have a damaged Views.dat file, which apparently holds information about the Outlook views that you create for system folders. Try deleting it. See the MSKB article Err Msg: in Module MSO97.DLL When Opening Folder for more information.
Messages that you send never appear in either the Outbox or Sent Items folder.
The Focal Point communications software from Global Village Communications can cause this symptom. It sometimes comes preinstalled on your computer, so you might not notice it. Use the Add-In Manager to remove any add-in related to Focal Point, then restart Outlook. See the MSKB article Sent Mail Disappears with Focal Point Extensions Loaded.
The last folder you used moves to the top of the Folder List.
The Folder List is normally in alphabetical order. If you see this problem, it means that the language setting on your computer is different from that on the Exchange Server. To fix it, use the Regional Settings applet in Control Panel to change the language on your computer, then restart it.
You can't disconnect a Personal Folders file.
For unknown reasons, sometimes Personal Folders will persist in a profile even if you remove them with Tools Services or by right-clicking then choosing Disconnect.
The solution, provided by MVP Vince Averello, involves editing the Windows Registry:
For Windows 95, browse the tree for HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows Messaging Subsystem\Profiles\. For Windows NT, look for HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows Messaging Subsystem\Profiles\.
The tree under that point should be full of keys with long hexadecimal value names. Look for a section that references the PST file you want to delete from the folder view in Outlook. Export that section (for safety) and then delete it.
Also see:
OL2000 (IMO) How to Clean Up Duplicate References to the Same .pst File
OL2002 Cannot Delete Duplicate Personal Folder.