After updating Office, you may experience a brief flashing window every hour, which triggers the OfficeBackgroundHandlerRegistration task to start running. In this case, sign in to the Microsoft 365 portal by using your administrator credentials, and then select service health to determine whether other customers are experiencing the same issue. If other customers are experiencing the issue, the issue should end when the service-interrupting event is resolved. If you’d like to share any feedback about this article, please let us know.

If it does, the problem is definitely in your antivirus software. In this case, you can either contact its vendor for assistance or simply choose another protection program. When you install Outlook, an Inbox repair tool (scanpst.exe) is also installed on your PC. The Inbox repair tool can resolve problems by scanning your Outlook data files, and repairing errors. To use the Inbox repair tool, exit Outlook, and then follow the steps in Repair Outlook Data Files (.pst and .ost). As your mailbox size increases, more resources are required to open each folder.

If you are using Gmail or Google Workspace as well as the Outlook calendar, it would be nice to have them populated with the same information. Here is how to make sure your Outlook is showing the same information as your Google Calendar. Naturally it is incredibly stressful when Outlook’s ways to fix Outlook data file errors calendar doesn’t populate when you need it to. It makes your schedule confusing, and you may even miss out on some important events. It might be that antivirus software is trying to block a function that is repeatedly trying to squeeze through the firewall. Those are the most common ways to get back on track when the Outlook search is not working on Windows.

Our 9 working solutions will help you fix ways to fix Outlook data file errors the “Outlook Not Responding” issue and bring your Outlook back to life. The solutions work for Outlook 365, 2021, 2019, 2016, 2013, and earlier versions. If installing the latest updates didn’t resolve your issue, move on to the next step. If you try to delete or move a large number of messages at once, Outlook can appear to freeze, but really, it’s working behind the scenes. If Outlook is performing some operation on hundreds or thousands of messages at once, it might appear to be stuck.

Sometimes, Outlook might not work if other Office-related processes are still running. You can end all office-related processes in task manager to ensure a fresh start. Begin by creating a brand-new profile for Outlook and set it up with a POP email account. If it opens successfully, the problem isn’t with Outlook but with the PST file from your previous account, which can be damaged. You must have at least three user accounts on the computer to complete these steps. If your antivirus software isn’t up-to-date, Outlook may not function correctly.

Although the repair process might recreate some of the folders, they may be empty. The Lost and Found folder contains any folders and items recovered by the repair tool that Outlook can’t place in their original structure. If your Outlook data file is damaged, you’ll need this tool. It’s built into Outlook and helps repair PST and OST files. Many users report common Outlook problems on Microsoft forums and support platforms. In this guide, we’ll walk you through practical, do-it-yourself solutions to troubleshoot and fix these issues so you can get back to work without delays.

If that doesn’t work, try using the Inbox Repair Tool or creating a new profile. And if nothing else helps, there are great tools out there that can recover everything for you. Take it one step at a time, and you’ll have Outlook working again soon. Our goal is to give you the answers to fix the most common issues Outlook users face. Bookmark this page so that whenever you come across an error like your Outlook calendar not syncing, or a corrupted file, you’ll have a place to start troubleshooting.

Problems with the device, connection to power, network issues, viruses or malware, oversized files, and improper shutdowns all cause the PST file to act up. But little tools that add extra features to Outlook can be the reasons for Outlook corruption. Microsoft has its own tool for automatically scanning and correcting Office when things go awry.

As @ode2joy ​ said, clearing out the user’s profile usually works, which is a more thorough procedure than just deleting .nst and .ost files. When something goes wrong with Outlook, Microsoft ways to fix Outlook data file errors recommends that we start it in Safe mode. Simply that Outlook will be loaded without your add-ins and customization files. Originally, the freezing would only occur when I actually tried to do something. So, if I tried to open a message, search my inbox, write a new email, go to the calendar, etc., it would freeze up for about 5-10 seconds at a time. The freezing never seemed to occur when I had Outlook open but was not using it.

After reinstalling, now it freezes constantly, even when not in use. Roughly every 5 seconds, the window freezes, grays out, and gives a “not responding” message--just as before. But it happens constantly without me even doing anything in Outlook now.