Outlook 2010: Cannot start!, please help me!

[hiencn]

Dear Sir/Madam,

I'm Hien from TECOTEC., JSC - Vietnam.

I have a problem with my Outlook, please help me!

When I try to open Microsoft Outlook, following error appear: "cannot start microsoft office outlook. cannot open the outlook window. the set of folders cannot be opened. Errors have been detected in the file...".

I have tried to run "SCANPST.EXE" to scan file "Outlook.pst" in my data folder (please see attached file "SCAN PST file.jpg").

After scanning, I tried to repair it, however is cannot be finished (please see attached file "error 2.jpg").

My data folder is about 4GB.

Can you consider and advise me how to solve this problem?

Thanks,

Hien

 

[Diane Poremsky]

You need at least 2x as much free space on the hard drive compared to the data file size. If the data file is 4 GB, you need more than 8 GB free.

Empty the temp folder - type or paste %temp% in the address bar of windows explorer and press enter to open it. If you haven't emptied it yourself, that alone can free up a lot of space.

There is also a temp folder at C:\Windows\Temp - clean it out too.

In the same folder path as %temp% is one called CrashDumps - click on local in the Windows Explorer Address bar to see it - delete all the dumps. It probably won't free up a lot of space, but every little bit helps and you don't need those dumps.

If you still need a little space, log files under C:\Windows\Logs\ can be deleted. Depending on your setup, you may have a lot of files, or very few.

Are you using Windows 7/8/Vista? Type shell:cache in the address bar of windows explorer and press enter. Delete files in Content.Outlook... can delete all the folders if you want or go through and delete the contents. The apps that created them will recreate.

I use Shift+Delete when I'm cleaning these folders up - skip any file/folder that windows won't delete. And don't forget to empty the Recycle bin too.

If you are still short of space, turning off system restore can free up some space - remember to turn it back on. Just turning it off (to clear old restore points) then back on might free up enough space.

 

[hiencn]

You need at least 2x as much free space on the hard drive compared to the data file size. If the data file is 4 GB, you need more than 8 GB free.

Empty the temp folder - type or paste %temp% in the address bar of windows explorer and press enter to open it. If you haven't emptied it yourself, that alone can free up a lot of space.

There is also a temp folder at C:\Windows\Temp - clean it out too.

In the same folder path as %temp% is one called CrashDumps - click on local in the Windows Explorer Address bar to see it - delete all the dumps. It probably won't free up a lot of space, but every little bit helps and you don't need those dumps.

If you still need a little space, log files under C:\Windows\Logs\ can be deleted. Depending on your setup, you may have a lot of files, or very few.

Are you using Windows 7/8/Vista? Type shell:cache in the address bar of windows explorer and press enter. Delete files in Content.Outlook... can delete all the folders if you want or go through and delete the contents. The apps that created them will recreate.

I use Shift+Delete when I'm cleaning these folders up - skip any file/folder that windows won't delete. And don't forget to empty the Recycle bin too.

If you are still short of space, turning off system restore can free up some space - remember to turn it back on. Just turning it off (to clear old restore points) then back on might free up enough space.

Thanks for your prompt reply.

My data in the drive D, the free space is 30GB.

I'm using Windows 7 Home Edition. I've tried all step follow your instruction, however still same problem.

Please advise!

 

[Diane Poremsky]

That usually means the pst is really corrupt and possibly beyond repair. See How to repair a damaged Outlook Personal Folders file (pst) - Slipstick Systems for steps to try and repair it.