Common Problems and their Solutions

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The information contained in this section will help you solve problems with Outlook. While some of the problems are related to bugs (which may or may not get fixed), many of the problems are just how Outlook was designed, which doesn't necessarily fit with how we want to use it. Other problems are caused by the interaction between Outlook and other programs or Outlook add-ins.

Newest articles and recent updates are listed here. For a complete list of all articles, please visit the Problems Index

Icon is not correct on the Junk Mail Folder

By Diane Poremsky February 14, 2012

The red crossed circle has disappeared from the Junk Mail folder. I tried starting Outlook with the folder reset switch, but no luck. The icon is still the standard folder icon. As long as the Empty folder commands work, it’s not broken, but to restore the junk folder icon, you’ll need to make a new  

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Common problems that cause email to stay in the Outbox

By Diane Poremsky August 4, 2011

There are a number of reports from users that Microsoft Outlook won’t send mail. In most cases, they are using Outlook 2003, but Outlook 2002 is affected in some cases. Before you can fix the problem, you need to identify the cause. If you don’t see a message in your outbox but Outlook is trying  

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Outlook Sync Client Error

By Diane Poremsky August 3, 2011

We’re seeing users complain about an error message popping up on the computer screen. The error dialog doesn’t contain much information about the program or the cause. Others receive an error “OutlookSyncClient has stopped working.” The Outlook Sync Client is used to sync iPhone, iPod and iTouch with Outlook. This error generally means there is  

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Disable “Always ask before opening” Dialog

By Diane Poremsky August 4, 2011

We're hearing from many users who switched to Windows 7: now Outlook always prompts for permission to open attachments and the checkbox for "Always ask before opening this type of file" is grayed out. This is due to User Access Control (UAC) restrictions in Windows. There are two ways you can address this: Run Outlook  

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Error: Serious error while processing CREATE (MsLimitNumFolders (74/76))

By Diane Poremsky January 13, 2012

You receive this error message when you attempt to create new folders in your mailbox: “Cannot create the folder. The server responded: Serious error while processing CREATE (MsLimitNumFolders (74/76))” As the error message reads, you have hit the server limit for creating new folders. This is a limitation of some IMAP servers. Most of the  

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Messages are Double Spaced for the Recipient

By Diane Poremsky August 3, 2011

A frequent question in Outlook forums asks how to fix Outlook so that messages aren't double spaced for the recipient. This effect is caused by the HTML coding and is most frequent for recipients using a web-based email client, such as GMail. This is because of the way Outlook creates line breaks in HTML and  

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3 Ways to Run PST Recovery (and a Better Alternative)

By Slipstick December 7, 2011

Why do organizations need to run a PST recovery? Is it because users love to save so much email that their PST files exceed all reasonable storage limits and then blow up – putting hundreds or thousands of business critical emails at risk? Or is it because they try to store these enormous PSTs on  

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After Viewing the Outbox, Messages in it Won’t Send

By Diane Poremsky August 3, 2011

If you click on the Outbox while messages are waiting to be sent, the messages are marked as read and won’t send. This is caused by a Net framework add-in you have installed that ‘reads’ Outlook items, including the Send to OneNote from Outlook PowerToy add-in and BCM (Business Contact Manager). A list of other  

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Outlook Error: General failure. The system cannot find file specified.

By Diane Poremsky October 10, 2011

When you click on a link in an Outlook email, you may receive the following error message: General failure. The URL was: “http://www.some-web-address.com” The system cannot find the file specified. This really isn’t an Outlook error, it’s a browser error, but most users will discover it when they click on a link in an Outlook  

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Say No! to Compatibility Mode

By Diane Poremsky August 4, 2011

Enabling Compatibility mode in Windows 7 will cause problems in Outlook, including operation error messages and problems creating accounts or new data files. Tutorial shows how to check compatibility settings.

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