Cannot start Microsoft Office Outlook, unable to open the Outlook window? Outlook stuck on the “Load Profile” window? This can happen when your Outlook profile or Outlook data files have become corrupted or damaged. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to fix these issues by making a copy of Outlook profile.

Tips: If Outlook cannot start because your Outlook PST file is corrupt, you can check this how to repair PST article . If Outlook prompts you to enter PST password but you’ve forgotten it, you can recover PST password with this method: Recover Forgotten Password for Outlook Data File (.PST).

How to Fix “Cannot Start / Open Microsoft Outlook”?

1. Open the Control Panel and set the View by option to Large icons. Click Mail (32-bit).

   

2. This will open the Mail Setup window. Click the Show Profiles button.

   

3. You should see the default profile called Outlook. Highlight it in the list and click Copy. (If you are told to make a new profile because your profile is corrupt, click the Add button to proceed).

   

4. Type a name for the new profile and click OK.

   

5. Under the option of “When starting Microsoft Office Outlook, use this profile“, choose the first option (or select the new profile from the drop-down list and make Outlook automatically open that profile). Click Apply and then OK.

   

6. Now restart Outlook application. When prompted for a profile to be used, choose your new profile and click OK.

   

   Outlook will start with all your email, contacts and other data intact.

A Outlook profile is made up of email accounts, PST data files, contacts, calendars and preferences. If making a copy of your existing Outlook profile doesn’t fix your problem, you might need to create a new profile and set up your email accounts from scratch.