1. Close Outlook.
  2. Launch Outlook in safe mode by choosing one of the following options.
    • In Windows 10, choose Start, type Outlook.exe /safe, and press Enter.
    • In Windows 7, choose Start, and in the Search programs and files box, type Outlook /safe, and then press Enter.
    • In Windows 8, on the Apps menu, choose Run, type Outlook /safe, and then choose OK.
  3. Close Outlook, and then open it normally.

If Outlook isn't stuck at a screen that says 'Processing,' or this didn't resolve your issue, continue to the steps below. If those steps don't work, see Need additional help? at the end of this article.

Step 1: Is there a dialog box open?

Some things you do in Outlook ask for confirmation. For example, the first time you try to Dismiss All on a list of reminders, Outlook asks you if you're sure you want to do that. If you don't choose an option on that dialog box, Outlook won't let you do anything else. Check for open dialog boxes. Pressing Alt+Tab will help you switch from window to window and help you see what dialog boxes might be stopping Outlook from responding.

If you can't find a dialog box open, move on to the next step.

Step 2: Make sure Outlook isn't working on a large or long process

If you try to delete or move a large number of messages at once, Outlook can appear to hang, but really, it's working behind the scenes. Check the status bar at the bottom of the screen. If Outlook is performing some operation on hundreds or thousands of messages at once, it might appear to be stuck. Give Outlook a few minutes to finish the process and it should start to work again.

If Outlook isn't working on a large or long process, move on to the next step.

Step 3: Install the latest Windows and Office updates

Outlook works best when it's up to date. We recommend setting Windows Update to automatically download and install recommended updates. Bug fixes, new features, and performance enhancements are released regularly.

If installing the latest updates didn't resolve your issue, move on to the next step.

Step 4: Repair your Office programs

Repairing your Office programs can resolve issues with Outlook not responding, hanging, or freezing. Errors in Office files are repaired automatically.

  1. Quit any Office programs that are running.
  2. In Control Panel, choose Programs and Features.
  3. In the list of installed programs, right-click Microsoft Office 2016 or Microsoft Office 2013, and then choose Change.

If repairing your Office programs didn't resolve your issue, move on to the next step.

Step 5: Repair your Outlook data files

When you install Office, an Inbox Repair Tool (SCANSPST.EXE) is also installed on your PC. The Inbox Repair Tool can resolve issues by scanning your Outlook data files and repairing errors.

If repairing your Outlook data files didn't resolve your issue, move on to the next step.

Step 6: Create a new user profile

Your profile stores a variety of settings that control how Outlook looks and feels. You can create a new profile and then add your email accounts to the new profile.

  1. Close Outlook.
  2. Choose one of the following:
  3. Choose Add, and in the Profile Name box, type a profile name, and then choose OK.
  4. Enter an email address and a password for the primary email account you use in Outlook and then walk through the steps to create the profile.
  5. Once the profile is created, on the Show Profiles dialog, choose Prompt for a profile to be used.
  6. Start Outlook and choose your new profile.

If creating a new profile solves your issue, you can return to the Show Profiles dialog and delete your old profile.

Need additional help?

Outlook Won't Open Loading Profile

If you're having issues with Outlook as part of an Office 365 for business subscription, we can diagnose and fix several common Outlook problems issues for you. If our automated tool can't fix your issue, you aren't using Office 365 for business, or you'd like to talk to support, you can contact the Answer Desk.

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Emails stuck in your outbox?

A common complaint of Outlook users is that their email send process takes too long, “hangs,” or traps messages in the outbox. Has that ever happened to you? We collected some troubleshooting instructions that should help you get your messages traveling smoothly again. These steps apply to Outlook 2013 and Outlook 2016.

First step: try re-sending

Go to the Send/Receive tab and click Send All. You’ll see a dialog box showing the results of the process, and your email might exit the outbox. If that doesn’t work, move on to the following steps.

1. Make sure Outlook is online.

In your status bar at the bottom of your Outlook message, you’ll see a status of “Disconnected” or “Trying to Connect” that could explain why your messages aren’t sending. If your mail is hosted on an on-premise Exchange server, it’s possible that the local server is down–you may want to check with your admin. If you use Office 365, check your internet connection, wait a few minutes to make sure it’s not a momentary O365 outage, and try again.

2. Check your mail settings.

Are you sure your mail is supposed to send immediately? If you’ve set a rule to delay message sending, you will see your mail in the outbox for awhile.

3. Is your message being slowed down by a large attachment?

Depending on the speed of your internet service provider, if you’ve attached a large file to your email message, you may see it sitting in the outbox because it’s simply taking awhile to send, and it may be blocking all subsequent emails from sending. (You can counteract this by using OneDrive for Business to collaborate on large files instead.)

4. Use the correct password.

If you recently changed your password, you’ll have to make sure Outlook “knows” the correct password. From the File tab, select Account Settings and Account Settings again. Select your account and click Change. Under Logon Information, in the Password box, type your new password.

5. Re-send directly from the outbox.

If your Outlook settings are configured a certain way, you won’t be able to send emails if you’ve opened or clicked on them after you’ve clicked send, i.e. if you’ve marked them as read from the outbox. If this is the case for you, open your email from the outbox, browse to a new folder so you won’t automatically re-mark it as read, and click Send on the stuck email.
Did these tips work for you? Let us know if you have any other solutions for those pesky stuck emails.