Ten Ways to Fix – Cannot start Microsoft outlook. Cannot open the outlook window

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Microsoft Outlook randomly or all the time doesn’t start and gives this error “Cannot start Microsoft outlook. Cannot open the outlook window. The set of folders cannot be opened. The information store could not be opened.” Happens mostly when the user login into the PC after a restart. Reinstalling the outlook will not solve the issue and not even resetting the navpane via this command outlook.exe /resetnavpane. There can be many solutions to this issue depending upon what OS and environment it is being used. Here are some solutions related to this issue:

Fix Cannot start Microsoft outlook. Cannot open the outlook window. The set of folders cannot be opened. The information store could not be opened.

Cannot start Microsoft outlook. Cannot open the outlook window. The set of folders cannot be opened. The information store could not be opened

Solution 1: Close Lync before Starting Outlook

When you log in to Windows, Lync (Skye for Business) automatically starts. Quit the Lync from Start Manager by killing its process and then start Outlook, it should work fine. After opening Outlook, you can open Lync with no issues.

Solution 2: Setting Up Correct Outlook Data file as Default

Ensure that the correct Outlook data file is set as default. Click on Start > Control Panel > Mail > Show Profiles > Properties > Data Files > Select the correct .pst file and click on Set as default. If the correct .pst file is already set as default then try the steps below: Right-click on Outlook (.exe) > Properties > Compatibility > uncheck all the boxes. Locate Outlook.exe in Program Files as it can be different with different Office Versions for the above step like the path for Outlook.exe of Office 365 in Windows 10 is: 
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Office16

Solution 3:  Deleting Corrupt Profile

When opened, click on Mail (Outlook 2016) – It will show you settings of the account, data files, and Profile. Click on ‘Show Profiles‘ Button. You will find your existing profile in the window. Select it and delete it. Its the reason for conflict. Restart outlook.

Solution 4: Fixing The Issue in Mac

  1. Shutdown Outlook.
  2. Sign out of iCloud.
  3. Uninstall iCloud on the PC.
  4. Download (https://www.apple.com/icloud/)  and reinstall the iCloud app.
  5. Reconfigure iCloud and remember to click on the setup Calendars button at the top of the window.
  6. Restart Outlook.

Solution 5: For Older Outlook Versions

Backup anything currently in your profile %appdata%\Microsoft\Outlook folder
  1. Start -> Control Panel -> Mail (32-bit) -> Show Profiles
  2. Select the default profile and click on the “Remove” button.
Older Outlook Versions Start the outlook again and create a new profile, name it however you want. It will ask you for some basic information, your email address and it will figure out the rest if connected to your company’s exchange server.

Solution 6: Fix Corrupt Profile of Outlook 2016

  • Open Outlook in safe mode: Win + R  and type outlook.exe /safe.
  • When the profile is prompted, create a new profile (note this is the last resource and you will lose your former one).
  • Close outlook and modify the registry key to delete the corrupted profile:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\Profiles
  • Delete the corrupted profile.
That’s it, next time Outlook will load using the new one.

Solution 7: Fix Outlook Address Book

this is a legacy folder located here 
C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\Offline Address Books
in a weird-looking folder like \492b5fea-f7bf-4bbd-9504-75882a5126e1. Inside this, you’ll find files ending in .oab e.g., uANRdex.oab etc. In my case for some reason the folder was empty and the files missing. Right-click on the folder and selected “Restore previous version” – somehow they got deleted on this system. There is little help with the old Outlook Address book.  The addresses don’t live in “Contacts” and are only visible if you click the To: CC: or BCC: buttons on an email. See this page for trying to get addresses out of there. To get Outlook to stop referencing it; go to Control panel\Mail\Data files\Address Books (tab). Here “Remove” is not an option, but when I click “Change” it explains how to change to Contacts only.

Solution 8: Repairing Outlook Data File

  1. Open Control Panel -> MAIL -> Email Tab
  2. Choose Profile, then click Repair
  3. If it fails the first time, then hit Retry.
  4. All the tasks should get checkmarks, and then you can close the repair and alert windows.
  5. Open Outlook again. It may give you a few additional messages the first time, but your mail will come up when you click through them.

Solution 9: Disable Compatibility

  1. Find the Outlook.exe file on your computer.
  • For Outlook 2013, you can find this file in C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office 15\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office 15\
  • For Outlook 2010, you can find this file in C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office 14\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office 14\
  1. Right-click the Outlook.exe file, choose Properties, and then choose the Compatibility tab.
  2. If any of the boxes on the Compatibility tab are checked, uncheck them, then click Apply > OK.
  3. Restart Outlook.

Solution 10: Set Default Profile

  1. Go to Mail in Control Panel> (click on) Mail.
2. Add your email account. 3. Then click on “Show Profiles“. 4.  Delete default profile “Outlook” and Select radio button “Promote for a Profile to be Used” (for multiple profiles), then click apply and ok button. or 4. Select your profile “XYZ” and select the Radio button “Always use this profile” (for using a single profile), then click apply and ok. Hopefully following any of the ten solutions I wrote would solve this issue for you.

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