Steps to Fix “Microsoft Outlook Has Encountered A Problem and Needs to Close”

Microsoft Outlook is being used by many business and naive users worldwide. But many times they meet with various errors. “Microsoft Outlook has encountered a problem and needs to close” is one such error that is frequently faced by many users.

Due to this error, users can’t access their Outlook data items including emails, contacts, calendars, tasks, journals, etc. This blog will resolve all these problems by providing an efficient solution to fix this issue.

But before we proceed, let’s know the reasons for getting this “Outlook has encountered a problem and needs to close.

Do You Know Why Outlook Encountered this Problem?

We have listed some of the reasons that may lead to the Microsoft Outlook has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience” error.

1. Inappropriate Outlook plugin.
2. Installing incompatible driver software.
3. Incomplete Outlook configurations settings.
4. An attachments containing virus or suspicious mail.
5. Oversized or corrupt PST file

After knowing the causes, we should learn different ways to mitigate it.

How to fix the Microsoft Outlook Has Encountered a Problem And Needs to Close?

Well, here are a few simple tips and tricks to resolve this “Microsoft Office Outlook has encountered a problem and needs to close” error in Outlook 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, 2003 versions.

Trick 1. Disable Outlook in Compatibility Mode

There is a high possibility that you have configured the Outlook in ‘Windows Compatibility mode’, but your OS is running in the older version.

To disable the compatibility mode in Outlook, execute the steps mentioned below:

1. Search ‘outlook.exe’ file on your system.
2. Right-click the ‘outlook.exe’ program.
3. Select the ‘Outlook Properties’.
4. In the ‘Properties’ dialog box, go to the ‘Compatibility’ tab.
5. Check ‘Run this program in compatibility mode for’ checkbox is checked or not.
6. If yes, it signifies that Outlook is configured in ‘compatibility’ mode. Then, uncheck it.

If Outlook is not in ‘compatibility’ mode or disabling compatibility mode doesn’t fix the issue. Then jump to the next methods.

Trick 2. Run Outlook in ‘Safe Mode’ & disable Add-ins

Running Outlook application in safe mode helps users to determine whether add-ins are responsible for the error or not. If Outlook starts normally in Safe Mode and doesn’t pop-up the error, it means add-ins are responsible for the error.

Follow the below-mentioned steps to remove or disable the Outlook add-ins.

1. Click ‘Start’ and search “outlook.exe /”
2. Double click the program to open Outlook in Safe Mode
3. If Outlook opens normally, click File >> Options >> Add-ins >> Go button.
4. Then remove all the external add-ins from the new popup dialog box that appears on the screen.

Important Note – Do not remove Microsoft add-ins

Now, restart the Outlook application to check whether the issue is resolved or not. And if it is not gone then try another way.

Trick 3: Create a new Outlook Profile

Another reason for getting “Microsoft Office Outlook has encountered a problem and needs to close” is due to damaged Outlook profile. Therefore, it is required to create a new profile in the Outlook account. Follow the steps to do the same:

1. Go to Control Panel > Mail.
2. Now, click on the ‘Show Profiles’ button
3. In the next dialog box that appears, click ‘Add’, give a name to the profile, and click the ‘OK’ button.
4. Fill in the relevant details of the email account.
5. Go back to the ‘Mail’ dialog box, change the default opened Outlook profile.
6. Click the OK button.
7. Once completion, restart Outlook to check if you were able to fix the error.

Trick 4: Repair Corrupt Outlook PST File

As we have mentioned earlier, corrupt PST file can lead to many Outlook errors. To fix this “Microsoft Office Outlook has encountered a problem and needs to close” caused due to damaged Outlook PST file. Follow the steps to repair to corrupt file:

1. First of all, locate the Inbox Repair Tool.
2. Double-click on SCANPST.EXE to open the program.
3. Browse the PST files that are corrupted.
4. Click on “Start” button to identify the PST file errors.
5. Next, click on the “Repair” button to start the repairing process.

Limitations of Inbox Repair Tool

1. Scanpst.exe can only recover files with size up to 2 GB.
2. Possibility of data loss if any step is skipped by the user.
3. Repairing the severe file is beyond the capacity of Inbox repair tool

Alternative of SCANPST.EXE to Repair Severe Corrupt File

If you can not repair the file with the above solution then you have to use this advanced Outlook recovery software. The tool is specifically designed to repair several files at one go. The tool is equipped with multiple features to recovers all mailbox data including emails, attachments, contacts, calendars, tasks, journals, notes, etc. in a new file. Apart from this, it provides an option to restore recovered data in PST, PDF, EML, MSG, and HTML files.

Bringing It All Together

In this blog, we have explained the reason for getting ‘Microsoft Outlook has encountered a problem and needs to close’ issue in Outlook. We have mentioned the different techniques to resolve this issue. You can try any of the above-mentioned methods depending on the cause. However, if you found that error is caused by corrupt PST file, then you have to fix the corruption of PST file.