Outlook 2016 on Windows 10 Running Slow

Raza Ali Kazmi Sorcim Articles, Windows

Microsoft’s personal information manager and email client, Office Outlook 2016, comes with improved features and offers excellent functionality to help you manage all kinds of online email related tasks easily.

This standalone application, which is known as the jewel of Microsoft Office suite, tends to slow down incredibly after a period of time. Here are a few tricks that will help you freshen it up and bring it back to its excellent speed levels. Before you proceed to the manual steps, consider improving Outlook’s speed the automatic way. For this, you need to have ST Cleaner. It will clean up Outlook and system junk, optimize PC You can download it here:

Outlook Slow? Download ST Cleaner

Download secured by Verisign

 

Update Windows

Updates and patches fix memory leaks and other performance problems. Here are the steps to update Windows:

  1. Press Windows Key.
  2. Click Settings icon.
  3. Click Update & Security | Windows Update tab.
  4. Click Check for Updates.

 

Repair Office Outlook Installation

Microsoft Office repair program checks for known issues with the software and attempts to fix them.

  1. Press Windows Key + X.
  2. Select Programs and Features.
  3. Scroll down the list of installed programs.
  4. Right-click Microsoft Office and select Repair.
  5. It opens up a prompt box. Confirm the action.

 

Reinstall Outlook

Some important program files or components might have gone missing somehow, and the best way to fix the problem is to reinstall Microsoft Office 2016.

  1. Refer to steps # 1-3 under the Repair Office Outlook Installation section.
  2. Right-click Microsoft Office.
  3. Select Uninstall option.
  4. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the uninstallation.

 

Open Outlook in Safe Mode

Safe Mode is a very handy feature that limits the operational functionality by turning off incompatible program components. Using the Run command, launch Microsoft Outlook 2016 in Safe Mode.

  1. Press Windows Key + R.
  2. Type outlook.exe /safe.
  3. Click OK.

 

Disable External Add-Ins

Add–Ins are externally installed features that improve Outlook’s functionality to a great extent. Although Outlook is packed with incredible features, users can add more functionality with the use of Microsoft as well as third-party Add–Ins. However, some third-party stuff might also contribute to slowing down Outlook. You can easily remove all such problematic Add–Ins.

  1. Open Microsoft Office Outlook.
  2. Click the File menu.
  3. Select Options.
  4. Click the Add–Ins tab in the new dialog that opens.
  5. On the lower corner of the screen, click Go.
  6. Uncheck all the currently installed Add–Ins.
  7. Close the dialog box.

 

Change Custom Behavioural Settings

Change settings related to your account, unread folders and behavioral settings.

  1. Open Microsoft Office Outlook 2016.
  2. Click the Send/ Receive tab on the Ribbon interface.
  3. Under the Send/ Receive category, click the Define Send / Receive Groups icon.
  4. You will get a new dialog for editing relevant settings.
  5. Click All Accounts, and then click Edit.
  6. Uncheck the Get folder unread count for subscribed folders box.
  7. Choose to specify a custom behavior.
  8. Select the Inbox and any other folders that receive new mail option under the Folder Options category.
  9. Click OK, and then Close.

 

Delete Corrupt PST Files

You’ve likely heard of PST file types which represent personal data stored by the user while using Outlook email client. These proprietary files are stored in the application data directory. You can delete these files to get rid of some of the extra weight on Outlook.

  1. Quit Microsoft Office Outlook 2016.
  2. Double-click This PC icon on the Desktop.
  3. Click View, and then select the Hidden items checkbox.
  4. Open the following directory:
    C:\Users\%userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook
  5. In the Search Box on the upper-right corner, type .pst.
  6. All PST files will now be displayed on your screen.
  7. Move all PST files to a new folder.

 

Repair Outlook Profile

An Outlook Profile is made up of your email account settings, configurations, data files that are stored on the local machine etc. When the profile, which is created during the account setup process gets corrupted, you will experience lagging and freezing issues. Exit Microsoft Office Outlook before you launch the profile repair process.

  1. Open the Control Panel by pressing Windows Key + X and then selecting the Control Panel option.
  2. In the View by drop-down box on the upper-right corner, select Large icons.
  3. Click the Mail icon.
  4. Click Email Accounts. This will open up a new dialog named Account Settings.
  5. Click the Email tab.
  6. Select your current email account, and then click Repair.
  7. Follow the on-screen instructions.
  8. After finishing up, click the Finish button.