How To Start Microsoft Outlook In Safe Mode

How often have you encountered problems while using Microsoft Outlook? If you cannot start Outlook in the normal mode, it is advised to start Outlook in Safe Mode.

You can also use the /safe switch to start Outlook in Safe Mode. When you launch Outlook in Safe Mode, it skips many of the customization files and add-ins that automatically loads when you start Outlook normally. If you are able to launch Outlook in Safe Mode, it means that the problem is with one of your add-ins or customization files.

Below mentioned are some of the ways in which you can start Outlook using a command line switch.

Instructions

• As you click on the Outlook shortcut, hold the Ctrl key on your computer keyboard.

• Go to the Start menu and type outlook.exe /safe in the Start Search field and press the Enter key (on Windows Vista or Windows 7).

• If you are using Windows 8 computer, press the Windows key to drop back to the Start screen, and type outlook.exe /safe.

• If you are using other versions of Windows, you can click on Run from the Start menu and type outlook.exe /safe into the Open text field. Then click the OK button or press the Enter key.

Usually you will be required to type just outlook.exe in order to launch the Outlook application. But if you have difficulty in locating the Outlook application, you might need to use the full path to Outlook. The default location for Outlook is usually C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OfficeXX, where XX indicates your MS Office version number.

You can either browse to this location or look on the Quick Launch shortcut for the file path. You can do this by right clicking on the Outlook shortcut on Quick Launch toolbar and choosing Properties. The default switch is /recycle, which you can replace with /safe. Now press Apply and then double-click on the shortcut to run it. After Outlook opens, replace Safe with Recycle and click the OK button.

Different ways to launch Outlook in Safe mode.

/safe

Starts Outlook without extensions, Reading Pane, or toolbar customization. Works with all versions.

/safe:1

Starts Outlook with the Reading Pane off. Applies to Outlook 2003/2007 only.

/safe:2

Starts Outlook without checking mail at startup. Applies to Outlook 2003/2007 only.

/safe:3

Starts Outlook with extensions turned off, but listed in the Add-In Manager. Applies to Outlook 2003/2007.

/safe:4

Starts Outlook without loading Outcmd.dat (customized toolbars) and *.fav file. Applies to Outlook 2003/2007.

If you get the error message Cannot Start Outlook, go ahead and try this method. For any further assistance, you can access the Microsoft tech support services.