Outlook 2007 often doesn’t close the data file properly
I live in Outlook 2007 all the time as it’s the hub for my communications with clients and friends. It is the one tool that keeps me informed, on time and in touch with my colleagues and I love the way it works most of the time. One thing that has bugged me for a very long time is why Outlook 2007 often fails to close its data file properly when you close the program:
I find that it does this on every computer I use and there’s a 50/50 chance when I close Outlook that I’ll see this message the next time I run it. It doesn’t really hurt anything other than cause the disk to read a bit as it "checks" the data file but it’s annoying that properly closing the program still doesn’t close the data file consistently. At least that’s what I have to assume since that’s what it tells me. What’s up with that?
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I use Outlook 2003 on Vista and XP machines, and have never (ever) seen that warning in the last 5 years.
I use Outlook 2003 on Vista and XP machines, and have never (ever) seen that warning in the last 5 years.
Like you, I live in Outlook 2007 and I’ve never seen that message. However, I connect to a remote Exchange Server via HTTP/RPC so maybe it’s the difference between using a .ost file and a .pst file.
James, I have been using my job-hunt gmail account with Outlook 2007 for about a month now, and I have noticed this behavior as well. And ilke you, while I have yet to notice any data losses or corruption, I still find it annoying.
Woadan
I have had the same error for ages – and like some of you I use cached-mode Exchange Server over RPC/HTTPS so it’s not only a PST problem.
I’ve blogged about this a couple of months ago – it could be some poorly designed add-in such as Avast and Xobni.
Yes, they are related to the problem and Outlook is to be blamed for allowing such poor performance from add-ins.
http://www.geekzone.co.nz/freitasm/4720
i have Outlook 2007 on a multitude of machines & have never seen that message. the fact you see it often & on all your machines indicates it’s definitely something specific with whatever youre doing. check for common Outlook environmental variables across all your machines (i.e. problematic email, attachment, etc).
I have similar problems and find that often Outlook never closes down at all. Recently I formatted and reinstalled everything on my P1610 with XP and decided to install as few Outlook add-ins as possible and then saved that image with Acronis True Image. I am cautious to ensure Outlook has indeed closed whenever I am prompted to reboot. I use Jenson’s Knockout to let me know.
In the last 2 months following the above actions, Outlook and in fact, my entire computer experience, has run much more reliably. It has affected my reboot and resume from standby speeds considerably – to the point that I have put off selling the P1610 and buying a P1620 with a SSD.
Before I used the following Outlook addins:
-Netcentrics GTD
-Text Aloud
-Fedex manager
-Xobni
-Mind Manager 6
-Send to OneNote
-Send to Evernote
-Enterprise Vault
-TEO
Now, I only install the following:
-Enterprise Vault (used by my company)
-TEO (I am a 95% slate user)
-Send to OneNote
-Text Aloud (to have emails read to me while I am driving)
Steve
I use Outlook 07 with an exchange account as well but the only time I have seen that error is when my machine shuts off unexpectedly and Outlook is not closed properly.
Make sure, you dont shut off/hibernate/standby immediately after closing Outlook. My experience is, that after closing Outlook, there is still some process running in the background, for a few seconds (minutes?) that does some datafile maintenance. Look at “Outlook.exe” in taskmanager after closing Outlook it stays ther for some time.
I get this error since i installed a Windows Vista Ultimate and Outlook 2007 (both are German versions) and i’m connecting to my servers via pop. I have installed all available updates and i am not using any third party addins. Allthough i get this message i have never had trouble with my .pst file. It would be nice to know a fix for this as the check of the data file slows down my pc (but fortunately just a bit).
I get this error often using OL 2007 and Vista. I always cringe a bit praying everything will come up OK. It always has.
I was wondering if it had something to do with my tasks or hyperlinks tied to OneNote 2007. I notice sometimes when I open OneNote 2007 before even opening OL 2007 it asks me to log in to profile and password of OL.
When shutting down I wonder if it best to close OneNote first then Outlook or the other way around.
So my thoughts have been, maybe it’s the integration of OneNote and Outlook.
As one person has already mentioned, I think it’s because the OUTLOOK process doesn’t always close itself when you exit OUTLOOK. So if you shut your machine down too quickly, this will happen. I often go in and kill the OUTLOOK process manually – I do this because I have Carbonite which will only back up the .pst file when OUTLOOK is not running.
I use an Exchange Server so mine is an .OST file and should be shut down properly.
“If there’s a single thing that annoys me a lot on Microsoft Outlook is this “A data file did not close properly the last time it was used and is being checked for problems. Performance might be affected while the check is in progress” message.
Yes, it sure slows down everything, no kidding. It’s worst when it happens on a Saturday evening.
I found this before and fixed it by disabling the Avast Exchange server add-in. Now I am using Xobni and it’s happening again.
Is it possible to have any Microsoft Outlook add-in installed that do not crash Microsoft Outlook?”
Pasted from
I run into this all the time with large mailboxes at work.
Be wary of plugins and keep your Inbox and Sent Items folders under 500 items (use folders) and you will almost never have this problem.
Do you use Google Desktop? I had this same behaviour. Uninstalling Google Desktop fixed it. For more details see here:
http://groups.google.com/group/Google-Desktop_Something-Broken/browse_thread/thread/fe0b62597a61fd09/c5be34f2df488a75
To help me be aware if any Outlook plugin is causingn this behaviour, I use a free utility called Knockout It puts an icon in your taskbar that shows you when the Outlook process is still running, even though you have “closed”
it. So you can use it to wait for the process to close before you shut down your computer, &
thus avoid the data file issue when you start Outlook after a reboot.
If you wait & the Outlook process doesn’t end, then Knockout also lets you terminate it directly from the taskbar, without having to open Task Manager.
For more details see here:
http://sunflowerhead.com/software/knockout/
You are correct. Google desktop search trashes outlook. I do not know if google has fixed this yet, but that is step one for me when people have outlook problems ost/pst problems if I see that in their add/remove programs.
Been there, living it as I can’t give up the Netcentrics GTD add-in. With it I have the problem 90+% of the time, less so if I’ve rebooted within the past few hours. The problem disappears without the NetCentrics add-in. Xobni hasn’t made a difference for me one way or the other. /S
I also think it’s an addin related issue. There are tons of programs linked to Outlook. Bluetooth add-in, Windows Mobile sync, Google calendar sync, iTunes sync, antivirus, Adobe acrobat,etc.
I run “knockout” to make sure Outlook and Word are actually closed. I believe you or Kevin recommended the program here a while ago.
James,
In my experience, and I’ve seen this error on multiple machines (more than 20 at least), this means you’re Outlook store is hosed. That could be the pst or ost file depending on if you are in Exchange mode. In your case, its your ost. Sometimes the repair process can fix it but usually you’ll just keep getting the error. Luckily you can just blow out your Ost file and when you restart Outlook it’ll rebuild. On a pst I’ve done an export into a new pst and that’s done it as well.
It usually starts with bad Outlook add-ins or machine crashes. I’ve not heard of it from going into hibernate but that doesnt sound surprising.
James: I’m glad you posted this so I know it’s not just me! I agree with Brevi and Laura – I think this relates to shutting down Outlook and then powering off the computer “too quickly.” I’m going to look at Knockout too – thanks to those of you posting that tip.
It doesn’t matter really how fast you shutdown after Outlook has exited (by exited I mean really finished). I have Knockout and I know when OL is not running so I shutdown AFTER this – and the error still happens.
It’s an add-in thing. The only add-in I have is Xobni. But it also happened before with Avast.
So it is an architectural thing really. Bad OL, bad.
I don’t believe this to be add-in related but rather to the size of the pst files.
I have NO add-ins but several large pst files (usually 4-6GB of pst files open) and have experienced this error/issue.
Very annoying.
Ms really needs to fix Outlook (which admittedly is the best program out there).
JK,
This error is caused 90+% of the time by poorly written Outlook add-ins that don’t shutdown properly when you exit Outlook and shutdown the machine.
It is relatively harmless given that your email is stored on Exchange, but a PIA and a hit to productivity.
As a few other users have suggested, I would review your add-ins and remove some you don’t think you need. Earlier versions of Xobni were causing this every time I closed Outlook and I uninstalled it for a while. It seems the more recent versions are much quality and have fixed this issue.
I had the 50/50 problem until I completely removed Google Desktop add-ins and another component of GD under the Trust Center in Outlook. Unfortunately, GD never fully addressed the issue (or MS, whomever is to blame), and so I am forced to use the less helpful Desktop Search.
You have raised very good issue.This problem occurs since you have shut down outlook, the window goes away, but the process continues running for some time doing file system work on your PST files. To avoid this always close your outlook some time before turning of your system.
Mr. Bill Gates, Can Microsoft respond to this nuisance? It is so annoying to see this message almost every day!
I heard about not bad application-pst repair, recover data, such as messages, notes, contacts and other Microsoft Outlook items will be saved to a new pst file (or several *.pst files), reading data from files created in Microsoft Outlook versions 97, 98, 2000, XP, 2002, 2003, 2007, saving recovered data in the format of Microsoft Outlook versions 97, 98, 2000, XP, 2002, 2003, 2007, repair .pst tool copatible with Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT 4.0, recover .ost files of Microsoft Exchange.
I’m using Vista Ultimate with Office 2007 Standard and am having the problem of OUTLOOK.exe still being active in my Task Manager even after closing the program.
My computer is brand new, less than a week old, so my install of Outlook 2007 is fresh and my .pst has just been created. I’m using no add-ons.
Any idea?
Thanks.
I have the same issue — drives me nuts. I’ll go thru all add-ins and delete all the unnecessary ones, and see if that helps.
First of all you must know where your .pst file is and which one you are using when the error occurs. Pretty easy while in Outlook just go to tools–>Accounts. Then click on Data files tab. Usually if you are using the default office it will be somewhere such as:
C:Users…Local SettingsApplication DataMicrosoftOutlookOutlook.pst
Either remeber this location or write it down and then close Outlook.
Do a search on your local drive for scanpst.exe. It is usually found somewhere like:
C:Program FilesMicrosoft OfficeOffice12
run this file. When it starts browse to your .pst file and make sure you click the box to backup your scanned file. Let it run. It will most always find faults espcially if you have large .pst files. Once complete, you should be good to go. If you encounter the error in Outlook again, just run the file again. Worked for me! Hope it helps someone else. Ciao!
Thanks, worked perfectly for me
I’ve done everything mentioned on this and other websites to no avail. I’ve removed add-ins, started from scratch with a new profile and a blank PST file. I’m updated to the hilt and STILL get this problem. I run a data file check on the PST file after the error and it reports no errors in the file. I restart Outlook and it still wants to do a data check. Shouldn’t the repair program set a flag in the file if it’s ok? I’m running Vista Ultimate with Office Professional Plus. This is such a common issue that Microsoft should make it a top priority to fix, but it seems to have been going on since the release of Office 2007.
Responding to May 26 post:
“Outlook 2007 often doesn’t close the data file properly
I live in Outlook 2007 all the time as it’s the hub for my communications with clients and friends. It is the one tool that keeps me informed, on time and in touch with my colleagues and I love the way it works most of the time. One thing that has bugged me for a very long time is why Outlook 2007 often fails to close its data file properly when you close the program.”
I have experienced this problem both with Outlook 2007 and with Word 2007. I run Office 2007 on a Dell with Vista Home Premium. If I have multiple Word docs open, each can close without problem until I try to close the last open file. About half the time, Word shows with a similar error message. I can cancel out the two messages but it is annoying.
Deleting Fedex/Kinkos printer driver/Outlook addin (Jupiter.outlookconnect) seemed to have solved my problem.
So, Microsoft. Given all this wonderful assistance from outside intelligences, what is the answer please according to you?????
For this business i usually use next utility-Recovery Toolbox for Outlook,also as how as i remember tool has free status,it restore all your contacts, emails, meetings and tasks are typically stored on server,permit to open *.ost files and convert them into *.pst files, that can be opened by any program, compatible with Microsoft Outlook email client,allows opening ost files and to store your personal data independently from Microsoft Exchange Server, it is very important, if you’d like to access your contacts and email archive from outside of your company,can extract the files in *.vcf, *.eml and *.txt formats.
Check your addins. The most likely culprit is Google Desktop Outlook Bar.
Go to Tools – Trust Centre – Add-ins. At the bottom, find a drop-down : Manage – COM Add Ins. select Go…
From the list, uncheck Google Desktop Outlook Bar. Select OK.
It should be clean to shut down now.
Just a badly written add-in. This usually fixes it.
Tried shutting down the Google toolbar as well as the rest. Did not help
Removing iTunes Outlook addin fixed this for me.
I’m running Outlook 2007 on Vista Ultimate with a PST (pop3 to ISP).
I am plagued by the issue as well, and it kills performance while the excruciatingly long check occurs.If Apple has not already done so, they need to work on something to replace Outlook, and then the business world needs to step back and take a serious look at a new direction with Apple. The best way to describe Microsoft is this: Sloppy, flawed software, that in THEORY is a “perfect solution”. Great ideas, that just never execute properly. Plagued by malware, viruses, trojans, and all sorts of inherent weaknesses, Microsoft Software is just awful to use. I love my Macbook, and I just wish more knew the joy of having a computer that just “works” (Apple). That dream is a long way off though.
Outlook Fix!! I have the same issue, and I found that if you disable Outlook from “empty the deleted items folder on exit”, your problem will go away.!!
Hope this helps someone!
scarb
my emails lost while import emails back in ms outlook 2007 it not shown emails of my two moths after 8-10-2009 but it shown your outlook not closed properly it is my most importnat emails please help me to retrieve my emails cna any body help me
This seems to be an annoying problem. My Outlook 2007 has run fine until my computer crashed about a month ago. I had the HDD reformatted and now i get that message that is plaguing many. i have tried all of the above and more but nothing changes.