Outlook 2003 won't exit

[Dana]

I have a new Compaq presario PC with XP pro and outlook
2003. The outlook won't close in the background. When I
close the program, the outlook window closed but it is
still running in the process. I have to kill that process
in the task manager to reopen the outlook again.

Any ideas to fix that?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Patricia Cardoza - [MVP Outlook]]

Do you have a PDA that syncs with Outlook?

--
Patricia Cardoza
Outlook MVP
www.cardozasolutions.com

Author, Special Edition Using Microsoft Outlook 2003

***Please post all replies to the newsgroups***

 

[Dana]

No,
All very clean standard applications from the Compaq and
patches are up to the date.

Thanks,

 

[Patricia Cardoza - [MVP Outlook]]

Hmmm, any add-ins loaded?

Try starting Outlook with the /safe switch. From a command prompt, type
outlook.exe /safe

Then use Outlook for a little bit and try shutting it down. See if it shuts
down cleanly then. Post back with your results. If it shuts down cleanly,
it's probably some sort of add-in that's causing the problem.

--
Patricia Cardoza
Outlook MVP
www.cardozasolutions.com

Author, Special Edition Using Microsoft Outlook 2003

***Please post all replies to the newsgroups***

 

[Guest]

No, it didn't work. After the safe mode, still won't
exit. There is a small icon in the system tray in the
right lower coner. won't let you reopen.

Thanks,
Dana

 

[Patricia Cardoza - [MVP Outlook]]

Ok, two more things to try.

1. Delete the files extend.dat and outcmd.dat. They can sometimes get
corrupted. NOTE: These files store views and toolbar customizations so you
might lose some of those if you've customized the layout of your toolbars.

If that doesn't work try:

2. Create a new profile. Sometimes a profile can become damaged for some
unknown reason.

Post back and let me know if either of these fixed the problem. Also, post
what type of mail account (s) you have.

--
Patricia Cardoza
Outlook MVP
www.cardozasolutions.com

Author, Special Edition Using Microsoft Outlook 2003

***Please post all replies to the newsgroups***

 

[Guest]

I tried both, don't work. There are no extend.dat and
outcmd.dat files existing in the hard disk. The outlook
is configured to be the client of exchange 2000 server.

Thanks,
Dana

 

[Dave]

Hi Patricia & Dana,

I am having this same exact problem so I tried the
suggestions that Patricia made.

Unfortunately, they did not make one iota's worth of
difference. Assuming of course, that when I added the new
profile I did it correctly (noone will ever call me an
Outlook guru!)

But, for Dana's sake, I will tell you what I did:
1. Shutdown Outlook
2. Nuked the extend.dat file
3. Had the same problem
4. Looked for the outcmd.dat file - couldn't find one
5. Restarted my machine
6. Nuked extend.dat AGAIN. (Does this get created
every time Outlook starts?)
7. Noted that nuking the extend.dat file did not
have any impact on my Outlook view - perhaps I hadn't
made modifications that would be reflected there
8. Shutdown Outlook; same problem
9. Created new profile only checking the use existing
email account option.
10. Entered the requested information to the best of
my non-system administrator abilities
a. Add email account
b. Selected Microsoft Exchange Server
c. Entered and validated my existing email account
on the server
d. Finished the wizard
11. Set the new profile to be my default profile
12. Restarted Outlook; same problem
13. Restarted my PC
14. Restarted Outlook; same problem

Long-winded, eh?

I am interested in Dana's results, just to see if I may
have made a misstep and if Dana has better luck.

Or, if there are any other suggestions, I'd be glad to try
those too. While this problem isn't all that BIG, it does
get to be a bit annoying after a few months!

Thanks for starting this thread Dana. And thank you
Patricia for your suggestions.

/dave

 

[Dana]

Hi Dave,

Are you using outlook 2003 under XP pro on a Compaq
presario PC?

Dana

-----Original Message-----

Hi Patricia & Dana,

I am having this same exact problem so I tried the
suggestions that Patricia made.

Unfortunately, they did not make one iota's worth of
difference. Assuming of course, that when I added the new
profile I did it correctly (noone will ever call me an
Outlook guru!)

But, for Dana's sake, I will tell you what I did:
1. Shutdown Outlook
2. Nuked the extend.dat file
3. Had the same problem
4. Looked for the outcmd.dat file - couldn't find one
5. Restarted my machine
6. Nuked extend.dat AGAIN. (Does this get created
every time Outlook starts?)
7. Noted that nuking the extend.dat file did not
have any impact on my Outlook view - perhaps I hadn't
made modifications that would be reflected there
8. Shutdown Outlook; same problem
9. Created new profile only checking the use existing
email account option.
10. Entered the requested information to the best of
my non-system administrator abilities
a. Add email account
b. Selected Microsoft Exchange Server
c. Entered and validated my existing email account
on the server
d. Finished the wizard
11. Set the new profile to be my default profile
12. Restarted Outlook; same problem
13. Restarted my PC
14. Restarted Outlook; same problem

Long-winded, eh?

I am interested in Dana's results, just to see if I may
have made a misstep and if Dana has better luck.

Or, if there are any other suggestions, I'd be glad to try
those too. While this problem isn't all that BIG, it does
get to be a bit annoying after a few months!

Thanks for starting this thread Dana. And thank you
Patricia for your suggestions.

/dave

-----Original Message-----
Ok, two more things to try.

1. Delete the files extend.dat and outcmd.dat. They can sometimes get
corrupted. NOTE: These files store views and toolbar customizations so you
might lose some of those if you've customized the

layout
of your toolbars.

If that doesn't work try:

2. Create a new profile. Sometimes a profile can become damaged for some
unknown reason.

Post back and let me know if either of these fixed the problem. Also, post
what type of mail account (s) you have.

--
Patricia Cardoza
Outlook MVP
www.cardozasolutions.com

Author, Special Edition Using Microsoft Outlook 2003

***Please post all replies to the newsgroups***

 

[Patricia Cardoza - [MVP Outlook]]

There is an outcmd.dat file somewhere, although it might be a hidden or
system file. Can you try enabling searching for hidden files and see what
you find?

For Dave, the extend.dat file does get created every time.
Hmmm, trying to think what else it can be. Do either of you have Norton
AntiVirus installed using the e-mail plug-in? Sometimes, if that's the case,
a bad pattern file update from Norton can cause problems. If that's the
case, I'd suggest running a Live Update and see if there's a new pattern
file.

You can also disable Norton AV and try opening Outlook again (just be VERY
VERY careful that you don't open any suspicious emails during that time).
Make sure you re-enable Norton when you're done testing so you're not left
unprotected.

I'd also suggest trying a Detect and Repair from the Help menu to see if
that helps any.

--
Patricia Cardoza
Outlook MVP
www.cardozasolutions.com

Author, Special Edition Using Microsoft Outlook 2003

***Please post all replies to the newsgroups***