Safe mode is a function that is inbuilt in many popular applications, one of which is Outlook. It is a mode that lets users use the program with limited functionality when there are some problems with that particular program. Same is with Outlook, when things are not running properly in Outlook, the user can run Outlook in safe mode and finish their essential tasks.

Usually, a user launches Outlook in safe mode on purpose, but sometimes Outlook starts running in Safe mode by itself. Safe mode is good, until you have control over initiating it. But if it is getting initiated on its own every time, it is suggested that you start looking out for some solutions. There are many disadvantages of running Outlook in safe mode without any proper reason. In safe mode, you might not be able to save templates, smart tags, etc. So, if your Outlook is opening in Safe mode in its own, then this blog is going to help you through this problem.

Why Outlook turns to Safe Mode?

As a routine, Outlook keeps on updating system registry, so that newly installed programs work as they are expected to work. So, while this updating process, if Outlook finds any problem in the newly installed program it itself initiates the safe mode. So, as a sign of that something is not working properly, Outlook automatically initiates safe mode.

Sometimes, Outlook itself notifies you about the add-in or program that is creating the problem. In a small notification box, you will get the info of the faulty program on the screen, and from there you can uninstall it. But not every time you will get this luxury, and hence you would have to solve this problem on your own.

In older versions of Outlook like 2003 to 2007 Safe Mode may trigger due to problems arising with Windows Search service.

In 2010 version of Outlook the potential trigger for the safe mode is KB3114409 update. But for the newer version of the Outlook it can be wrong add-ins and many other reasons.

Ways to fix the issue (Outlook Version 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016)

  • Disable Add-ins

    As we have mentioned, faulty or wrong add-ins may cause this issue and should be fixed at first. In this method you will figure out the specific add-in that might be causing this problem. You need to think about your recent installation of the add-in after which you are facing this problem. Apart from this, another issue can be that you have installed an outdated add-in for the updated version of Outlook which is now creating a problem.

    For this, you need to uninstall the faulty program, staying in the Safe Mode of the Outlook.

    1. Be sure that Outlook is running in the Safe Mode, and click on the File menu.
    2. Once the File menu is open, select the Options category from the menu.
    3. In the newly opened Options window, select Add-Ins.
    4. Now, look for the Manage with a drop-down icon. From that drop-down menu select COM Add-ins and click on Go.
    5. Once you click on Go, a new COM Add-ins window will open, there you will need to uncheck all the checked boxes and now check the ones you want to remove. Remember the last ad-in that might be creating the issue and then click on the Remove option to uninstall that program.

      6. Note: If you are not sure, you can disable the program first and then start Outlook in normal mode to see if everything is fine. If it works, you can remove the program as said above.

    6. Now restart the Outlook and check if the issue is still there.
  • System Restore

    System restore takes your system back to the previous point in time. System restore is an in-built feature in windows that allows user to revert all the changes made in the recent time. Doing this you will get to that stage after which your program started showing problems. Hence this will eliminate all the new changes that were done in recent times. For this, you have to follow the below-mentioned steps:

    1. Press Windows key + R at the same time, this will open the Run dialogue box.
    2. Type rstui.exe in the run search box and click on OK.
    3. When the System Restore window opens, select Choose a different restore point and click on Next.
    4. Now, in the next step, click on the checkbox next to Show more restore points.
    5. Now, select a time you want to get back to and follow the instructions given on the screen.

      6. Once you perform all the above-mentioned steps successfully, your system will be restored and you can restart the system and check if the problem is solved. If not, try other methods mentioned below.

  • Restore Outlook to Previous Version

    If you failed at System Restore, then restoring Outlook to the previous version will give you the same results. Let’s start with the process:

    1. Start with clicking on the Start button and type Outlook.exe in the search box.
    2. Once you find it, select it and make a right click, from the menu, select Properties option.
    3. In the Microsoft Outlook Properties window, go to the Previous Versions tab and look for the Outlook.exe file from the date when it was working.
    4. Try opening all the previous versions of Outlook on your system and check which one opens without the Safe mode. The one that opens without Safe mode, is the one to go for.
  • Uninstall KB3114409 Update (For Outlook 2010)

    • As mentioned above that in Outlook 2010, KB3114409 update can cause issue, and hence it is advised to uninstall KB3114409 update right away.

  • Reset Outlook Profile

    Resetting Outlook profile may help you in this situation. It is mostly done when the user us facing hang issues when Outlook is initiating the Safe Mode. To rest a profile, follow the below-mentioned steps:

    1. In your system, go to the Control Panel.
    2. In control panel, locate Mail and click on it.
    3. In the Mail-setup dialogue box, click on the Show Profiles option.
    4. In the new Mail window click on the Add option, keeping the original file as it was.
    5. Follow the steps of adding a profile as asked by the program.
    6. Once the new account is added and configured, go back to the Mail window.
    7. There make sure your newly created Outlook profile is set to default.
    8. Click on the Apply button to confirm the changes.
    9. Now, restart Outlook and check if the problem is solved.
  • Fix Corruption in PST

    Outlook may start in Safe mode when a PST in Outlook is corrupt, in such case, fixing the corrupt PST is the only option. For this, either you can use SCANPST.exe or a third-party tool to fix the corruption. To fix PST with SCANPST.exe follow the below-mentioned steps:

    1. Start with closing all the instances of Outlook running in your system.
    2. Now trace the SCANPST.exe’s location in your system, which generally (as per your Outlook version) is:

      3. C:\ Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Office 16\SCANPST.exe

      C:\ Program Files (x64)\Microsoft Office\root\Office 16\SCANPST.exe

      Open SCANPST.exe.

    3. Once the SCANPST.exe is opened in your system, there click on the Browse button and provide a destination to the PST file. Click on the Start button to proceed.
    4. As you click on the Start button, the scanning process will take place, wait until it is done.
    5. In the next step, the tool will provide you with the inconsistencies in your PST file. Click on the Repair button to fix the inconsistencies.
    6. Once the repair process is done, restart Outlook and check if the corruption is fixed.

If you followed all the above-mentioned steps successfully, and still the PST file is not fixed, use a third-party tool. Because SCANPST.exe is not very powerful, it may not able to fix the severe corruption in PST file. In this situation you would require to use an automated tool.

In this process to fix corrupt PST, we are using Outlook PST Recovery, which is an ultimate PST repair tool. This third-party tool can fix any sort of corruption in a PST, and save the recovered PST files in your system at any desired location. Outlook PST Recovery provides you the full guarantee to recover of the PST files no matter how severely corrupt the PST files are. This tool makes sure that everything in your PST file is intact and works well even after the recovery.

Let’s know about the unique features of the tool:

  • Repairs even severely corrupted PST files regardless their size.
  • Repairs and recovers PST files with all its items and attachments.
  • Recovers deleted items (as per your requirement).
  • Converts PST files to many different formats like DBX, MBOX, MSG, EML, TXT, RTF, etc.
  • Migrates PST to web servers, email clients and cloud services.
  • Search for specific emails with unique Find option in the tool.
  • No compromise with the quality of the repaired and recovered PST data.
  • Maintains original structure and hierarchy of the PST file.

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Conclusion:

Safe Mode is a very unique and powerful mode that can ease many problems while using several programs, including MS Outlook. But if any program starts opening in the Safe Mode itself, then it becomes a problem, as there many features that are unavailable for the Safe mode. Hence, we have this blog to fix this issue occurring in Outlook 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. In this blog, we have mentioned why Outlook runs in Safe Mode without even initiating it, and have also discussed how to fix it. As corrupt PST can also be a reason of this automatic safe mode in Outlook. Therefore, we used Outlook PST Recovery to fix the corruption. This is a full-fledged solution for a corrupt PST file. Hope this blog helped you solving the problem that you were facing.