As Outlook processes loads of user data every day, like shared events, invites, contacts, emails, attachments, etc., there are fair chances that you may note a drop in the performance of Outlook on your PC – like the slow launch of the application, lag in operations, synchronization problems, etc.
To avoid this ruckus, what would you do? How would get rid of it?
In this article, we’ll guide you through some methods to get your Outlook back on track.
Some Useful Tips to Speed Up Microsoft Outlook 2016 Performance
Disable Unnecessary Add-Ins
Microsoft Outlook allows you to integrate third-party services. But sometimes it may turn into chaos. Because of these add-ins, Outlook might load slower.
To overcome this, you can enable/disable these additional pieces of functionality via Outlook Settings:
- Click File > Options > Add-ins
- Select all unnecessary ones from the add-in list, click Go,
- A small window would pop up, select/deselect the checkbox(es) to activate/deactivate add-in and click OK.
Disable RSS Feeds
Many Outlook users like to receive RSS feeds straight in Outlook and get updated with what’s happening, but this can cause a lag in performance.
You can disable RSS feed & synchronization right away from the Outlook Settings.
- Click File (from the top left) and click Options. A new window would pop up.
- Select Advanced, scroll a bit in the main section, and untick the checkboxes under the RSS Feeds area.
- Click OK.
Download IMAP/POP Emails
Hefty mailboxes also would cause Outlook performance issues. A large number of emails with attachments can add to mailbox size and can affect Outlook performance. Downloading all the IMAP/POP emails would save you from such an issue.
- Click Send/Receive tab > Send/Receive Groups > Define Send/Receive Groups.
- Select All accounts, click Edit.
- Select all accounts for the same (left panel) and confirm that you’ve selected “Download Complete Items Including Attachments for Subscribed Folders.” This will allow Outlook to download whole the emails to your PC.
Disable To-Do Bar or pinned peek
Microsoft Outlook running with To-Do Bar in online mode with Exchange Server has to manage additional data requests. It causes a hike in network traffic which affects the general Outlook performance.
In case, if you’ve enabled To-Do Bar or Peek already, disabling it would help.
- Click the View option (on the top menu bar), select the To-Do Bar dropdown and, click Off.
Update Outlook with Service Packs
Users generally don’t update the system to the latest Service Packs (SP) available. Outdated Outlook applications can matter a lot when it comes to performance. So, install the latest Service Pack (SP) updates available.
For updating Outlook:
- Click File tab (top left pane) > select Office Account. Expand Office Updates > click Update Now.
Disable Antivirus
If your Outlook is linked with Exchange, the whole mailbox and all the emails are automatically scanned by the antivirus software on the server. To know more, you need to check it with your Exchange Server administrator to ensure if this is the matter. Here, you don’t need to use any antivirus with Outlook.
On the contrary, if you’re using Outlook with an antivirus add-in, you may face lags. So, you can disable the anti-virus add-in (see the “Disable Add-Ins” section above).
Disable Microsoft Office Communicator integration
Outlook, by default, includes integration with Microsoft Office Communicator. Microsoft Office Communicator provides information like whether a user is engaged, or he/she is away or in a meeting.
- To disable Microsoft Office Communicator feature integration, click File tab > select Options > select People.
- Under Online Status and Photograph section, deselect all the checkboxes and click OK.
Auto Archive Old Emails
To make Microsoft Outlook run super smooth and faster, you can enable the Auto Archive option available in the latest Outlook versions.
Archive files store (download) all the old emails on your device. This saves Outlook from retrieving the emails every time you launch Outlook. Thus, enabling this option, in turn, will let Outlook function even better.
- Click File tab> click Options > select Advanced > under AutoArchive dialogue box, click on Auto Archive Settings, click “Run AutoArchive Every” & input the number of days.
- Click OK.
Note: You can modify AutoArchive settings according to your needs.
Compact PST & OST Files
Whenever you delete an email or an attachment, it does not get deleted wholly, thus resulting in a large PST file and a decline in performance. This issue can be solved by compacting the Outlook data file with these steps:
- Click File tab > Account Settings > Account Settings > a new window will be on screen.
- Click Data Files > select your accounts File > click Settings > click Compact Now and click OK.
Fix broken PST & OST files
If you closed Outlook PST or OST file improperly, then it is possible that the file will not open the next time properly. You may receive the following error messages:
Error Message 1: Outlook cannot open the data file XYZ until it has been checked for problems.
Error Message 2:
- Microsoft Office Outlook exited without properly closing your Outlook data file ‘drive:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\outlook.ost.’
- ‘Microsoft Office Outlook’ must be restarted.
Error Message 3: The data file XYZ was not closed properly. This file is being checked for problems.
Due to these errors, you may face performance issues until these broken files are fixed. Upon launching Outlook, Outlook itself will start checking the broken data files in the background. Possible reasons for these error messages are:
- Antivirus scanning of the file.
- Forced Windows shutdown before exiting Outlook properly.
- Faulty Add-Ins.
Well, you can save PST files from being broken due to the improper closure of Outlook. It is recommended that you close the Outlook application before you shut down Windows.
With Outlook, there are numerous PST corruption issues apart from the above ones, which may piss you off during usage. Outlook PST Repair is a life savior in such scenarios. With this tool, repairing damaged and password protected Outlook PST files becomes an easy endeavor. This Outlook PST recovery tool recovers the whole data of the PST file and offers to export full contents to different file formats. You can use this tool to save PST data to Office 365, MS Exchange Server, Outlook.com, Gmail, etc. There is no size limitation on PST files. And Outlook supports all the available Microsoft Outlook versions.
Conclusion
In this article, we’ve covered all the common issues which users will generally encounter with Microsoft Outlook 2016 & other earlier versions. Because of these problems, it becomes tough to get along with the regular workflow. But with conviction, we can assure you that the above methods will help you in getting back on track. By following the approaches mentioned above, you would not only solve the problems but also improve your Outlook’s overall performance. And get rid of all PST corruption issues and errors, get help with the suggested Outlook PST Repair tool efficiently and automatically in minutes.