Outlook Comprehensive Guide #1:Outlook Start Problem. Office custom forms error.

Welcome to the first installment of Microsoft Outlook:The Comprehensive Guide. This is not going to be a guide to using Outlook, but a guide on what to do when Outlook decides to stop functioning or doing something silly when you need it to be working. In this installment we will look over a couple of common problems with Outlook and how to correct them.


Problem Scenario #1:Outlook will not open. After a hard day of typing out a virtual mountain of emails you decide to shut down Outlook and go grab some lunch. You return only to find that when you click on the Outlook button nothing happens. It looks like it might load and than...zip. Nada. Nothing happens!. Well the easiest answer is always try restarting your computer. But there is more you can try as well. The most common cause of the is error an errant process. (e.g.Outlook is still running in the background). To remedy this simply hit CTRL+ALT+DEL and than click on 'Task Manager'. Find the errant process in the list under the Processes tab, highlight it by clicking on it with your mouth and than hitting the button that says 'End Process'.


Let's say that you do restart, and Outlook still won't open and you looked in the 'Task Manager' and it simply wasn't there. There is still hope. Open up your 'Control Panel'  Start/Control Panel or Start/Settings/Control Panel  and click on 'Add/Remove programs'. If you are using Vista or Windows 7 'Add/Remove Programs' has been renamed 'Programs and Features'. Find the entry for Office and click on it, and than click 'change' or 'change or repair' in Windows 7. Run the repair operation on Office this will correct issues with all Office components. If you are using Office 2007 this operation can take 15-25 minutes to complete.(Just a heads up.)


Problem Scenario #2: When attempting to perform operations in Outlook or Word  you get the following error"The custom form could not be opened. Outlook will use an Outlook form instead. The form required to view this message cannot be displayed. Contact your administrator." This error can occur when attempting to write a note, an email or when opening up a meeting notice. This is a relatively simple fix.

First, close out Outlook or Word. Than go to Start/Search or Start than type in the search box if you're a Windows 7 User. Search for a file called 'frmcache.dat'. When you find it, right click on the file and click 'Delete'. Now restart Outlook or Word.

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Disable Unwanted Startup Scripts.

Whenever you install new programs, some of them will add an entry to your startup so they will start when Windows does. Too many programs running during startup can cause your boot time to become unbearable. There are very few programs that are necessary when you first boot in to Windows. Some examples would be your anti-virus software and your audio card software control icon. Some examples of unnecessary startup items would be instant messaging programs and other random utilities that can easily be run only when needed.

Most programs will allow you to create a quicklaunch icon when they are installed and they will also create an entries in your the programs section off of your Windows start button. If you have too many programs running at startup here is what you can do to remedy this.

In Windows XP go to Start/Run and than type 'msconfig'(without the single quatation marks) and hit 'ok'.

In Windows Vista and 7 click on the Windows 'sphere' than type 'msconfig'(again without the quotes) in to the dialog box and hit 'enter' on the keyboard.

Next click on the 'startup' tab.

Choose the items you want to disable and remove the check mark from them. Click 'apply. and than 'ok. Windows will ask you if you want to restart or exit without restarting at this point. The choice is yours. I recommend rebooting and testing to see if the changes you made have helped.

*WARNING* Be careful what programs you disable. If you disable certain items video or audio issues could occur. Programs such as your anti-virus and anti-malware programs may become disabled. If you are unsure about the item you are about to disable perform a google search about the item by it's name.

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