Still, wondering why outlook freezes when sending email? Take a peek at this blog.

Here at Bobcares, we have seen several such Outlook related errors as part of our Server Management Services for web hosts and online service providers.

Today we will take a look at the causes for this error and see how to fix it.

Why outlook freezes when sending email

There are different reasons for Outlook to freeze when sending an email. Some of them are as below.

• Bug in the software
• An email archive is corrupted
• The latest updates are not installed
• Some other process is using Outlook
• An add-on that was previously installed is interfering with outlook
• Mailboxes are too large
• Outlook data files have become corrupted or damaged.

How to overcome ‘outlook freezes when sending email’ issue

Now let’s see how our Support Engineers assist our customers in tackling this ‘outlook freezes when sending email’ problem.

In order to solve this issue, ensure that your computer meets the Outlook 2016 system requirements, Outlook 2013 system requirements, or Outlook 2010 system requirements.

1. Install the latest updates

The Office present on your computer is not up to date. This can happen if Windows Update is not configured on your computer to automatically download and install recommended updates. If you install important, recommended, and optional updates, you can always correct problems by replacing out-of-date files and fixing vulnerabilities. So ensure that the latest updates for Outlook are installed.

2. Make sure that Outlook is not in use by another process

In case, if you are using the Outlook AutoArchive feature or sync to Outlook with a mobile device then the performance is decreased. Because these processes consume a large number of resources.

If any other process is already using Outlook, then the information is displayed in the status bar. However, if you try to perform any other actions while Outlook is already in use then Outlook may not respond. So before you try another action, let the task in process finish its job.

3. Check the problem that caused by external contents

Here are different ways to resolve this problem.

1. Prevent Outlook to download external content. For that, go to File >> Options >> Trust Center >> Automatic Download, select the following two options:
   * Don’t download pictures or other content automatically in the HTML e-mail option.
   * Warn me before downloading content when editing, forwarding, or replying e-mail.
2. Don’t send such an email with an external source.

4. Investigate possible add-in issues

Sometimes, these add-ins conflict with Outlook. So you can try to start Outlook without these add-ins. Here are the steps for how to start Outlook without add-ins.

1. Follow the below steps according to your OS.
   * If you are running Windows 8, swipe in from the right edge of the screen, and then tap Search. In the search box, type Run and then tap or select Run.
   * If you are running Windows 10, Windows 7, or Windows Vista, select Start.
   * For Windows XP, select Start, and then select Run.
2. After that, type Outlook.exe /safe, and then select OK.
3. If the problem resolves, select Options on the File menu, and then select Add-Ins.
4. Now select COM Add-ins, and then select Go.
5. Select OK after clearing all the checkboxes in the list.
6. Finally, restart Outlook.

After following the above steps and restarting Outlook, if the problem doesn’t persist then the issue is due to add-ins. So you can try to restore the add-ins one by one and find which one is causing the problem.

5. Check whether your mailbox is too large

An increase in the mailbox size requires more resources to open each folder. If a large number of items are present in a single folder then you can experience some sort of lag. So we recommend moving the contents from a larger folder to some other folder. You can follow the below steps to create a new folder.

• First, on the Folder tab, select New Folder in the New group.
• Then in the Name box, enter a name for the folder.
• After that, you can select where to place the folder list, select the location for the new folder.
• Finally, select OK.

6. Check whether your AppData folder is being redirected to a network location

Outlook mainly uses the AppData folder to store the data, such as email signatures and the spelling checker dictionary. If there is any redirection present in it then you can disable it by following the below steps.

1. First, exit from Outlook.
2. Then start Registry Editor. To do it, use one of the following procedures, according to your Windows version:
   * Windows 10 or Windows 8: Press Windows Key+R to open a Run dialog box. Type regedit.exe and then press OK.
   * Windows 7: Select Start, type regedit.exe in the search box, and then press Enter.
3. Then in the Registry Editor, locate and then select the following subkey:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders
4. After that, locate and then double-click the AppData value.
5. Type the following path in the Value data box, and then select OK:
   %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming
6. Finally, exit Registry Editor.

7. Repair Office programs

Refer to the below steps to repair the Office program.

1. First, exit any running Microsoft Office programs.
2. Next, open Control Panel, and then open the Add or Remove Programs item (if you are running Windows XP) or Programs and Features (if you are running Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, or Windows Vista).
3. Lastly, in the list of installed programs, right-click Microsoft Office 2016, Microsoft Office 2013 or Microsoft Office 2010, and then select Repair.

8. Repair Outlook data files

An Inbox repair tool (scanpst.exe) is installed on your PC when you install Outlook. It can resolve many problems by scanning your Outlook data files and repairing errors. To use the Inbox repair tool, exit Outlook, and then follow the steps given below:

1. First, exit Outlook and browse to one of the following file locations:

Outlook 2019: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Office16
Outlook 2016: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Office16
Outlook 2013: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office15
Outlook 2010: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14
Outlook 2007: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office1

2. Next, open SCANPST.EXE.
3. Then select Browse to select the Outlook Data File (.pst) you want to scan. By default, a new log file will be created during the scan. However, you can choose Options and opt not to have a log created, or you can have the results appended to an existing log file.
4. After that, choose Start to begin the scan.
5. If any errors are found in this scan then choose Repair to start the process to fix them.
6. Once the repair completes, start Outlook with the profile associated with the Outlook Data File you just repaired.

9. Check whether antivirus software is up-to-date or conflicts with Outlook

Sometimes, the outlook might not work properly if antivirus software is not updated to the latest version. So make sure to update the version by downloading the latest updates by visiting your antivirus software vendor’s website.

Also, in some cases, the antivirus software might conflict with Outlook. This happens when the antivirus software has any integration with Outlook. So you can disable all Outlook integration within the antivirus software. Or else, you can disable any antivirus software add-ins that are installed in Outlook. To do it, you can contact your antivirus software vendor.

10. Create a user profile in Outlook

1. Follow the below steps to create a user profile.
2. First, in Control Panel, select Programs, select User Accounts and then select Mail to open Mail items.
3. Next, select ‘Show Profiles’. Then select the profile that you want to remove, and then select Remove.
4. After that, click on Add.
5. Type a name for the profile in the Profile Name dialog box.
6. Specify the user name, the primary SMTP address, and the password. Then, select Next.
7. You might receive the following prompt:
   Allow this website to configure <alias@domain server> settings?
   In this prompt, select the ‘Don’t ask me about this again‘ checkbox, and then select Allow.

11. Perform a Selective Startup (advanced users)

There are several applications and services that start automatically and then run in the background once you start Windows normally. However, these applications can interfere with Outlook.

To overcome this problem, you can use a Selective Startup or “clean boot” process to identify problems that are caused by application conflicts. The Selective Startup option in System Configuration will help you to turn services and startup programs on or off individually to check whether the problem occurs the next time that you start your computer.

Here are the steps to do a Selective startup.

1. First, in Control Panel, select System and Security, select Administrative Tools, and then double-click System Configuration.

2. Next, select the General tab, select Selective Startup, and then clear the Load system services and the Load startup items checkboxes.

3. Now select the Load system services check box, select OK, and then select Restart.

4. In case, if the problem reoccurs after restarting the computer, do one or both of the following tasks, as necessary.

1. Determine which system service is causing the problem

a. Select the Services tab in System Configuration, then select Disable all, select the check box for the first service that is listed, and then restart the computer.
b. With the first service selected, select the second service check box, and then restart the computer.
c. Until you reproduce the problem, repeat this process.

2. Determine which startup item is causing the problem

a. In System Configuration, select the General tab, and then select the Load startup items check box.
b. Select the Startup tab, select Disable all, select the check box for the first startup item that is listed, and then restart the computer.
c. While the first startup item is selected, select the second startup item check box, and then restart the computer. Repeat this process until you reproduce the problem.

[Need any further assistance in fixing Outlook errors? – We are here to help you]

Conclusion

In short, Outlook freezes when sending email that can occur due to many reasons that include a bug in the software, too large mailboxes & so on.  Today, we saw the different causes for this error to occur and also saw the solution provided by our Support Engineers.