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How to Open Outlook in Safe Mode — Run Outlook in Safe Mode

If the Outlook desktop application is misbehaving or crashing, you can force run outlook in safe mode. Here’re the steps to open outlook in safe mode on Windows.

When it comes to email clients, Outlook is one of the most popular both for personal and office uses. One of the best things about Outlook is that it is filled to the brim with various features for a wide range of users. In fact, though I use Thunderbird on my personal machine due to its ease of use and simplicity, Outlook is my goto when it comes to Work emails and communication.

Generally, Outlook application on desktop launches without any problems. However, there might be times when Outlook crashes as soon as you open it. For example, a recent update to Windows 10 caused outlook crash with 0xc0000005 error as soon as it is opened. In other cases, Outlook might not behave as it should. In these kinds of situations, you can open Outlook in Safe mode. When you run Outlook in safe mode, it automatically fixes a lot of issues. So, in this quick and simple guide, let me show different ways to start Outlook in safe mode in Windows.

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Note: The methods and steps shown below will work with any modern version of Outlook including Outlook 2013, Outlook 2016, Outlook 2019, and Outlook 365.

How to Open Outlook in Safe Mode From Taskbar

If you’ve pinned Outlook to the taskbar, you can start it in safe mode directly from the taskbar. Here’s how.

  1. Hold down the “Ctrl” key on the keyboard.
  2. While holding down the key, click on the Outlook icon on the taskbar.
    Outlook-icon-on-taskbar-160720
  3. You will see a prompt asking if you’d like to start Outlook in safe mode. Click “Yes“.
    Confirm-outlook-safe-mode-160720
  4. Now, select the Outlook profile you want to open and click “Ok“.
    Select-outlook-profile-160720

If you did not create any additional profile, keep the default one as is and press “Ok”. That is all. Outlook will be launched in the safe mode with the profile you choose.

How to Open Outlook in Safe Mode From Start Menu

To run Outlook in safe mode directly from the start menu, follow the steps listed below.

  1. Open the Start menu by pressing the Windows key on the keyboard.
  2. Type “Outlook” in the search bar.
  3. Hold down the “Ctrl” key and click on the “Open” option on the right panel.
    Open-outlook-from-start-menu-160720
  4. Click “Yes” in the confirmation window.
    Confirm-outlook-safe-mode-160720
  5. Select the Outlook profile from the dropdown menu.
  6. Click “Ok“.
    Select-outlook-profile-160720

That is it. As soon as you click the button, safe mode Outlook will be opened automatically. This method is useful if the taskbar icon is not responding or if you did not pin Outlook to the taskbar.

Run Command to Start Outlook in Safe Mode

Outlook has a dedicated run command to start it in the safe mode. The run command is very useful if you are unable to open it via the Start menu or the taskbar.

  1. Open the Run window with “Windows Key + R” shortcut.
  2. In the blank field, type “outlook.exe /safe” and click “Ok“.
    Outlook-safe-mode-run-command-160720
  3. Click “Yes” in this window.
    Confirm-outlook-safe-mode-160720
  4. Now, select the Outlook profile and click “Ok“.
    Select-outlook-profile-160720

That’s it.

How to Start Outlook in Safe Mode From Command Prompt

If you want to, you can also launch outlook in safe mode using the Command Prompt. All you have to do is execute a command and you are done.

  1. Open the Start menu.
  2. Type “cmd” and click on the “Command Prompt” result.
  3. After opening the Command Prompt window, type the below command and press Enter.
    “C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Office16\outlook.exe” /safe
    Open-outlook-in-safe-mode-from-cmd-160720
  4. Click “Yes” in the Outlook window.
    Confirm-outlook-safe-mode-160720
  5. Select the profile and click “Ok“.
    Select-outlook-profile-160720

Note: If Outlook is installed in some other directory, modify the file path in the above command to match the actual Outlook.exe file path.

How to Create Outlook Safe Mode Desktop Shortcut

If Outlook is behaving oddly often, you can create a dedicated desktop shortcut to start Outlook in safe mode.

  1. Right-click on the desktop.
  2. Select the “New → Shortcut” option.
    Create-desktop-shortcut-160720
  3. Type the following path in the field and click “Next“.
    “C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Office16\outlook.exe” /safe
    Outlook-path-to-create-desktop-shortcut-160720
  4. Name the shortcut and click “Finish“.
    Name-outlook-desktop-shortcut-160720
  5. To launch Outlook, double-click on the desktop shortcut you just created.
    Outlook-safe-mode-desktop-shortcut-160720
  6. Click “Yes” in the confirmation window.
    Confirm-outlook-safe-mode-160720
  7. Select “Profile” and click “Yes“.
    Select-outlook-profile-160720

Note: If Outlook is installed in some other directory, modify the file path in the above command to match the actual Outlook.exe file path.

That is all. I hope that helps. If you are stuck or need some help, comment below and I will try to help as much as possible. If you like this article, check out how to backup outlook profiles in Windows.

3 thoughts on “How to Open Outlook in Safe Mode — Run Outlook in Safe Mode”

  1. Avatar for Eli

    Hi my Outlook suddenly does not want to open. Read online to delete the profile and then rename it. However, I’m concerned that deleting and renaming it could erase all my current received and sent emails in folders that I’ve created. Can you help please?

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