• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Technipages

Tutorials and fixes for smartphone, gadget, and computer problems

  • Topics
    • Android
    • Browsers
    • Gaming
    • Hardware
    • Internet
    • iPhone
    • Linux
    • macOS
    • Office
    • Reviews
    • Software
    • Windows
    • Definitions
  • Product Reviews
  • Downloads
  • About
Fix “The Set of Folders Cannot Be Opened” in Outlook?

Fix “The Set of Folders Cannot Be Opened” in Outlook?

May 13, 2021 by Madalina Dinita 21 Comments

“Cannot start Microsoft Outlook. The set of folders cannot be opened. The operation failed“. Unfortunately, way too many users are familiar with this error. It usually pops up out of nowhere when you launch Outlook. In this guide, we’ll list a series of simple and easy-to-follow solutions to help you troubleshoot the problem.

How to Fix “The Set of Folders Cannot Be Opened” Error in Outlook

⇒ Important Note: Back up your Outlook data before pursuing the solutions below.

Launch Outlook in Safe Mode

Press the Windows and R keys to launch a new Run window. Then type Outlook.exe /safe, and hit OK.

run-outlook-safe-mode

If the issue is gone in Safe Mode, most likely, your add-ins are to blame. Go to the next step and disable your add-ins.

Disable Your Add-Ins

  1. Launch Outlook and go to File.
  2. Select Options, and click on Add-ins.
  3. Click on Manage and hit the Go button.manage-outlook-add-ins
  4. Select the add-ins you want to disable and save the changes.

Don’t forget to update your Outlook version. Click on File, select Office Account, and go to Office Update. Click on Update Options and select Update now to update your email client.

update-outlook

Recreate Your Email Profile

Some users were able to fix this error by recreating their email profiles.

  1. Type regedit in the Windows Search bar and launch the Registry Editor.
  2. Then, navigate to Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\Profiles
  3. Go ahead and delete all the folders listed under Profiles.
    • Note: Depending on your Office version, you may need to navigate to Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\15.
  4. Relaunch Outlook and recreate your email profile.
  5. Go to File, select Account Settings, and click on Manage Profiles.outlook-manage-profiles
  6. Then go to Show Profiles and hit the Add button.
  7. Enter all the necessary details in the Profile Name box and save the changes.create-new-outlook-profile

Alternatively, if you’re not comfortable using the Registry Editor, you can only follow the steps from 5 to 8 to create a new profile.

If you can’t create a new profile using Outlook, go to Control Panel → Mail → Show Profiles → Add.

Repair Office

  1. Go to Control Panel and select Programs.
  2. Click on Programs and Features and select your Office package.
  3. Hit the Change button and launch the Quick Repair tool.
  4. If the error persists and you still can’t use Outlook properly, run the Online Repair tool as well.

repair-microsoft-office

Repair Outlook

  1. Go to Settings and select Apps.
  2. Then click on Apps and Features and select Outlook (or Outlook Desktop Integration).
  3. Go to Advanced options and hit the Repair option.

repair-outlook-windows-10

Alternatively, you can repair the Outlook data file (.pst) file directly.

  1. Close Outlook and navigate to Outlook 2016/2019: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Office16 or Outlook 2013: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office15 (depending on your Office version).
  2. Locate and run SCANPST.EXE.outlook-scanpst-executable
  3. Click on Browse to select the Outlook Data File (.pst).
  4. Hit the Start button and then select the Repair option.

Run Microsoft’s Support and Recovery Assistant

There’s another handy tool that you can use to repair Outlook. The Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant can quickly find and repair various Office and Outlook issues. Download the tool from Microsoft, install it on your computer, and follow the on-screen instructions to repair Outlook.

Reduce Outlook Data Size

Large mailboxes can take an awful lot of time to open. Apart from that, they may also trigger various errors while loading. Reduce the size of your mailbox and Outlook data files and check if the error persists.

  1. Launch Outlook, click on File, select Tools, and click on Mailbox Cleanup.outlook-mailbox-cleanup-tool
  2. Select the items you want to remove and confirm your choice.
  3. To reduce the size of the data file, empty the Deleted Items folder.
  4. Then click on File, and select Account Settings.
  5. Go to the Data Files tab, and select the file that you want to compact.
  6. Go to Settings and hit the Compact Now option.

compress-outlook-data-file

Exchange and Outlook.com users need to click on Settings → Advanced → Outlook Data File Settings.

Reinstall Outlook

If you’re using the standalone desktop app, uninstall it and restart your computer. Then download Outlook again (the 64-bit version). If the error persists, go to Control Panel and select Uninstall a program. Then uninstall your Office package, restart your machine again and reinstall Office. Check the results.

Conclusion

Microsoft Outlook may sometimes fail to launch with the “The set of folders cannot be opened” error. To fix it, launch Outlook in Safe Mode and disable your add-ins. Then repair Office and Outlook, create a new user profile and reinstall the email client. Which of these solutions worked for you? Let us know in the comments below.

You Might Also Like

  • How to Add Personal Folders (PST file) in Outlook 2019
    How to Add Personal Folders (PST file) in Outlook 2019
  • Microsoft Teams: Can You See Who Opened a File?
    Microsoft Teams: Can You See Who Opened a File?
  • How to Change Which Page Is Opened When You Launch Steam
    How to Change Which Page Is Opened When You Launch Steam
  • MacOS: Disable "{appname} can't be opened because it is from an unidentified developer"
    MacOS: Disable "{appname} can't be opened because it is from…
  • Outlook 2019/365: Enable or Disable "Outlook Today" at Startup
    Outlook 2019/365: Enable or Disable "Outlook Today" at…
  • Everything You Need to Know About Samsung Secure Folders
    Everything You Need to Know About Samsung Secure Folders

Filed Under: Office Tagged With: Outlook 2019

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Yujun says

    September 29, 2022 at 3:14 am

    Deleting the profiles under registry works for me, thank you very much!

  2. Derek F says

    September 28, 2022 at 11:35 pm

    only “Recreate Your Email Profile… regedit … Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\Profiles… delete all the folders listed under Profiles” works!

  3. Paul Gobée says

    September 27, 2022 at 8:19 am

    Thank you! The second option, recreating profile did the trick!

  4. Frank says

    September 12, 2022 at 7:39 am

    I had to remove all the profiles using regedit.

  5. Alex says

    July 24, 2022 at 10:46 pm

    Had to delete the profile through Regedit, AND reboot the machine

  6. Thang says

    July 4, 2022 at 9:23 pm

    Recreate Email Profile worked for me. I thank you a lot.

  7. sameer Bhosale says

    June 23, 2022 at 3:58 am

    I tried all mentioned technics but it didn’t solved my issue.
    Later I rebuilt the user profile and the issue got resolved.

  8. Israel J. says

    May 9, 2022 at 12:35 pm

    Thanks for your help. Deleting all profiles with the Registry Editor and then relaunching Outlook worked for me.

  9. Adrian says

    April 21, 2022 at 11:52 pm

    Thanks so much. I tried so many other things, but this was the only one that worked!
    Your contribution is most appreciated.

  10. Bruno Giguere says

    April 7, 2022 at 7:56 pm

    Thank you. Regedit fixed the issue

  11. Steven says

    March 24, 2022 at 1:36 am

    Thank you very much. Reg-edit did the job perfectly

  12. happy user says

    March 22, 2022 at 3:56 am

    Thank you very much!
    The “regedit” did the trick!

  13. Dany says

    March 11, 2022 at 11:14 pm

    Thank you so much – for me, option *Repair Outlook* helped.

  14. Emily says

    February 8, 2022 at 11:47 pm

    Oh, hallelujah! After a few frenzied hours navigating Microsoft’s own absolutely useless online “support” services (or lack thereof), the regedit option got me out of tail-chase hell and has my outlook working again!

    Thank you thank you thank you!

  15. Mansour says

    January 3, 2022 at 7:52 am

    Best Solution, Help me a lot, many thanks and happy new year

  16. Higgsy says

    December 5, 2021 at 7:12 am

    Same problem. Happened after Windows 11 update. Same error message but Outlook had also disappeared from the Apps list. After two days of trying to find a solution, the thing that worked took 5 minutes: Uninstalled iCloud for Windows – reinstall iCloud for Windows… hey presto, Outlook not only reappeared but it opened with no error messages – all my emails and folders, calendars and contacts were there. I have no idea why this worked.

  17. michele says

    November 30, 2021 at 1:24 am

    THANK YOU!!! REGEDIT is the problem solver!!!!

  18. Bogdan says

    November 16, 2021 at 9:15 am

    Fantastic job! Regedit did the trick for me. Thanks

  19. ChiTriGuy says

    October 22, 2021 at 10:53 am

    You guys rock. The Regedit edit fixed my issue. Thanks for the help.

  20. Stefan says

    October 20, 2021 at 2:41 am

    @Wayne
    Had the same problem. with Microsoft Outlook 2010 on a Win7 PC. The problem/error occurred when the Blue Screen Error restarted PC while working in Outlook.
    SCANPST.EXE did found errors and fixed but still wasn’t able to open Office, not even in safe mode.
    I also had other system errors, all related with the USER settings.
    I have added a new user with ADMINISTRATOR privileges thinking to transfer USER settings to the new account, but after few switches between users + a bunch of restarts it wasn’t necessary anymore.
    In my case it had to do with the PC USER SETTING. If you have any other error beside Office you should look into it.

  21. Wayne Harrison says

    September 15, 2021 at 4:15 am

    I cant even get it to start in safe mode? I still get the same error

Did this help? Let us know!

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • How to Print Labels from Excel Using MS Word Mail Merge
  • What Is NVMe Over TCP (NVMe/TCP)
  • Android Mobile Hotspot: How to Change the Password and Name
  • Windows 10: How to Force Quit and App
  • What is Dumpster Diving?
  • How to Download iOS 16 Beta 3 on iPhone or iPad
  • What is a Security Compromise?
  • Mastodon: How to DM Someone

Who’s Behind Technipages?

Baby and Daddy My name is Mitch Bartlett. I've been working in technology for over 20 years in a wide range of tech jobs from Tech Support to Software Testing. I started this site as a technical guide for myself and it has grown into what I hope is a useful reference for all.

© Copyright 2023 Guiding Tech Media · All Rights Reserved · Privacy