Fix Outlook 2016 Won’t Startup Because it Crashes

If you have a problem with Microsoft Outlook 2016 (365) crashing when you try to start it, try the following steps.

Fix 1

1. Visit Microsoft’s website to obtain and write down the newest “Build Number” number for Office.
2. Hold down the Windows Key, then press “R” to bring up the Windows Run dialog box.
3. Type the following, then press “Enter“:
   %programfiles%\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\ClickToRun\officec2rclient.exe /update user updatetoversion=16.0.buildnumber
   where “(buildnumber)” is the build number you wrote down in step 1.
   For example, in my case, the current build was 9126.2259, so I typed the following:
   %programfiles%\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\ClickToRun\officec2rclient.exe /update user updatetoversion=16.0.9126.2257
4. When prompted, select the options to “Repair” Office.

Fix 2

1. Hold down the “CTRL” key on your keyboard while opening Outlook. Hopefully, Outlook will at least open in Safe Mode.
2. Select “File” > “Manage Add-Ins“.
3. Now you need to disable plugins to see if they are the root of your issue. If any add-ins are enabled, select the “Disable this add-in” button.
4. Click “Close“, then close Outlook.
5. Restart Outlook normally. Hopefully it starts and you are problem free.

These steps have fixed Outlook a few times for me and hopefully they help you too.