How to Fix: “Outlook Closes After Opening” Issue in 2025?

MS Outlook, as we all know, is one of the most popular email clients across the globe. It provides numerous fascinating features and services that users find attractive and thus they use the application. Despite its advanced features, Outlook can sometimes experience technical complexities, one of the major issues is when Outlook closes after opening, and that too, immediately. Users are reporting that they are facing this problem with Outlook and are looking for solutions to eliminate it.

We also had many users come up to us and ask for solutions to resolve why Outlook crashes after startup. Consequently, we have drafted this technical write-up to share the top tips and solutions if your Outlook auto closes after opening as well. In addition to that, we have also shared the top reasons why users often face this issue often. So, without any further stalling, let us get started with the article.

Why Does Outlook Close By Itself?

• Outdated software versions
• Corrupt Outlook profile
• Faulty add-ins
• Incorrect settings in Outlook
• Malware or virus infection
• Issues and conflicts with other software or drivers
• Damaged system files in Windows
• Insufficient system resources
• Connectivity issues with the network
• Corruption issues with the Windows registry
• Saturated/exceeded storage limit
• Glitches or bugs in software
• Hardware damage or failure

Reasons mentioned above are some of the primary reasons why Outlook opens and shuts down after opening. Now that we are aware of the prominent causes, let’s move on and look at the solutions to resolve the problem.

How to Resolve the “Outlook Closes After Opening” Issue

• Remove third-party add-ins
• Update your MS Outlook application
• Create a new Outlook profile
• Reinstall the Outlook program
• Disable hardware acceleration
• Switch off support diagnostics
• Use Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant
• Repair Outlook Data File using ScanPST.exe
• Use the expert utility (Corbett recommendation)

No need to worry as there will be an explanation about these methods with the steps one by one.

Eliminate Faulty Add-Ins If Outlook Randomly Closes

The best solution a user can opt for is to figure out if there are any faulty add-ins that may be causing this issue. Follow the given instructions to execute the method.

1. Start your MS Outlook in safe mode.
2. Now, press the Windows + R Keys and open the Run application.
3. Next, in the search bar, “Outlook.exe/safe”, press Enter.
4. Select “Yes” to start MS Outlook in safe mode.

Upon following the steps, if the user’s Outlook starts in safe mode, then that indicates that add-ins caused the “Outlook closes after opening” issue. The user can then proceed to find and remove the defective add-in. Follow the steps given below carefully to remove the faulty add-in.

1. Open Outlook and click on the File tab.
2. Select “Options” and then select “Add-ins” from the menu.
3. Select “COM Add-ins” in the “Manage” section and then select “Go”.
4. De-select the box next to the add-in you want to remove.
5. Click on the “OK” button to save the changes you made and restart MS Outlook.

Check the box for the “Disabled Application Add-ins” option to temporarily disable the suspected add-ins. Upon doing so, once the user has been resolved, the user can go ahead and remove that faulty add-in.

Update MS Outlook Application If Outlook Crashes After Startup

Another solution one can go for is to make sure that they are using the latest MS Outlook version. If not, follow the given instructions to update it.

1. Start MS Outlook
2. Click “File” and select “Office Account”
3. Next, click on “Update Options” and then select “Update Now”
4. Follow the provided instructions and complete the update process

Create a New Outlook Profile

If your Outlook keeps shutting down after opening, it could also be because of a damaged or corrupted Outlook profile. To exterminate this problem, the user needs to create a new Outlook profile; here’s how to do that.

1. Go to the control panel
2. Head to “Mail” and select “Show Profiles”
3. Then, to create a new profile, click on the “Add” button
4. Lastly, follow the instructions given on-screen to set up a new profile

Repair MS Outlook Application If Outlook Keeps Closing Itself

To repair MS Outlook, follow the step-by-step tutorial given below.

1. Press the Windows + R Keys and open the Run dialogue box. Enter “appwiz.cpl” in the search bar to launch the programs and features window.
2. Next, scroll through the program list, and depending on the version that you have installed, select MS Office or Microsoft 365.
3. Afterward, right-click on your selection and select “Change”.
4. Now, in the “How would you like to repair your Office programs?” dialog box, select the radio button beside the “Quick Repair” option.
5. Then, select the “repair” button and confirm by clicking on “Repair” one more time. Upon doing so, wait for the Quick Repair to complete to fix the issue.
6. If the issue is still not solved after using “Quick Repair”, repeat the process but this time select the “Online Repair” option. Once the process is complete, check if Outlook still randomly closes after opening.

Disable Hardware Acceleration

Hardware acceleration is used to improve the user’s computer performance. However, sometimes, it also causes this type of issue. The acceleration can be disabled to get Outlook in working condition.

1. In Outlook, go to the File menu.
2. Click on “Options”, then “Advanced” option.
3. Scroll down to the “Display” section and uncheck the option “Disable Hardware Graphix Acceleration”.
4. Click on “OK” and restart the application.

Turn Off Support Diagnostics If Outlook Crashes Right After Starting

The Support Diagnostics feature in Outlook logs diagnostic information that assists Microsoft Support diagnose and fix issues with the program. Also, if the user does not need it, they can also turn this feature off to improve privacy and performance. Here is how to do that.

1. Start MS Outlook and click on “File”
2. Click on “Options” and select the “Advanced” tab
3. Scroll down until you reach the “Other” section
4. Then, disable the checkbox for “Enable Support Diagnostics Logging (requires restarting Outlook)”
5. Finally, click “OK” to save the changes you made and proceed to restart the email client.

Run MS Support and Recovery Assistant (SaRA)

Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant (SaRA) is a Microsoft developed tool to diagnose errors and fix them. It is used for MS Office applications like Outlook. Below are the steps to fix the issue.

1. First download and install Microsoft Support and Recovery Tool (SaRA) from the Microsoft’s official site.
2. After installing the tool, click on Outlook.
3. Now, follow the instructions on the screen. If you found any error, diagnose and resolve the issues.

Fixate Outlook Data File/s If Outlook Closes Automatically

Microsoft also launch free Inbox Repair Tool, known as ScanPST.exe to repair the corrupted PST file. If the user has a corrupted file, follow the steps of this method to resolve the “Outlook closes after opening” issue.

1. First you have to locate your ScanPST.exe tool. The software is located in different destinations according to the Microsoft Office versions. The destination path of the utility is C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\OfficeXX (here, XX represents the version of Microsoft Office you have)
2. Run the ScanPST.exe file and browse for the corrupted file.
3. Click “Start” button to start the scanning process.
4. If it found any error, the program automatically repairs them. Once it is done, download the file.

Furthermore, if such issues are a frequent occurrence, the Corbett PST Converter is clearly the right solution if the user wishes to migrate, transfer, or import data to over 100 platforms in order to back up & share your imported email files with other people. Moreover, if you’re facing errors such as “OST has reached its maximum size”, then you can use this utility to solve it as well.

To Sum Up

In this article, we discussed the issue of “Outlook closes after opening”, along with several manual approaches as well as an automated solution. The manual solution may turn out to be quite a hassle for users to perform effectively during the process. Thus, the Corbett Software team also brings you an expert-recommended solution to resolve the issue if your Outlook automatically crashes after startup as well.