Outlook classic opening to error 'repair now' then crashing

Hi @Roncace, Abigail,

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A forum.

Thank you for contacting us regarding the issue where Outlook Classic crashes. I understand how disruptive this issue can be, especially on a work computer.

This behavior typically indicates underlying corruption or configuration issues within Outlook. Common causes include a damaged user profile, corrupted data files (OST/PST), or conflicts with installed add-ins. While the “Repair now” option can temporarily restore functionality, it might not address these deeper problems, which often result in the application crashing again shortly after startup.

With that in mind, here are the steps you can try:

1/ Clear Outlook cache

• Close Outlook completely
• Right click the Windows Start button and select Run.

• Type the following path into the Run box and press Enter: %localappdata%\Microsoft\Outlook\RoamCache  

• This will open the RoamCache folder containing the cache files associated with your Outlook profile.
• Click anywhere within the folder, press Ctrl + A to select all files, and then press the Delete key to remove them. Alternatively, you can right-click the selection and choose the Delete option from the context menu.

• After clearing the cache, relaunch Outlook. It will rebuild the necessary cache files from scratch.

2/ Uninstall and reinstall Office

Outlook is part of the Microsoft Office suite, so if you want to uninstall Outlook, you’ll need to uninstall and then reinstall the entire Office package.

You can find guidance for uninstalling and reinstalling Office here:

Uninstall Microsoft 365 from a PC - Microsoft Support

Download, install, or reinstall Microsoft 365 or Office 2024 on a PC or Mac - Microsoft Support

3/ Contact Microsoft Support

If the issue persists after trying these steps, the best next step would be to have your IT administrator open a support ticket with Microsoft via the admin center. A technical support engineer can then initiate a remote session, review backend settings, and run diagnostics. If needed, they can escalate the case to specialized engineering teams who are well-equipped to perform advanced troubleshooting and provide targeted solutions.

As moderators, our primary goal is to provide helpful guidance and support through general troubleshooting steps. While we don’t have access to internal systems or administrative tools required to resolve account-specific or backend issues, we truly appreciate your understanding of these limitations. We genuinely hope the information we share helps point you in the right direction, and we're always here to assist as much as we can within our scope.

For guidance on how to request support in the admin center, please refer to: Get support - Microsoft 365 admin.   

I hope this information is helpful. Please follow these steps and let me know if it works for you. If not, we can work together to resolve this.   

Thank you for your patience and your understanding. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to share them in the comments on this post so I can continue to support you.

I look forward to continuing the conversation.

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Hi @Roncace, Abigail,

I hope everything is going well on your end. 

I’m following up on the support thread we've been working through together. I wanted to check in and see if the information I shared in my previous answer helped resolve the issue you were experiencing. 

If you're still experiencing any issues or have further questions, please feel free to reach out at any time. I’m always happy to help if you need anything else. 

We want to ensure everything is functioning smoothly and that your experience remains seamless. 

Thank you again for your collaboration throughout the troubleshooting process.  

I look forward to hearing from you soon. 

Restart your computer and then run an Online Repair from Windows Settings. See https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/repair-an-office-application-7821d4b6-7c1d-4205-aa0e-a6b40c5bb88b .