Many businesses and individuals worldwide uses Microsoft Outlook — a robust email client — for their day-to-day email communication. Thus, it is of vital importance that Outlook works seamlessly for ensuring email flow without any interruption.

When trying to send emails, you may come across a situation where your Outlook application stops responding. Thus, interrupting your email communication. In this article, we will be explaining the likely causes behind this issue and see how to fix it.

Common Causes of Outlook not Responding when Sending Email Issue

Outlook “not responding” error can occur due to various reasons while sending emails. The most common reasons include:

• Oversized Attachments or Large Emails
• Slow or Unstable Internet Connection
• Corrupted Outlook Data File (PST)
• Faulty or Conflicting Add-ins
• Antivirus or Security Software Interference
• Outdated Outlook or Office Updates
• Damaged Outlook Profile

Solutions to Fix the Outlook not Responding Issue when Sending Email

Here are some solutions you can follow to resolve the Outlook not responding issue, based on the reason.

1. Update Outlook (Microsoft Office)

Sometimes, outdated version of Outlook may have bugs or compatibility issue. These issues can sometimes lead to freezing or “not responding” error. So, install the latest available Outlook updates. The steps are as follows:

• Open your Outlook and go to the File tab.
• Click on the Office Account option. Then, select the Update Options under the Product Information.
• Now, click on Update Now to check and begin installing the updates.

Note: Click on Enable Updates first, if you don’t see the Update Now option.

• Restart your computer after updating the Outlook to apply the changes.

2. Check and Disable the Faulty Ads-ins

Third-party add-ins can interfere with Outlook functionality, if these are faulty or incompatible. You can check if an add-in is causing the “not responding” issue when sending email. To check this, open your Outlook in safe mode by pressing the Windows + R keys and then entering outlook /safe in the Run box. If you’re able send the emails without any issue in safe mode, it is indicative that add-ins are causing the issue. In that case, disable the add-ins. Follow the instructions given below:

• Go to File and click on Options.
• In the left hand pane, click on Add-ins and then click on Go.
• Uncheck all the add-ins and click OK.
• Now, restart Outlook in normal mode.

After this, enable one add-in at a time and relaunch Outlook. By doing this, you will be able to find out the particular add-in which was creating the problem.

3. Create a New Profile

One of the major reasons for Outlook not responding issue is corruption in your profile. However, this can easily be resolved by creating a new profile. Follow these simple steps to create a new profile in Outlook:

• Close your Outlook properly.
• Open the Control Panel on your system.
• Click on User Accounts and then select Mail (Microsoft Outlook).
• Click on the Show Profiles tab and then click on the Add button.
• Provide a new name for the profile and click on OK.
• Enter your account details, such as name, email address, and password. When done, click on Next > Finish.
• After this, choose the Always use this profile option, select the new profile to make it default, and then click OK.
• Launch Outlook and try to send an email.

If everything works properly, you can remove the old corrupted profile.

4. Repair Corrupted PST File

PST file plays a crucial role in the proper functioning of the Outlook application as it contains all the mailbox items of the user. If this file for some reason gets damaged or corrupted, then issues such as Outlook not responding are common occurrence. In this situation, you can use the ScanPST.exe tool (also known as Inbox Repair Tool) — a PST file repair tool available in Outlook installation directory.

Close your Outlook properly and go to the ScanPST location on your system. Usually, it is located at: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\OfficeXX or C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OfficeXX.

When the ScanPST is found, follow these steps to repair the PST file:

• Now, double click on ScanPST to launch it.
• Click on Browse and choose your PST file.
• Click on Start to begin the scanning process.
• When the scan is complete, the tool will display the errors. Click on Repair.

In case your PST file is highly corrupted or too large, then directly go for an advanced third-party PST repair tool. Stellar Repair for Outlook is one such powerful tool intended for repairing highly corrupted PST files without any limitation on size. After efficiently repairing the file, it allows to save the mailbox items, such as emails (including attachments), contacts, notes, tasks, etc. to a new PST file with 100% data integrity. It also offers different options to save the repaired PST file items, such as EML, RTF, PDF, HTML, etc.

Conclusion

There are numerous causes that may lead to the Outlook not responding issue. Based on the cause, you apply the appropriate solution mentioned in the article and fix the issue once and for all. In case of severe corruption in PST file, the most appropriate solution is repair the PST file by using Stellar Repair for Outlook. It can securely and efficiently recover all the mailbox items from your corrupted file. It then saves the items in a new PST file, which is easily importable into your Outlook.