I have recently upgraded my computer to Office 2010 and I really like the programs especially Outlook. However when I set up Outlook 2010 on my laptop that was running Windows 7 I really ran into a crashing problem. When I say crashing problem, I don’t mean every now and then, but rather every time I opened the program and after about 3 seconds of use. With Microsoft pushing Windows 7 and Outlook being a Window 7 compatible product I was stymied as to why.
After much web research and trial and error on how to fix the problem, I found that many, many other people had experienced this same problem. There were prolific postings on forums asking for help and suggestions offered (which I tried nearly all).
Out of exasperation I tried this solution and it worked for me, so I wanted to mention it in a blog so that others may be able to benefit.
First for me the add-ons were not the problem. I still had crashes even after disabling all add-ons. What I found out was that Outlook 2010 wants to install your Outlook.pst file in your My Documents folder by default and really seems to have trouble if when you set up Outlook 2010 you let it find the .pst file in your old application data folder under local and then Microsoft then Outlook
location that Outlook 2007 uses by default. When I created a new .pst file in the My Documents folder, linked it to Outlook 2010 in the account settings I was golden. I have not experienced a crash since. Yes I had to reset up my mail account, import my calendar and contacts from my desktop, but I was finally able to use Outlook.
So if you are pulling your hair out over your Outlook 2010 installation, stop, take a deep breath and either create a new Outlook.pst file in the My Documents folder or move your Outlook.pst file there and you may have your problem fixed too!