Summary Microsoft fixes known issue causing Outlook freezes, slow starts www.bleepingcomputer.com
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Microsoft has addressed a problem with freezing and slow starts in Outlook for Microsoft 365 users, with a fix set to be released in late November.
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Key Points
- Microsoft has fixed a known issue causing Outlook freezes and slow starts for Microsoft 365 users.
- The issue was related to cache re-priming and occurred during the creation of new profiles or disabling shared calendar improvements.
- The problem has been resolved in the Beta Channel and will roll out to the Current Channel in late November.
- Users can enable the "Shared Calendar Improvements" option as a workaround until the fix is implemented.
- Microsoft has previously addressed various Outlook issues in the past.
Summaries
24 word summary
Microsoft has fixed an issue causing freezes and slow starts in Outlook for Microsoft 365 users. The fix will be available in late November.
56 word summary
Microsoft has resolved a known issue that was causing Microsoft 365 users to experience freezes and slow starts in Outlook. This problem, which had been ongoing since June, was related to syncing Offline Outlook Data Files (OST) and resulted in slow performance and freezing. The fix will be available in late November. Workarounds are also available.
128 word summary
Microsoft has fixed a known issue that was causing Outlook freezes and slow starts for Microsoft 365 users. The issue, which had been affecting users since June, caused Outlook to behave as if it were syncing Offline Outlook Data Files (OST) immediately after launch, resulting in slow performance and freezing. Error messages indicated that Outlook could not be started and that the set of folders could not be opened due to a failed logon attempt to Microsoft Exchange. The problem was related to cache re-priming and has been resolved in build 16929.15000. The fix will roll out to the Current Channel in late November. Users can enable the "Shared Calendar Improvements" option or use a group policy setting as a workaround. Microsoft has previously addressed other Outlook issues.
337 word summary
Microsoft has resolved a known issue that was causing Outlook freezes and slow starts for Microsoft 365 users. The issue had been affecting users since June and was causing Outlook to behave as if it were syncing Offline Outlook Data Files (OST) immediately after launch, resulting in slow performance and freezing. Users reported that canceling the application after launch allowed Outlook to open promptly.
Error messages appeared in instances where the issue occurred, stating that Outlook could not be started and that the set of folders could not be opened due to a failed logon attempt to Microsoft Exchange. The freezing and slow starts were related to cache re-priming, which is a process triggered when creating new profiles or disabling shared calendar improvements.
The issue has been fixed in build 16929.15000, which has been released to the Beta Channel. The fix will roll out to the Current Channel in late November through builds 17029.20000 and higher. The problem stemmed from Outlook's difficulty in determining the “default” state of the cache, which led to confusion caused by non-Office MAPI apps arriving at different conclusions. This confusion resulted in unexpected hangs and slow starts.
Users affected by the Outlook issue can work around it by enabling the “Shared Calendar Improvements” option in the Exchange Account Settings dialog. IT administrators also have the option to use a group policy setting to enable Outlook REST calendar-sharing updates as a workaround on affected systems.
Microsoft has previously addressed various Outlook issues, including ones in April that prevented Microsoft 365 customers from accessing emails and calendars, login problems in October 2022, and a bug that caused Outlook to freeze and crash immediately after launch in August 2022.
Overall, Microsoft has resolved a known issue causing Outlook freezes and slow starts for Microsoft 365 users. The issue has been fixed in the Beta Channel and will roll out to the Current Channel in late November. Users can work around the issue by enabling the “Shared Calendar Improvements” option or using a group policy setting.
445 word summary
Microsoft has resolved a known issue that was causing Outlook freezes and slow starts for Microsoft 365 users. The issue had been affecting users since June and was causing Outlook to behave as if it were syncing Offline Outlook Data Files (OST) immediately after launch, resulting in slow performance and freezing. However, no new OST files were being generated and there were no related entries in the Application event log. Users reported that canceling the application after launch allowed Outlook to open promptly. It was also noted that users may experience difficulty starting the application if Airplane mode was enabled.
Error messages appeared in instances where the issue occurred, stating that Outlook could not be started and that the set of folders could not be opened due to a failed logon attempt to Microsoft Exchange. The freezing and slow starts were related to cache re-priming, which is a process triggered when creating new profiles or disabling shared calendar improvements. One known cause of this symptom was cache re-priming, which was expected if the user had created a new profile or manually toggled from REST to MAPI by disabling Shared Calendar Improvements. However, running non-Office MAPI based applications could unexpectedly force this toggle due to problems in reading service-enabled feature status.
The issue has been fixed in build 16929.15000, which has been released to the Beta Channel. The fix will roll out to the Current Channel in late November through builds 17029.20000 and higher. The problem stemmed from Outlook's difficulty in determining the "default" state of the cache, which led to confusion caused by non-Office MAPI apps arriving at different conclusions. This confusion resulted in unexpected hangs and slow starts.
Users affected by the Outlook issue can work around it by enabling the "Shared Calendar Improvements" option in the Exchange Account Settings dialog. This can be done by clicking More Settings and selecting the "Advanced" tab, with the change taking effect after restarting Outlook. IT administrators also have the option to use a group policy setting to enable Outlook REST calendar-sharing updates as a workaround on affected systems.
Microsoft has previously addressed various Outlook issues, including ones in April that prevented Microsoft 365 customers from accessing emails and calendars, login problems in October 2022, and a bug that caused Outlook to freeze and crash immediately after launch in August 2022.
Overall, Microsoft has resolved a known issue causing Outlook freezes and slow starts for Microsoft 365 users. The issue has been fixed in the Beta Channel and will roll out to the Current Channel in late November. Users can work around the issue by enabling the "Shared Calendar Improvements" option or using a group policy setting.