Outlook is one of the most popular and feature-laden email clients in the world. That said, just like everything else tech, it isn’t immune to random bugs and glitches that keep popping up from time to time.
In this article, we’re taking a look at the Outlook stuck on loading profile issue, its causes and what you can do to fix the problem.
What causes this issue?
The error can be caused by several different issues, including but not limited to the following:
- Internet connectivity issues.
- Outlook doesn’t have the required privileges.
- Corrupted data or profile files.
- Corrupt Office data files.
- Hardware acceleration issues.
Also read: Outlook data file cannot be accessed: 4 Fixes
How to fix this?
Here are eight fixes you can try out.
Check internet connection
Now’s a good time to check whether or not you have an active internet connection. If you’re on WiFi, make sure you’ve got an active link and that there are no signal issues. On cellular data, ensure that it’s enabled and that you’re getting good network coverage.
Restarting your router can help get rid of a bunch of seemingly random internet and connectivity issues that may be hindering your connection to the servers.
Launch Outlook as an administrator
Starting a program or game as an administrator tells your PC to prioritise that particular process over everything else and dedicate as many resources as possible to ensure smooth operation.
You can check out our detailed guide on how to run programs as administrator here.
Disable any add-ins
While add-ins can be extremely useful in Outlook, they can also cause issues or conflicts with some other features of the program.
Start Outlook in Safe Mode and check if you can expand your folders. If you can, chances are one of your add-ins is causing the problem. We recommend disabling all add-ins and then turning them on one at a time to single out the culprit.
Closing Outlook using Task Manager
Ending the Outlook process from the Task Manager and restarting it can help resolve the issue.
Step 1: Right-click the Taskbar and click on Task Manager.
Step 2: In the Processes tab, close all the running Outlook processes.
Restart Outlook and try accessing your profile now.Â
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Clear out the Ngc folder
The Ngc folder houses temporary files for Outlook. If these files are corrupted, you can run into problems. Try clearing out the folder to see if that helps.
Step 1: Close Outlook, open Windows Explorer and head over to the file path given below.
C:\Windows\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\AppData\Local\Microsoft\NGCStep 2: Delete all the contents inside the folder. You might need administrator privileges to do so.
Once everything is deleted, try restarting Outlook and see if it works.
Create a new Outlook profile
Step 1: Delete your profile from the local Outlook profile directory. By default, the directory is at the following location. Reboot your computer once you’ve deleted the file.
C:\Users\[Your username here]\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outloook
Step 2: Now open Outlook and click on File
Step 3: Click on Account Settings followed by Manage Profiles
Step 4: Under Profiles, click Show Profiles…
Step 5: Click the Add button to add an email account to the newly created profile.
Now restart Outlook and try again.
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Update Office
An out-of-date installation can also cause several uncalled-for bugs and glitches. Check to see if you’ve got any updates to your Office suite, and if you do, install them right away and restart your PC to see if that solves your problem.
Repair your Outlook installation
Sometimes, you might have a broken Outlook install. Follow these steps to repair your installation.
Step 1: Press the Windows key and search for Outlook. Click on Uninstall from the right side pane.
Step 2; Find your version of Outlook in the list of programs. If you’ve installed the entire Microsoft Suite at once, search for that instead, click it and click the Change button.
Step 3: You’ll see two options as explained below.
- Quick Repair: This will work offline and resolve the most common issues with your Outlook Installation.
- Online Repair: As the name suggests, this option uses the internet and performs a more thorough installation repair.
We recommend trying quick repair first and then moving on to online repair if the former doesn’t solve the error.
Also read: Outlook error 500: 12 Fixes
