Microsoft KB Archive/252304

= Error message when you start Outlook: "Unable to open the Outlook window," "No profile has been created," or "The list of Profiles cannot be loaded" =

Article ID: 252304

Article Last Modified on 6/26/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Office Outlook 2007
 * Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 with Business Contact Manager
 * Microsoft Office Outlook 2003
 * Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 with Business Contact Manager
 * Microsoft Outlook 2002 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Outlook 2000 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q252304



Important This article contains information about how to modify the registry. Make sure that you back up the registry before you modify it. Make sure that you know how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up, restore, and modify the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows registry



SYMPTOMS
When you start Microsoft Outlook, you may receive one the following error messages:

Unable to open the Outlook window.

No profile has been created.

The list of Profiles cannot be loaded. An unexpected error has occurred.

After you receive the error message, Outlook does not start.



CAUSE
This issue may occur on a computer that is running Microsoft Windows XP when the Outlook.exe file was configured to open with the Windows program compatibility mode setting.

When you set compatibility for Outlook to Windows 95 or to Windows 98/Windows Me, Outlook displays this error message. This is because the location of the Outlook Profile information in the registry differs on a Windows XP-based computer.

This issue may also occur when the registry key that stores the profile settings for Outlook is damaged.



RESOLUTION
To resolve this issue, use one of the following methods.

Method 1: Disable the compatibility setting
 Locate Outlook.exe.

Outlook.exe is typically located in one of the following folders, depending on the version of Outlook that you are running:  Microsoft Office Outlook 2007

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12

 Microsoft Office Outlook 2003

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office 11

 Microsoft Outlook 2002

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office 10

 Microsoft Outlook 2000

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office 9

</ul> </li> Right-click Outlook.exe, and then click Properties.</li> On the Compatibility tab, click to clear the Run this program in compatibility mode for check box.</li> Click OK.</li> Try to start Outlook. If you receive error message again, use Method 2.</li></ol>

Method 2: Delete the registry key
To do this, follow these steps.

Warning Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might require that you reinstall the operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk. <ol> Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.</li> Locate one of the following registry keys, as appropriate for the version of Microsoft Windows that you are using:

</li> Delete the Profiles key under the Windows Messaging (Subsystem) key.

To do this, right-click Profiles, and then click Delete. Click Yes to confirm the deletion.</li> Exit Registry Editor, and then restart Outlook.</li></ol>

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MORE INFORMATION
For more information about how to create profiles in Outlook, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

195718 How to create a new e-mail profile in Outlook 2000

195723 How to create a new personal folder (.pst) file for an Internet Mail Only (IMO) e-mail account in Outlook 2000

For more information about Windows program compatibility mode, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

292533 How to use Windows program compatibility mode in Windows XP

Additional query words: OL2K OL2K2 OL2K3 OL2K7

Keywords: kbstartprogram kbcorrupt kbregistry kbprb KB252304

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