Microsoft outlook wont open again after closing pc windows 11Pro?

Question

Microsoft outlook wont open again after closing pc windows 11Pro?

Hans Nielsen 20

My Outlook has stared a problem. If I open outlook, close it - and then want to open it again, it wont open. I have to restart my pc to open it again.

How do I fix this? I tryed reparing and no difference.

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James Land 0 Reputation points

2026-09-01T15:22:18.9133333+00:00

This problem, Outlook will not open until I restart Windows 11, began happening when I updated to the new outlook. Tried everything I can read without success. I have two accounts linked, my normal company account and one for my gmail account.
Hornblower409 14,690 Reputation points

2026-09-02T10:43:34.6533333+00:00

@James Land said

This problem, Outlook will not open until I restart Windows 11, began happening when I updated to the new outlook. Tried everything

I understand that you have an issue similar to the one discussed in this thread. But you will probably not get any help for your issue by adding to an old post.

I would suggest that you start a new thread using the "Ask a question" button at the top of this page to create a new Question and include the details for your specific problem and what steps you have already tried to fix it.

This provides much higher visibility to your issue than adding on to an existing post, which is only seen by people who are already following this question.

(You can put the link for this page in your new Question for reference)

Answer accepted by question author

Anonymous

Hi @Hans Nielsen,

Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A forum.

I understand how disruptive this issue can be, especially when Outlook is an essential part of your daily work. Based on my research, it appears you may be affected by a newly identified and significant known issue related to the Windows 11 Security Update KB5074109, released on January 13, 2026.

Microsoft has officially confirmed that this update causes Outlook Classic to hang, freeze, or fail to restart because the application is not exiting properly in the background. This issue primarily impacts users with POP account profiles, but many Microsoft 365 users are reporting similar freezing.

Until Microsoft releases a permanent patch, the most effective solution reported by the community and Microsoft moderators is to remove the problematic update.

Open the Settings app on your Windows 11 PC.
Go to Windows Update > Update history.
Scroll to the bottom and select Uninstall updates.
Find Security Update for Microsoft Windows (KB5074109) and click Uninstall.
Restart your computer. Outlook should now load and function normally.

If you do not want to uninstall security updates, you can force Outlook to restart by killing the "stuck" process.

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
Look for Outlook in the list.
Right-click it and select End Task.
Try opening Outlook again. (Note: You may have to do this every time you close and reopen the app).

For reference: Classic Outlook POP account profiles hang and freeze after Windows 11 update to KB5074109

As a forum moderator, I genuinely wish I could directly access your account or delve into the backend systems to diagnose and fix this for you. However, our role here is limited to providing general guidance and solutions that can be applied by users. While we may not have visibility into or the ability to perform deeper backend analysis, we will continue doing our best to support you within the scope of our responsibilities.

I hope you found the answer helpful, and we would greatly appreciate it if you could mark it as accepted. This helps highlight the solution for others who may be searching for similar information in the community. Your contribution not only supports fellow users in finding the right guidance more quickly, but also helps build a more resourceful and collaborative space for everyone.

Thank you for your kindness and contributions to the forum.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

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1 additional answer

James Land 0 Reputation points

2026-09-01T15:22:18.9133333+00:00

This problem, Outlook will not open until I restart Windows 11, began happening when I updated to the new outlook. Tried everything I can read without success. I have two accounts linked, my normal company account and one for my gmail account.
Hornblower409 14,690 Reputation points

2026-09-02T10:43:34.6533333+00:00

@James Land said

This problem, Outlook will not open until I restart Windows 11, began happening when I updated to the new outlook. Tried everything

I understand that you have an issue similar to the one discussed in this thread. But you will probably not get any help for your issue by adding to an old post.

I would suggest that you start a new thread using the "Ask a question" button at the top of this page to create a new Question and include the details for your specific problem and what steps you have already tried to fix it.

This provides much higher visibility to your issue than adding on to an existing post, which is only seen by people who are already following this question.

(You can put the link for this page in your new Question for reference)

Answer 1

If Outlook is not opening again after you close it, it may be due to a background process still running. You can try the following steps to resolve the issue:

Check Task Manager: After closing Outlook, open Task Manager (you can do this by right-clicking the taskbar and selecting "Task Manager"). Look for any instances of Outlook running in the background. If you find any, select them and click "End Task". This should allow you to reopen Outlook without restarting your PC.
Registry Key Fix: Sometimes, having an IMAP account in your profile can cause this issue. There is a registry key that can help resolve this. You can find more information on this in relevant Microsoft documentation.
Repair Office: Since you mentioned that you tried repairing, ensure you are doing a full repair. Go to Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features, select Microsoft Office, and choose "Change" to perform a repair.
Uninstall and Reinstall: If the issue persists, consider uninstalling Office completely and then reinstalling it from your subscription.

These steps should help you troubleshoot and potentially fix the issue with Outlook not reopening after being closed.

References: