How to restore Outlook for Windows after botched attempt to switch from personal to nonprofit MS account

Calvary Secretary 0 Reputation points
2026-02-13T18:48:49.6033333+00:00

Our church has been operating with a Microsoft 365 Personal subscription for many years. Our email is hosted by Gmail, and we use Outlook for Windows on the secretary's (my) desktop computer for primary email management.

In December 2025, when our subscription renewal came due, I learned that there was an option to create a free MS nonprofit account, which I did. However, it turned into a nightmare because I couldn't figure out how to migrate all the data from our personal account to the new nonprofit account. So I mostly abandoned the nonprofit account, except that it now seems to be irrevocably tied to my computer and the personal account.

Last week, we changed the password on what turned out to be the nonprofit MS account, and since then my Outlook for Windows app has not been working. My hundreds of contacts, groups, tasks, and calendar were all lost. I have tried deleting and re-adding the email accounts, I tried switching to the new Outlook app, and most recently I uninstalled Outlook from the computer.

Now, when I try to reinstall Outlook, I am being asked to create an alias, which I've never had to do before. I just want my email back to the way it was before! Please help me untangle this disaster!

Outlook | Windows | Classic Outlook for Windows | For home

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  1. AI answer

    2026-02-13T18:49:04.9533333+00:00

    To restore Outlook after your issues with switching accounts, follow these steps:

    1. Uninstall Outlook Completely: Ensure that Outlook is completely uninstalled from your system. You can do this through the Control Panel or Settings.
    2. Remove Old Profiles: After uninstalling, you should remove any old Outlook profiles. To do this:
      • Open the Control Panel.
      • Navigate to Mail (you may need to search for it).
      • Click on Show Profiles and remove any profiles associated with the old personal or nonprofit accounts.
    3. Reinstall Outlook: Once the old profiles are removed, reinstall Outlook from your Microsoft 365 account. Make sure to install the version that corresponds to your current subscription.
    4. Create a New Profile: After reinstalling, create a new Outlook profile:
      • Go to Control Panel > Mail > Show Profiles > Add.
      • Follow the prompts to set up your email account using the correct credentials for your nonprofit account.
    5. Import Data: If you have a backup of your old Outlook data (PST file), you can import it:
      • Open Outlook, go to File > Open & Export > Import/Export.
      • Choose Import from another program or file and select your PST file to restore your contacts, tasks, and calendar.
    6. Check Account Settings: Ensure that your email settings are correct. If you are using Gmail, make sure IMAP is enabled in your Gmail settings and that you have the correct server settings in Outlook.
    7. Contact Support: If you continue to face issues, consider reaching out to Microsoft Support for further assistance, especially since this involves account migrations and potential data loss.

    By following these steps, you should be able to restore your Outlook functionality and access your email as before.

    References:

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