How do I put my Outlook365 back "factory" without losing all my settings?

Question

How do I put my Outlook365 back "factory" without losing all my settings?

Tom F 20

I am running Gmail on Outlook365 on my Windows11 PC.

Stupidly, I opened an "Invitation to an event" email. Before I realized it, I was getting email from my bank that there was activity in my banking account, and needed to change my password. Also, my Outlook sent out emails to everyone in my contacts list. Outlook stopped working after that; I could not send or receive emails anymore.

I was advised to change my password for Gmail on the Gmail web page, which I did. When I tried to change it in Outlook, it stopped working. I tried running a repair on it to no avail. I have it so screwed up right now that I don't know where to start. Tried to remove the user, but that didn't work, so I added it back on it, but now I have two- same username but one halfway works and the other is broken.

Is there any way that I can start over without losing all the settings I have made over the years, or am out of luck and will have to uninstall/reinstall Outlook365?

TIA for any advice/help you can give.

Moved to Microsoft 365 and Office | Install, redeem, activate | For home | Windows

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Answer 1

Chloe-V 13,350 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi Tom F,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum.

I understand how frustrating this is, especially after Outlook created duplicate Gmail entries and then stopped sending or receiving mail.

Please note that this is a user-to-user support forum. Moderators, contributors including external Microsoft employees cannot directly intervene in Microsoft product features or access back-end systems. Our role is limited to providing technical guidance on reported issues, requests, or ideas only.

Before uninstalling Microsoft 365, I recommend starting with a clean Outlook profile. This is usually safer than reinstalling, because it lets you test Outlook again without deleting the old profile right away.

Please try these steps:

Close Outlook.
Open Control Panel > Mail > Show Profiles.
Select Add and create a new Outlook profile.
Add your Gmail account again in the new profile.
Set Outlook to prompt for a profile when opening, then test sending and receiving from the new profile.

Please do not delete the old profile yet. It may still contain local Outlook data such as PST files, contacts, calendar items, rules, or signatures.

If Gmail still cannot be added or Outlook does not prompt you to sign in, open Windows Credential Manager and remove old saved credentials related to Outlook, Office, Google, or Gmail, then restart the PC and try adding the account again.

Since emails were sent without your action, it is also a good idea to check Gmail security from the web, but the main Outlook step is to rebuild the profile first rather than uninstalling Office.

Please feel free to let me know if you have any further updates, thanks.

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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Tom F 20 Reputation points

2026-06-24T13:13:43.6233333+00:00

Thanks for the lesson :-). I managed to save everything except my Rules. Imported my Contacts from a saved file, and am re-doing my calendar. All in all I'd say it was a success. Thank you for all your help.
Chloe-V 13,350 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-06-25T00:00:22.74+00:00

Hi Tom F,

That's great to hear! I'm glad things worked out and that you were able to recover your contacts and calendar. Thank you for the update, and don't hesitate to reach out if you need any help in the future.
Tom F 20 Reputation points

2026-06-25T02:48:19.5666667+00:00

How do I get rid of the other user in the left column? I have ******@gmail.com and ******@gmail.com (1) users. The (1) user is the working one; the other has my folders but no email, and will not send or receive mail. When I do File .. Account Settings .. Account Settings .. Email Accounts, the (1) user is the only one listed.
Chloe-V 13,350 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-06-25T06:58:33.2466667+00:00
Hi Tom F,

Thank you for the detailed explanation. Since ******@gmail.com (1) is the only account listed under File > Account Settings > Account Settings > Email, the other ******@gmail.com entry in the left folder pane is likely not a separate email account anymore. It may be an old Outlook data file or a leftover profile/cache entry.

Please try the following:

In classic Outlook, go to File > Account Settings > Account Settings.

Open the Data Files tab.

Look for any data file related to the non-working ******@gmail.com entry.

If that entry contains folders you still need, please copy or export them first.

Select the old/non-working data file and choose Remove.

Restart Outlook and check whether the duplicate entry disappears.

If Outlook does not allow you to remove it, or if it is set as the default data file, the best option is to create a new Outlook profile:

Close Outlook.

Open Control Panel > Mail > Show Profiles.

Select Add, create a new profile, and add only the working Gmail account again.

Set the new profile as the default.

Open Outlook and confirm that only the working Gmail mailbox appears.

Please note that removing an account or data file from Outlook only removes the local Outlook connection/cached content from the computer. It does not delete or deactivate the Gmail account itself.
Tom F 20 Reputation points

2026-06-25T10:59:53.3666667+00:00

Thanks for the prompt response!

I think I'll just live with the non-working header in my list. I dragged it to the bottom and will let it sit there. Messing around with the data files is what got me screwed up the first time; I can live with the "extra" files as long as my email works.

Thank you very much for all your help :-)!
Chloe-V 13,350 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-06-27T06:34:04.49+00:00

Hi Tom F,

Thanks for the update. That sounds like a sensible choice, especially since your Gmail account is working normally now.

I'm glad you found a workaround that you're comfortable with. If anything changes in the future, feel free to post back and the community will be happy to help.