How to fix outlook problem with receiving emails

Question

How to fix outlook problem with receiving emails

Anthony Miles 0

On the 15th I ran windows updates, which downloaded with files missing. After this I experienced screen freezing in outlook as well as other programs and my computer would not automatically power off. The next day on starting up my computer, I ran the windows updates again and this time everything downloaded, which solved the current problems, but when I opened up outlook, it automatically ran the scanpst and recommended I run the repair, which I did. Since then I have not been receiving emails, although I can still send mails. When I go into my outlook account on-line, I can see the incoming emails are there!

I have run the scanpst 5 times since then and it is not picking up and errors. I have tried disabling my anti-virus, which had no effect. Any ideas?

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Anthony Miles 0

Good day, Winnie,

Thank you for your comment.

I have a hotmail account and I did try to run the repair via account settings, only to find the repair icon greyed out, so no go.

I have now resolved the issue by closing outlook, renaming the ost file and let outlook create a new ost file on opening outlook.

Many thanks

Anthony

Anonymous

2026-07-22T04:08:32.7933333+00:00

Hi Anthony Miles

Thank you for the update. I’m glad rebuilding the OST file resolved the issue and your emails are syncing again. I appreciate you sharing the solution, as it may help others experiencing the same problem.

Best regards.

1 additional answer

Your answer

Anonymous

2026-07-22T04:08:32.7933333+00:00

Hi Anthony Miles

Thank you for the update. I’m glad rebuilding the OST file resolved the issue and your emails are syncing again. I appreciate you sharing the solution, as it may help others experiencing the same problem.

Best regards.

Answer 1

Hi Anthony Miles

I understand that after Outlook ran ScanPST and repaired your data file, you can still send emails, but new emails are not appearing in Outlook even though they are visible when you sign in to Outlook on the web.

Could you please confirm:

What type of account is configured in Outlook? (Outlook.com, Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo, or another provider)
Are the missing emails absent from all folders in Outlook, including "Inbox", "Junk Email", and "Sync Issues"?
When you open Outlook and select "Send/Receive" > "Send/Receive All Folders", do you receive any error message?

In the meantime, if this is an Outlook.com account, please try:

In Outlook, select "Send/Receive" > "Send/Receive All Folders" and check whether the status bar shows "All folders are up to date" or any synchronization error.
Open "File" > "Account Settings" > "Account Settings", select your account, then choose "Repair" and complete the wizard.
Go to "File" > "Account Settings" > "Data Files" and verify that the data file marked as "Default" matches the account that should be receiving email.

Please keep me posted so we can continue further. Thanks for your understanding.