Outlook is one of the simplest applications out there to not just send and receive emails, but to synchronize your tasks, events, update your schedules, create customized folders and so on.
It is not always smooth sailing for users though. There are times when Outlook shows errors. One such error is “Cannot start Microsoft Outlook. Cannot open the Outlook window. The set of folders cannot be opened. The operation failed.”
Before we jump into finding solutions to this error, let us look at common causes for this error:
- Incorrect installation/re-installation of Outlook.
- Improper upgradation of Outlook.
- Using a profile created in an older version of Outlook in current Outlook version.
- Corrupted Outlook PST file.
Here are few solutions to “The set of folders cannot be opened” error.
(I) Create a new Outlook profile
- Click on Windows. In the search window, type Control Panel. Open Control Panel.
- Open Mail section by going to User Accounts -> Mail.
- Now click on Show Profiles.
- Select your current profile and click on Remove.
- In Mail Profiles window, add a new profile by clicking on Add Enter the name of your new Outlook profile. Click Ok to save changes.
- Now select Auto Account Setup or Manual Setup and follow the on-screen instructions.
- (II) Start Outlook in Safe mode
- Press Windows+R. In the search window, enter Outlook/safe. Press Enter or click O
- You can select the profile that you want to log in. If it works fine in Safe mode, the likely issue could be that of Add-ins.
- To disable Add-ins, go to File ->Options -> Add-ins -> COM Add-ins -> Manage ->Go.
- Uncheck all the Add-ins and click Ok.
- Check if Outlook is back to normalcy.
- (III) Reset Navigation Pane
- Press Windows+R.
- In the Run dialog window, type exe/resetnavpane. Press Enter or click Ok.
- Now reopen Outlook.
- (IV)Use scanpst.exe
Use this method if your .ost file is corrupted.
- Open your computer explorer and type exe in the search window.
- Once you find it, double-click on it.
- After it opens, click on Browse.
- Now select your corrupted .ost or .pst file. OST file can be found at C:\Users\your_username\My Documents\Outlook Files. PST file can be found at C:\Users\your_username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook. Use any of them to repair.
- After you selected the file, click on Start to begin scanning.
- After the completion of the scan, you will be asked if you want to repair the file. Click on Repair. Note that you have to run the repair process a few times to get rid of all the errors.
- (V) Use Cached Exchange Mode
This works only for Microsoft Exchange users.
- Type Control Panel in Windows search bar. Go to Control Panel and type Mail.
- Now click on Mail icon in search results. In Mail Setup window, click on Data Files. Select your Account and click Settings.
- In Advanced, check all three boxes for Use cached exchange mode, Download shared folders and Download public folder favorites. Close the window. Open Outlook and test again.
If your OST file is corrupt and is the root cause for the error “The set of folders cannot be opened”, you can fix corrupt ost file outlook 2010 using Remo Repair Outlook (PST) software.
The recovery tool ensures that your original file is not tampered with as it reads the file, extracts contents and creates a healthy file to fix all the issues. You can repair your PST file, even if it is password protected.