Fix Outlook only opens in safe mode on Windows 10

If you are a highly organized person, you will most likely have an Outlook application to organize your work. One of the problems is that Outlook only opens in safe mode, or Outlook opens in safe mode but not in normal mode. Most of the users reported that the issue is related to the 2016 version which says that Outlook 2016 only opens in safe mode. If you are having a similar problem on your Windows 10 PC, you can try to fix it with the help of the article. Simply put, the article is the answer if you have a question about how to stop Outlook from opening in safe mode. The methods described here are aimed at resolving problems with the Outlook application, and you can use the Outlook application normally after implementing the solutions.

How to fix Outlook that only opens in safe mode on Windows 10

Possible reasons why Outlook only opens in safe mode are listed later in this topic.

• Update problems. Updates installed on your PC may conflict with the Outlook application and you will not be able to use the application normally.
• Corrupted key in the registry editor. If the keys in the Registry Editor for the Microsoft Office suite and the Outlook application are corrupted, you will not be able to use the Outlook application.
• Corrupted Outlook application. If there are problems with the Outlook application, you may only be able to use the Outlook application in Safe Mode.
• Conflict with the Windows Search service. If the Outlook application conflicts with the Windows Search service running in the background, you will not be able to use the Outlook application normally.

Method 1: Perform a System Restore

If Outlook only opens in Safe Mode but not in Normal Mode, you can try performing a System Restore to fix the problem. Rolling the PC back to the previous version in the settings may solve the problem. Read the article on how to perform a system restore to fix the problem on your PC.

Method 2: Disable Windows Search Service

If the Windows Search service conflicts with the Outlook application, you may have a problem opening Outlook only in safe mode. You can try disabling the Windows Search service to fix the issue by following these steps.

1. Press the Windows key, type Control Panel and click Open.

2. Select the Small Icons option from the View drop-down menu and click the Administration option from the menu.

3. Double-click the Services option in the Administrative Tools window to open the Service window.

Note. Alternatively, you can open the Run dialog box by simultaneously pressing the Windows + R keys. Type services.msc in the Open panel and click the OK button to open the Services window.

4. Select a Windows Search option from the available list and click the Stop button under Stop this service to disable the Windows Search service.

Method 3: Use the resetnavpane command

Sometimes a conflict with the Windows Search service can cause Outlook to fail to start. Hence, you can try using the resetnavpane command to launch the application and fix the problem that Outlook only opens in safe mode.

1. Press the Windows + R keys at the same time to open the Run dialog box.

2. Type outlook.exe /resetnavpane and click OK to start the Outlook application.

Method 4: Manage add-ons

If you have a lot of add-ons in your Outlook application, you may encounter the problem that Outlook only opens in safe mode. You need to manage add-ons by keeping the important ones and deselecting the rest to fix the problem.

1. Press the Windows key, type Outlook and click Open.

2. Click the "File" tab on the top bar of the Outlook application.

3. Click the Options tab on the left side of the window to open the Outlook Options window.

4. Click the Add-Ins tab on the left side of the window, select the COM Add-ins option from the drop-down menu in the Manage option, and click the Go... button next to the option.

5. In the "COM Add-ins" window, deselect all unnecessary add-ins in the Outlook application and click the "OK" button to manage the add-ins.

6. Close the Outlook application by clicking the Close button and restarting the Outlook application from the search bar.

Method 5: Change Updates

If the problem with opening Outlook in safe mode but not in normal mode is due to updates installed on your computer, you can try the methods in the section to resolve the issue.

Option I: Install update KB3115019.

The KB115019 update will help resolve an issue that causes Outlook to only open in Safe Mode on your PC. Follow the steps in this section to install the update to resolve the issue.

1. Press the Windows key, type Google Chrome and click Open.

2. Open the Microsoft page for the KB3115019 update on the official website.

3. Click the Download button to install the update on your computer.

4. Restart your computer by pressing the Windows key, clicking the power button and selecting the Restart option.

Option 2: Uninstall update KB3114409

If the KB3114409 update conflicts with Outlook, the problem may be that Outlook only opens in Safe Mode. You need to uninstall the update by following the steps given below to fix the issue.

1. Launch the Control Panel from the Windows Search Panel.

2. Set View by > Category, then click Uninstall a Program under Programs.

3. Click the View Installed Updates option in the left pane of the Uninstall a Program window.

4. Select the update KB3114409 and click the Uninstall button on the top bar.

5. In the update removal confirmation window, click Yes to remove the KB3114409 update.

Method 6: Run SCANPST to Repair Outlook

SCANPST is an application for scanning and fixing errors in Microsoft Office applications. You can use SCANPST to fix the issue that Outlook only opens in safe mode.

1. Press the Windows + E keys at the same time to launch File Explorer.

2. Navigate to the Office16 folder by navigating to the specified path.

C:Program Files (x86)Microsoft OfficeOffice16

Note. You need to navigate to the folder with the latest version of Microsoft Office on your PC.

3. Double-click the SCANPST.exe file in the list to run the SCANPST file.

Note. The SCANPST.exe file will be the application and will be listed in the file type.

4. Click the "Browse..." button on the "Microsoft Outbound Message Recovery" screen.

5. In the "Select a file to scan" window, open the "Outlook Files" folder by following the location path "Documents" > "Outlook Files", select the Outlook file and click the "Open" button.

6. Click the Start button on the Repair Microsoft Outbox screen and wait for the scan to complete.

7. Then click the "Repair" button on the "Microsoft Outgoing Message Recovery" screen to repair the Outlook application.

8. Finally, click the "OK" button on the "Restoration Complete" window to complete the restoration.

Method 7: Restore a previous version of Outlook (if applicable)

If you recently updated the Outlook app and noticed that the updated version of the Outlook app only opens in safe mode, you can try restoring previous versions of the app to resolve the issue.

1. Launch File Explorer.

2. Navigate to the Office16 folder following the location path: This PC > Local Disk (C:) > Program Files (x86) > Microsoft Office > Office16.

Note. You need to navigate to the folder with the latest version of Microsoft Office on your PC.

3. Right-click the OUTLOOK.exe file and select the Properties option from the displayed list.

Note. The OUTLOOK.exe file will be the application and will be listed in the File type field.

4. In the OUTLOOK Properties window, click the Previous Versions tab to view previous versions of Outlook.

Note. If any previous versions are available in the application, select them in File Versions, click the Restore button, and then click the Apply and OK buttons to restore the previous version.

Method 8: Add or Reset Outlook Profile

If your Outlook profile account is corrupted, you may not be able to use that account to use the Outlook application. You can try creating a new Outlook account and resetting the profile to fix the issue that Outlook only opens in safe mode.

1. Open the control panel from the Windows search bar.

2. Set View > Small Icons, then select the Mail (32-bit) option in the window.

3. Click the "Show Profiles..." button in the "Profiles" section of the "Mail Setup - Outlook" window.

4. Then click the "Add..." button in the "Mail" window to create a new profile.

5. Enter a profile name in the Profile Name field and click the OK button in the New Profile window.

Note. For explanatory purposes, an account named t is created in the Outlook application.

6. Enter your account setup details in the "Add Account" window and set up a new Outlook account.

7. In the "Mail" window, select the "Always use this profile" option, select the new account from the drop-down menu, and click the "Apply" and then "OK" buttons to reset the Outlook profile.

Method 9: Change Registry Editor Keys

If the keys in the Registry Editor are corrupted, you will not be able to use the Outlook application normally. You can try fixing the keys in the Registry Editor to fix the issue in the Outlook app.

Option I: Disable Hardware Acceleration

If the hardware acceleration feature is enabled in the Outlook application, you may experience the problem of opening Outlook only in safe mode. You need to disable this feature in the Registry Editor in order to fix this issue.

1. Press the Windows key, type "Registry Editor" and click "Open".

2. Navigate to the Common folder following the path shown here: Computer > HKEY_CURRENT_USER > SOFTWARE > Microsoft > Office > 16.0 > Common.

Note. Instead of the 16.0 folder, you need to select the folder with the latest version of the Microsoft Office suite.

3. Select the "General" folder, right-click on an empty space on the right side of the window, hover over the "New" option, and press the "Options" key in the adjacent menu.

4. Name the new key created as Graphics and press the Enter key to create the key.

5. Right-click an empty space on the right side of the window, hover over the New option, and click the DWORD (32-bit) Value option in the adjacent menu.

6. Enter the DWORD name as DisableHardwareAcceleration and press the Enter key to create the DWORD value.

7. Double-click the DWORD, enter a value of 1 in the Value data panel, and click the OK button to disable hardware acceleration for the Outlook application.

Option II: Reset the Safe Mode Security Key

The Safe Mode key or the security feature in the Outlook app can only open Outlook in Safe Mode, but usually won't cause any problems. You need to reset the Safe Mode security key in the Registry Editor to fix the problem in the Outlook app.

1. launch the registry editor from the Windows search bar.

2. Navigate to the Outlook folder following the path shown here: Computer > HKEY_CURRENT_USER > SOFTWARE > Microsoft > Office > 16.0 > Outlook.

Note. Instead of the 16.0 folder, you need to select the folder with the latest version of the Microsoft Office suite.

3. Select the Outlook folder, right-click on an empty space on the right side of the window, hover over the New option, and press the Option key on the adjacent menu.

4. Name the new key created as Security and press the Enter key to create the key.

5. Right-click an empty space on the right side of the window, hover over the New option, and click the DWORD (32-bit) Value option in the adjacent menu.

6. Enter the DWORD name as DisableSafeMode and press the Enter key to create the DWORD value.

7. Right-click the DisableSafeMode DWORD value and select Edit… from the menu.

8. Enter a value of 1 in the Value data panel and click the OK button to reset the Safe Mode security feature for Outlook.

Note. You can also double-click the DWORD, enter the value 1 in the Value data panel, and click the OK button to reset Safe Mode for the Outlook application.

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This article discusses methods to resolve the issue that Outlook only opens in safe mode. If you are facing issues like Outlook opens in safe mode but not in normal mode, or Outlook 2016 version only opens in safe mode, you can use this article as an answer to your question on how to stop Outlook from opening in safe mode. If you have any suggestions or questions about the topic being discussed, please leave them in the comments section below so we can resolve further issues.