Thursday, March 27, 2014

Reasons For The 'Cannot Start Microsoft Outlook' Error

Outlook is the famous email program employed both for business as well as personal purposes. All the data that is stored in Outlook is in the form of .PST files and any corruption to these files will cause many Outlook problems including the errors labeled 'cannot start Microsoft Outlook', 'cannot open the Outlook window' or 'Outlook.pst is not an Outlook data'. These errors cannot be fixed by the Microsoft Inbox Repair Tool and needs some methods to fix it. Well, here we explain some reasons for this Outlook problem; by knowing the reasons, you will be able to fix these issues very easily.

Scanpst.exe

The PST mailbox that you have created in Outlook is actually a file that is saved on the system's hard drive. Therefore, any issues or troubles occurring in the hard drive will also affect the PST files in the hard drive and will start causing problems. However, to fix the minor issues associated with this, Microsoft has included a utility tool called as Scanpst.Exe. By using this tool, you can fix minor issues associated with Outlook PST file corruption.

Cannot Open Outlook Window issue

There had been various reasons for the error where the Outlook.pst file is preventing users to access the application. This error is commonly seen after updating the Service Pack 2 of Office 2007 suite. However, in case of Outlook 2003 and 2010 issues, it may be because of configuration related issues. In this case, Outlook will be not be allowed to start because of the corruption of Navigation Pane’s configuration file rising to the problem called Cannot Start Outlook.

Reasons for failure of Scanpst.Exe

This is the repair utility employed by many users, if they come across any issues with PST corruption. However, because of certain limitations, this tool will not be that effective; let’s look at the reasons for this.
  • Basically, this utility tool is designed to solve minor problems regarding PST file corruption. However, in case of major problems, this tool will be a failure.
  • If the issue is associated with the body of the file, then there is a little chance for recovery, as the program will support only header corruption recovery.
  • If the issue regarding the PST corruption is not solved by using the utility tool, then it may be because of the increase in the file size of the PST.
These are the basic reasons for the 'Cannot Start Microsoft Outlook' problems. To know more regarding this, contact the Outlook support number.

Monday, March 24, 2014

Recovering Xbox Live Account Email Address

In case you are not aware, Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service. It was first developed and distributed by the software giant Microsoft Corporation. Xbox LIVE has a long running rivalry with Sony’s PlayStation Network and recently, Nintendo’s Nintendo Network. To avail the Xbox Live service, there are two options available. The Xbox Live service is available as either a free and or a subscription-based service. The free service is known as Xbox Live Free, and the subscription-based is named Xbox Live Gold. It has many features like party chat, video Kinect, avatars, downloadable content, and online multiplayer.

It is possible for you to recover the email address you used to sign up for Xbox Live by using your Xbox console to find your Windows Live ID. This unique Windows LIVE ID allows Xbox LIVE users to access account settings on Xbox.com or even recover their gamer tag to a new console. When you have your email address, you can use it to log into your Windows Live account online. But, if are not able to access or sign in to Xbox Live with your console for retrieving your ID, the Windows Live Help Center then suggests something. You are actually told to try contacting recipients of your previously sent messages to acquire your ID name. Here are the Windows Live help instructions for this.

Instructions
  • At first, you need to turn on your Xbox console and then sign into Xbox Live.
  • Then you need to press the Power button in the center of our controller to bring up your Xbox Guide window.
  • After that, click to the right with the four-way directional button until you reach the Settings tab.
  • Then you need to select Account Management by highlighting it and pressing A.
  • Click to the right twice to reach the Your Information tab.
  • Then select Windows Live ID to view your current email ID. The email address will be on the right side.
So, now you can view your current email ID. Xbox Live users, now you can use this ID to access account settings on Xbox.com or your gamer tag or as mentioned earlier, use it to log into your Windows Live.

If you need further clarification or you need to know more on this topic or any other related ones, you can get Windows live help information from the official Xbox website, and get to know more about your Xbox related issues.

Check If Someone Has Blocked You On Msn Messenger Chat

Many of us use the Windows Live Messenger application to chat with our friends. Formerly known as MSN Messenger, this online messaging application is one of the most widely used services by the users. Developed by Microsoft, Windows Live Messenger is compatible for Windows, Blackberry OS, iOS, etc. The technicians available at the Windows online support can be contacted anytime to troubleshoot and fix the issues related to this instant messaging application.

The best aspect of using Windows Live Messenger is that here, you can decide whom you want to talk with. This means you can text, voice and video-chat with your friends and contacts that you are familiar with. Similarly, you can block those contacts with whom you no longer wish to communicate from contacting you through this messaging service. Thus, Windows Live Messenger also serves as a safe messaging application. Now, sometimes you may also get a feeling that a person would have blocked you but you won’t be sure about it.

You can try the following instructions by the Windows online support to check if someone has blocked you on MSN Messenger chat:
  • The first thing you need to do is to sign in to the Windows Live account from which you believe you’ve been blocked. After signing in, you can scroll through your Contacts list and check if the person you believe blocked you appears Online or not. If you see him online, you haven’t been blocked.
  • Another alternative is to chat with a mutual contact and check if the person you believe blocked you appears online in the mutual contact’s contact list. Here, if he does appear, it means he has blocked you.
  • You can also double-click the person’s name that would be listed in Offline Contacts. Now, try sending him a message. If the message that you send goes through, Windows Live Messenger application would deliver it to your contact the next time he signs in. This would mean that he hasn’t blocked you. But if you receive an error message after sending the message, it would indicate that you cannot communicate with the person. In short, he has blocked you.
By following these steps provided by the Windows support technicians, you would be able to check if someone has blocked you on Windows Live Messenger. For more information on this instant messaging application, please contact our technical support team.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Yet Another Microsoft Update Error

It seems that Microsoft cannot get a thing right these days. The problems with the Microsoft Windows update all but caused a riot. Now, there seems to be some problem with the Microsoft Office update 2013. Many users who assumed that the update would fix the problems with their Microsoft software, had to uninstall it and restore the system.

Issue with the new Microsoft Office Update

Microsoft quickly removed the Microsoft Windows update, when the reports started coming in about some problem that was affecting some of the users. They’re apparently doing the same thing with the Microsoft Office Update 2013. This has prompted many users and IT experts to ask whether Microsoft is properly testing their updates before releasing them.

In the case of the MS Office update, it was found that installing the update disabled some of the Windows OS functions. With more and more users reporting the error, Microsoft have quickly realised that there was some error in the update file, which is affecting the Windows OS and chose to withdraw the update from the site.

The update was meant for the new Office 2013 versions – both 32 and 64 bit, Home Office and Student Office RT 2013. The update was supposed to make the interface more user-friendly and fix some of the performance issues in the new Office application.

Though Microsoft claims that they thoroughly test all their updates before releasing them, the reality is different. This is not the first time this has happened. Many Windows users have to reformat their whole system after they updated their system with the new Windows 8 RT update a few months. A recent Microsoft Exchange Server update too created more problems than it was supposed to solve.

All this points to the fact that Microsoft has failed to thoroughly test these updates and identify the technical bugs before they affect the users. Frankly, these updates were supposed to fix the technical bugs already there in the Windows and Office software. They end up creating more problems instead.

One of the Microsoft statements released after this incident talked about a step-by-step release of updates in the future. Making the update available to 1% users the first, 10% the next day and if there are no problems still, 100% the third day. They reckon this way they would be able to spot the problems early on and take the necessary steps to fix them.