Microsoft Outlook is a useful tool for email organization and synchronization. Unfortunately, sometimes it has some problems. One frequent problem occurs when users think they have sent an email, but it turns out that the email is stuck in outbox waiting to be sent. This article contains a few ideas about what might be causing this problem and what you can do to fix it.
Why the Email is Stuck in Outbox
- Are you working offline? When your computer is not connected to the internet, Outlook is designed so that you can still press “send” on emails and it will send them as soon as you connect to the internet again. Check your internet connection to make sure that you have not been disconnected.
- Are your send options properly configured? One feature of Microsoft Outlook is the ability to set a time delay on message sending. However, if you unknowingly activate one of these delays, you may become frustrated when you realize that none of your emails are being sent. To check your send options, click on the “Tools” menu and select “Options.” Under the “Send” tab, be sure that you have the options selected for both Send Messages Immediately and Save Copy of Sent Messages in the ‘Sent Items’ folder. If you have to make any changes to these settings, be sure to click “OK” when you are done.
- Are your mail folders or your email messages damaged? It is possible that one or more of your folders or messages has a problem with it. If this is the case, try deleting your existing Outbox folder. You can do this by closing out of Outlook and searching your hard drive for a file named “outbox.dbx”. When you find it, delete it. Then reopen Outlook and it will automatically create a new Outbox folder.
- Still having problems? Check out the Microsoft support webpage dedicated to Outlook messages that are stuck in your outbox: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/262052.
Additional Help
If you try these tips and you are still struggling with your Outlook, or if you have any other problems related to Outlook or your computer in general, visit TalkLocal. We will find you up to three local computer repair professionals and have them call you back within minutes.
