Several users have complained that Outlook 2007 freezes (or becomes extremely slow) until the synchronization between Gmail server and Outlook data file is complete. If you are also frustrated with Outlook slowness, read some simple tweaks to help you improve the performance of Microsoft Outlook with Gmail IMAP: 1.
To start in Safe Mode, you can hold down the CTRL key when opening Outlook. (Keep holding it until message appears), or Click Start, In the Search or Run box, type outlook.exe /safe and press Enter If Outlook is slow or locks up whilst in Safe Mode, then it is very likely that an Add In could be causing the issue.

If you are using Microsoft Outlook for a long time, then you might have noticed that it is not running smoothly as earlier. Yes, Outlook performance can slow down as time rolls (of course with usage!). And, there are several aspects which might be responsible for this slow Outlook performance; counting from Add-ins to the health of your data file.

In Performance Options, select the Advanced tab, then select Change in the Virtual memory area. Make sure the Automatically manage paging file size for all drives check box is selected. If it is, continue to the next tip. If it's not, select it and then restart your PC by selecting the Start button Power Restart. When you start Microsoft Outlook, switch folders, or synchronize email, you may experience slow performance. Additionally, when you make changes or additions to a calendar, you may receive the following error message: You don't have permission to create an entry in this folder.

Fortunately, there available various workarounds to fix a slowly running Outlook. And in this blog, few things that you can try-out like settings verification, updating, installing updates, etc. to resolve slow Outlook performance are explained.

So, try them one after the other carefully and make sure your Outlook keeps running smoothly.

How to Fix Slow Outlook Performance? – Easy Tips

You need to follow these 3 steps to fix your slow running Microsoft Outlook.

Verify
Disable
Enable

1. What to Verify?

System Requirement

Check whether your computer meets the system requirements for the version of Microsoft Office that you are running. When Outlook is not compatible on your computer i.e. if your computer fails to meet Outlook requirements then you may experience various issues while working and Outlook says not enough memory, cannot start, access denied etc.

Update Outlook (Install New Office Updates)

If you are on older versions of Outlook like 2003 or 2007 then just go to the Help menu in your Outlook application, click on Check for Updates and follow the on-screen instructions.

In case, you are running Outlook 2010 then do the same thing using the Windows Update from Control Panel.

Update Windows

Windows updates are essential to keep a computer running right, also, the updates are quite significant to have Outlook running ideally. With the Windows updates, Outlook gains Microsoft patches (updates), which boosts its speed and security.

Repair Outlook

If you have installed latest updates and still facing slow Outlook performance, then try Repair feature. This basically scans for and repairs issues that present in Outlook since after the first installation. Moreover, this technique doesn’t affect any of your files, rules, accounts.

Go to Control Panel -> select Programs and Features -> right-click on MS Office -> click on Change button -> choose Repair option, then follow the on-screen instructions.

In Outlook 2003 and 2007 versions, you can find the Repair option under Outlook Help menu.

Compact PST File

Large PST file may be the top reason for slow Outlook performance issues. To compact a PST file, close the Outlook first and open Control Panel. Click on Mail and select Data Files. Next, double-click on Personal Folders and choose Compact now option. Finally, start Outlook.

If you wish, you can break up large PST files into smaller ones (split).

Archive Inbox

The more emails in Inbox means more serious issues in Outlook, especially if Outlook is using PST files. So, instead of letting your Outlook Inbox grow, set up Auto Archiving.

Click on File tab, and select Options. Switch to the Advanced tab and choose AutoArchive Settings.

Enable Run AutoArchive Every check box, and in Days box specify how frequently the AutoArchive process should execute.

Also enable Prompt Before AutoArchive option, if you want to be notified before the AutoArchive process begins. In Defaultarchive file tab, give a name for the archived items file and click on OK button.

Go to Tools, then Options, and Other to reach AutoArchive Settings in Outlook 2003 and 2007.

Limit Published and Shared Calendars

The more you publish and share calendars, the more hindrance you are putting on Outlook. This slows Outlook performance since more data Outlook has to share in order to publish calendars. It’s fine to have one or two shared calendars but keep in mind that more data it has to push and pull, which slower your Outlook.

2. Things to Disable:

Why Does Outlook Run So Slow On My Mac

Indexing

Indexing within Outlook, particularly when you are running the app on older versions of Windows with Microsoft Windows Desktop Search installed, really gives rise to slow Outlook performance.

So, disable Indexing in Outlook by navigating to Tools -> then Options -> switch to Preferences tab -> select Search options. Uncheck all folders.

RSS Feeds

Outlook synchronizes RSS feeds from IE to the RSS reader in Outlook, by default. If you have bookmarked a large number of RSS feeds in IE, then syncing could easily make Outlook sluggish. So, if you don’t use Outlook as an RSS reader then disable it by going to Options, then Advanced and uncheck both options located under RSS Feeds.

Add-Ins

First, run Outlook in Safe Mode– by pressing CTRL button when Outlook starts.

If no problem occurs when Outlook app is running in Safe Mode, then it confirms one of the add-ins is causing the slow Outlook performance.

If so, then disable COM add-ins or Exchange Server client extensions from Outlook, and, restart it. If that does not help, disable the remaining add-ins one after the other.

Open Outlook File menu. Select Options, and then click on Add-ins. Select COM Add-ins located in the Manage list, and hit the Go button.

Why Is Outlook So Slow On Mac

In the COM Add-Ins wizard, clear the check box of any COM add-ins that you want to deactivate. Opt OK, and restart Outlook.

Other Search Utilities

If you have any other software installed on your system for indexing and searching of

How to Fix Slow Outlook Performance? – Easy Tips

1. What to Verify?

System Requirement

Update Outlook (Install New Office Updates)

Update Windows

Repair Outlook

Compact PST File

Archive Inbox

Limit Published and Shared Calendars

2. Things to Disable:

Why Does Outlook Run So Slow On My Mac

Indexing

RSS Feeds

Add-Ins

Why Is Outlook So Slow On Mac

Other Search Utilities

Microsoft Outlook Running Slow On