Cannot start Outlook 2003 after reboot

Slink9,

I agree that it appears that Outlook.pst is not getting closed properly on exit but the question is why and how can I fix it so that it does close properly.  I have tried all of the previously mentioned solutions including re-installing Outlook but still have the same problem.  I have tried closing it gracefully and also closing it using the X icon in the window but still have the same result.  I have broadband and typically leave my machine running so it isn't a problem until I have to restart due to an update of some sort.  But it is a pain and I would like to fix it.

I remember in the old days there were utilities that showed which executable had a lock on a particular data file.  Are you aware of any current utilities that might do this.  I think that would help narrow the problem.

-ron

No!  It is located in the default location ...local settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook.

I have solved the problem but it was very strange and i'm still not really sure what was happening.  I re-installed Outlook but that did not help.  I then logged off and logged in under my local machine account and found that the outlook.pst file was still locked.  I then restarted and logged in under my local machine account and found that I could then change the .pst filename for my network admin account.  I renamed the file and created a new profile and created a new data file.  Then I restarted and logged in under the network admin account and was able to open  changed the data file for the network admin account to use the newly created datafile (outlook2.pst).  I then imported my data from a backup .pst file and deleted the outlook.pst file.

I believe that it may have been related to the default profile and that creating a new profile that does not use the default outlook.pst file was the solution.  I am going to test this by creating a new profile that does use the default outlook.pst file and see if the problem returns.  I will post the results here.  I am awarding the points to sunray_2003 because the problem appeared to have multiple causes and his was the most comprehensive response.

I created a new profile using the default outlook.pst file and so far I cannot repeat the failure.  I think it must have been somehow related to the profile but I cannot reproduce the conditions at this point.  Reinstalling Outlook did not work because I was assigning the old profile to the new installation.  I have re-installed PGP and Norton Anti-Virus and have restarted twice.  So far no problems.

The bottom line is that creating a new profile and data file and importing the data from a backup was the solution.  Thank you all for your suggestions.

-ron

It's been a while but as i recall from looking at the history that the problem was with the sequence of installation.  I haven't used Exchange in ages but as I recall you have a choice between storing your outlook file locally or on the exchange server and profiles are maintained by the exchange server.  So your problem may be entirely different.  The profile I am referring to is the Outlook or local email profile.  

You can backup your pst file by simply copying it to a new location.  By default it would be found in C:\documents and settings\(user)\local settings\application data\Microsoft\outlook\ directory.  Since you can't get into Outlook you can simply copy the Outlook.pst file and any other .pst or extend.dat files you find in this directory to a new location.

Then  uninstall Outlook and make sure everything is clean (i.e. no files in your local directory path  as noted above).

Check your mail account profiles by going to Control Panel | Mail | Show Profiles.  Delete any profiles found.

When you re-install outlook it will prompt you to create a new profile.  Do that and re-install normally.

Once you have re-installed you can import your data from the outlook files you previously copied from the new location.

This is all from memory and may not help since your on Exchange Server but it's all I can tell you about my experience.

Hope it helps.

-ron