FIX: Windows Search exited without properly closing your Outlook *.OST or *.PST file (Solved)

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This tutorial contains instructions to fix the Outlook Error “Windows search exited without properly closing Outlook OST or PST file” Microsoft Outlook must be restarted”.

The error “Windows Search exited without closing the Outlook file” usually occurs after a forced shutdown of Microsoft Outlook, e.g. (after power failure). In such a case, simply restarting Microsoft Outlook usually fixes the problem, but in some cases the error persists even after restarting Outlook, making it impossible to work.

How to FIX: Windows Search exited without properly closing Outlook .PST or .OST file.

Method 1. Repair/Recreate Outlook Data file.

The first method to fix the mentioned error in Microsoft Outlook is to repair or recreate the Outlook data file depending on the type of email account you have (IMAP or POP3). To do that:

1. Close Outlook.
2. Type “control panel” in Search and then open the Control Panel app from the results.
3. In Control Panel, set the ‘View by’ to Small icons to show all control panel items and then open the Mail applet.

4. Click the Data Files button.

5. Now, depending on your account type (IMAP or POP3), note the name of the Outlook data file (e.g. “youraccountname@domain.com.ost” if you have an IMAP account or “youraccountname@domain.com.pst” if you have a POP3 account).

6. Then click Open File Location to navigate to the location on the disk where the Outlook data file (.OST or .PST) is stored.

7. Now, close “Account settings” and & “Mail setup” and proceed as follows, according your email account type (IMAP or POP3).

A. For Exchange (IMAP) Accounts (.OST)
If you ‘re using an IMAP, Microsoft Exchange or Office 365 account, then force Outlook to recreate the corrupted Outlook .OST file, by doing the following:

1. In the Explorer window that opens (after click “Open File Location” at the previous step), locate and then Rename or delete the .OST file (e.g. from “youraccountname@domain.com.ost” to “youraccountname@domain.com.ost.bak”).

2. When done, open Outlook* and check if the problem persists. If so, continue to method 2 below.

* Note: After launching Outlook, Outlook will recreate the Outlook .OST data file and will re-download all the messages again from the mail server.

B. For POP3 Accounts (PST)
If you ‘re using a POP3 account, then repair the corrupted Outlook .PST file, by doing the following:

1. Open a new Explorer window, and run the “scanpst.exe” (aka “Inbox Repair tool”), from the following location: *

• C:Program FilesMicrosoft Office%OfficeVersion%SCANPST.EXE

* Note: Below are mentioned the locations of the “SCANPST.EXE” file according the installed Windows & Office version:

• Office 2019 & 2016 & Office 365:
  • Windows 32-bit > C:Program FilesMicrosoft OfficeOffice16
  • Windows 64-bit & Office 32-bit > C:Program Files (x86)Microsoft OfficeOffice16
  • Windows 64-bit & Office 64-bit > C:Program FilesMicrosoft OfficeOffice16
  • Click-to-Run Office 32-bit  > C:Program Files (x86)Microsoft OfficerootOffice16
  • Click-to-Run Office 64-bit  > C:Program FilesMicrosoft Office 16rootoffice16
• Office 2013:
  • Windows 32-bit > C:Program FilesMicrosoft OfficeOffice15
  • Windows 64-bit & Office 32-bit > C:Program Files (x86)Microsoft OfficeOffice15
  • Windows 64-bit & Office 64-bit > C:Program FilesMicrosoft OfficeOffice15
  • Click-to-Run Office 32-bit  > C:Program Files (x86)Microsoft OfficerootOffice15
  • Click-to-Run Office 64-bit  > C:Program FilesMicrosoft Office 15rootoffice15
• Office 2010:
  • Windows 32-bit > C:Program FilesMicrosoft OfficeOffice14
  • Windows 64-bit & Office 32-bit > C:Program Files (x86)Microsoft OfficeOffice14
  • Windows 64-bit & Office 64-bit > C:Program FilesMicrosoft OfficeOffice14
• Office 2007:
  • Windows 32-bit > C:Program FilesMicrosoft OfficeOffice12
  • Windows 64-bit >  C:Program Files (x86)Microsoft OfficeOffice12

2. In ‘Microsoft Outlook Inbox Repair’ tool, click Browse.

5. Now, navigate to the location of the Outlook PST data file on disk, select the PST file (e.g. “youraccountname@domain.com.pst”) and click Open.

6. Finally, press the Scan button and be patient until the ‘Inbox Repair Tool’ repairs the corrupted Outlook data file. *

* Note: During the repair progress (at the final repair phase), you will be asked if you want to create a backup. Answer “Yes” to continue the repair operation.

7. When the repair process is complete, open Outlook and check if the problem is resolved. If not, continue to Method-2 below.

Method 2. Rebuild the Search Index.

If after repairing the Outlook data file, you still receive the error “Windows search exited without properly closing Outlook file”, then proceed to rebuild the Windows Search Indexing database, by doing the following:

1. Close Outlook.
2. Type “control panel” in Search and then open the Control Panel app from the results.
3. In Control Panel, set the ‘View by’ to Small icons to show all control panel items and then open the Indexing Options.

4. At Indexing Options click the Advanced button.

5. At ‘Index settings’ tab, click the Rebuild button.

6. Finally, click OK to rebuild the Index.

5. Wait the index rebuilding process to complete and then restart your computer.
6. After restart, open Outlook and check if the problem is resolved.

Method 3. Run Outlook without Add-Ins.

In some cases, a third-party plug-in can cause Microsoft Outlook to function abnormally. So proceed and check if Outlook opens with Add-ins disabled. To do that:

1. Press Windows + R keys to open the run command box.
2. Type: outlook /safe and click OK.

3. If Outlook open without problem, proceed and disable add-ins as instructed below. (otherwise proceed to next method).

To Disable Outlook Add-ins:

1. Click the File menu and select Options.
2. Select Add-ins at the left pane.
3. At the right pane, select COM Add-ins and click Go…

4. Uncheck all the checkboxes to disable all the Add-ins and click OK.

e. Restart Outlook.

Method 4. Repair Windows System Files.

The next method to resolve the mentioned Outlook problem, is to repair the system files by using the DISM and SFC commands.

1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator. To do that:

1. Press the Windows + R keys to open the ‘Run’ command box
2. Type CMD and then press the keys CTRL + SHIFT + ENTER.

2. In command prompt give the following command and press Enter:

• DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

3. When the DISM operation is completed, type the following command and hit Enter:

• sfc /scannow

4. Now wait until the System File Checker repairs the Windows System Files.
5. When this done, restart your computer.

Method 5. Check your PC for Viruses & Malware.

Many viruses or malicious programs can cause problems in Windows and other programs. So use this Malware Scan and Removal Guide to check and remove viruses or/and malicious programs that may be running on your computer. In addition, if you are running a third-party antivirus program, uninstall it and check if the problem reappears.

Final Note: If after applying the instructions above, you still can’t open Outlook because of the “Windows search exited without closing the Outlook file properly” error, try the following in this order:

1. Create a new Outlook profile and then re-add your email account in the new profile.

2. Repair Microsoft Office.

That’s all folks! Which solution/method worked for you?
Please leave a comment in the comment section below or even better: like and share this blog post in the social networks to help spread the word about this solution.

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Konstantinos Tsoukalas

Konstantinos is the founder and administrator of Repairwin.com. Since 1995 he works and provides IT support as a computer and network expert to individuals and large companies. He is specialized in solving problems related to Windows or other Microsoft products (Windows Server, Office, Microsoft 365, etc.).

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