Outlook 2007 reading pane gone blank

[Scotch]

The reading pane has recently stopped working and is just grey.

If I restart the computer, it may work briefly, then after a while stop and
go blank again.

Any suggestions please?

Am running Vista for Business. I recently successfully restored the
computer to an earlier backup following a crash, and also recently installed
Business Contact Manager for Outlook - could the reading pane problem be
anything to do with either of these events?

Apologies if I've missed an easy fix elsewhere in the forum, but I couldn't
see anything on a quick look.

If an expert has come across this problem before and knows the fast
solution, it would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

[Roady [MVP]]

Does it work in Outlook Safe Mode?
Start-> type; outlook.exe /safe

In addition see http://www.howto-outlook.com/faq/outlookdoesntstart.htm

--
Robert Sparnaaij [MVP-Outlook]
Coauthor, Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003
http://www.howto-outlook.com/
Outlook FAQ, HowTo, Downloads, Add-Ins and more

http://www.msoutlook.info/
Real World Questions, Real World Answers

-----

"Scotch" <Sco...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:05160289-6C47-40D4...@microsoft.com...

[Scotch]

I tried running safe mode, and the Outlook window looks exactly the same as
normal mode - ie it didn't say 'Safe mode' in the title bar, or anything like
that. Is that right?

Anyhow, the reading pane doesn't seem to work in that mode either.

Thanks for your help with this.

[pisces737]

I have the exact same problem, ever since applying Windows Updates on March
16. No effect of Safe Mode or Office Diagnostics. I'm running Vista.

[Roady [MVP]]

What is your exact version number? Help-> About
Did you try running Repair already?
If it still doesn't work after that, log on as a different user (create a
test user if needed) and see if the issue also occurs when logged on as that
user.

--
Robert Sparnaaij [MVP-Outlook]
Coauthor, Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003
http://www.howto-outlook.com/
Outlook FAQ, HowTo, Downloads, Add-Ins and more

http://www.msoutlook.info/
Real World Questions, Real World Answers

-----

"Scotch" <Sco...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:6642571E-CE67-42BB...@microsoft.com...

[Scotch]

Thanks for your continuing support.

Version number is:
(12.0.6300.5000) SP1 MSO (12.0.6213.1000)

Following your post I tried Repair (ie from Office CD) and this appeared to
help initially, but since then the problem has recurred intermittently
through the day.

About half an hour ago I rebooted the computer, and Outlook is now working
again fine. The reading pane is functioning. Before the reboot, however,
Outlook had again slowed to a crawl, the reading pane was disabled and there
were several other Outlook malfunctions. I noticed that Outlook's CPU usage
had increased to 50%, and by co-incidence saw that the preceding poster in
this forum mentioned a similar phenomenon. Is something going on here across
a number of other users too?

I haven't tried logging on as another user. Do you mean creating another
Windows User on my laptop? I'd prefer to avoid that if possible... it seems
to be quite a palaver creating all the new user's setings. I would give it a
go if you still think it necessary - what is the way to do it as simply as
possible please?

[Roady [MVP]]

Nope, can't remember coming across this issue before (and I'm here for quite
the number of years already).
Creating a test user is only to find out the scope of the issue; user
configuration issue or company wide configuration/installation issue. It
helps with troubleshooting and trying to find out how to make it work under
your own user account. That's why I called it a test user and not a new user
;-)

--
Robert Sparnaaij [MVP-Outlook]
Coauthor, Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003
http://www.howto-outlook.com/
Outlook FAQ, HowTo, Downloads, Add-Ins and more

http://www.msoutlook.info/
Real World Questions, Real World Answers

-----

"Scotch" <Sco...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:DCC816E3-6348-4323...@microsoft.com...

[markoh]

I can confirm that I too have the same problem with gray reading
pane..previewing emails with opening works. But reading pane does not work in
either mode.

[jlrodgers]

I know that ever since March 12th (the day MS released updates
KB946983, KB947801, etc) outlook will sometimes open and not check
messages or anything at startup (and the reading pane's "locked up" of
sorts, it's the "blue" color). Basically if you disable the reading
pane, the reading pane goes away, but if you re-enable it, you have
the message list "mirrored" there (i.e. outlook doesn't repaint the
area so you have the message list statically displayed there).

Then I end up having to close outlook (or click 2-3 things quickly so
it crashes), open the task manager, terminate the outlook process
(since it doesn't close when this happens), reopen outlook and try
again. What's funny is the diagnostic tool says there's no problem.
What's annoying is having to repeat the open-close-terminate-open
cycle 5-10 times before it finally checks messages and lets me do
anything.

I'd just uninstall those updates, but then the computer's open to
potential exploits -- although I read someplace online that
uninstalling them (the first one I believe) fixed outlook for people.

[Blue Max]

Roady,

We are also having the same problem. The reading pane is gray or fails to
refresh if something other than the reading pane was displayed before hand.
We are also noticing that contact cards are blank (either a few or all of
them). We also experience the same sporadic functionality as 'Scotch' has
after running diagnostics or rebooting.

I think there is some kind of a univeral problem developing here.

Thanks,

Richard

******************************
"Roady [MVP]" <newsgroups_DELETE_@_DELETE_sparnaaij_NO_._SPAM_net> wrote in
message news:41A4219F-9D97-42AC...@microsoft.com...

[Blue Max]

Hello Roady,

Here is another observation that might help. Incident to all these other
problems, we have found that we can no longer reliably attach files to an
e-mail message. You select the files and choose insert, the dialog closes
normally, but the attachment field and listed attachments are never appended
to the message. We're using Outlook 2007, Microsoft Vista Ultimate, and 4
GB of RAM, but still get some symptomatic delays while processing.

******************
"Roady [MVP]" <newsgroups_DELETE_@_DELETE_sparnaaij_NO_._SPAM_net> wrote in
message news:41A4219F-9D97-42AC...@microsoft.com...

[Scotch]

PS After writing the above message, I closed Outlook. But Task Manager tells
me that Outlook.exe is a process which is still running and still consuming
45-55% of CPU!? I'm going to reboot now and if I can get back to yesterday's
healthier state.

"Scotch" wrote:

> I'm absolutely fascinated by the follow-up posts from others with similar
> problems.
>
> I fired up my laptop this morning (I'm based in the UK) about 20 minutes ago
> and just to report that, as I type this, Outlook has seized up again as soon
> as it got going. Task Manager tells me that Outlook is now hogging 50% of
> the CPU.
>
> Here are two other symptoms of the weird behaviour: 1) Normally Outlook is
> set automatically to download my e-mail when it starts - but when it goes
> AWOL like this morning I have to click 'Send/Receive' to get it to fetch my
> mail; 2) If I open a message to read it (the reading pane is blank again, so
> I have to open the message manually), and then click the big black X at the
> top to delete it, nothing happens... I have to close the message, highlight
> it in the Inbox, and then hit the black X or the delete button from there.
>
> Yesterday, however, Outlook worked better for most of the day!
>
> Is anyone from MS able to advise what we should do please? Is it indeed
> better to uninstall recent updates?
>
> Thanks for everyone's support and interest.

[Jason]

I had the same problem as you originally described, however I've at least
found a work around that *sometimes* works. I say "had", as I now seem to
have a problem that's even worse, and I know my original problem hasn't gone
away... I think they're related...

Firstly, note that simply "left clicking" on the email, or using the up/down
arrows to cycle through the emails does not cause the reading pane to be
updated. HOWEVER!! (Now, because of my other problem, I can no longer test
the accuracy of the work around, but the general idea is right)... Start by
left clicking on an email, and then right-click on any other email. You'll
get the context menu up on top, but the reading pane will also get updated
with the email you right-clicked on.

My new problem, is the "Reminders" window now pops up, and I cannot get rid
of it, or do much else in Outlook. I try and create a new email, but I get
the message "A dialog box is open...", but I cannot see one for the life of
me.

If anyone has a solution other than uninstall recent updates, I'd be most
grateful!

Jason.

[Simon]

I'm having exactly the same problems as previous posters have noted and they
also started last week - so presumably also linked to the recent MS software
update.

The reading pane disappears and fails to work. A restart sometimes fixes
the problem but only temporarily. I also see approx 50% CPU utilisation from
Outlook in the task manager after closing outlook. It appears that Outlook
never fails to close completely and is stuck.

Isn't it time Microsoft acknowledged the problem and gave us a timescale for
a proposed solution?

[Roady [MVP]]

> Isn't it time Microsoft acknowledged the problem and gave us a timescale
> for
> a proposed solution?

Did you contact them already then and told them about your issue? What did
they say?

--
Robert Sparnaaij [MVP-Outlook]
Coauthor, Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003
http://www.howto-outlook.com/
Outlook FAQ, HowTo, Downloads, Add-Ins and more

http://www.msoutlook.info/
Real World Questions, Real World Answers

-----

"Simon" <Si...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:CF70E6BC-5984-43C2...@microsoft.com...

[Roady [MVP]]

> Is anyone from MS able to advise what we should do please? Is it indeed
> better to uninstall recent updates?

No, this is a end-user to end-user newsgroup. If you want a responds from
Microsoft then you need to contact them via PSS.

What were your results with a new test user?

--
Robert Sparnaaij [MVP-Outlook]
Coauthor, Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003
http://www.howto-outlook.com/
Outlook FAQ, HowTo, Downloads, Add-Ins and more

http://www.msoutlook.info/
Real World Questions, Real World Answers

-----

"Scotch" <Sco...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:A7579C8F-8787-412A...@microsoft.com...

> I'm absolutely fascinated by the follow-up posts from others with similar
> problems.
>
> I fired up my laptop this morning (I'm based in the UK) about 20 minutes
> ago
> and just to report that, as I type this, Outlook has seized up again as
> soon
> as it got going. Task Manager tells me that Outlook is now hogging 50% of
> the CPU.
>
> Here are two other symptoms of the weird behaviour: 1) Normally Outlook is
> set automatically to download my e-mail when it starts - but when it goes
> AWOL like this morning I have to click 'Send/Receive' to get it to fetch
> my
> mail; 2) If I open a message to read it (the reading pane is blank again,
> so
> I have to open the message manually), and then click the big black X at
> the
> top to delete it, nothing happens... I have to close the message,
> highlight
> it in the Inbox, and then hit the black X or the delete button from there.
>
> Yesterday, however, Outlook worked better for most of the day!
>
> Is anyone from MS able to advise what we should do please? Is it indeed
> better to uninstall recent updates?
>
> Thanks for everyone's support and interest.
>
> "Blue Max" wrote:
>

[Roady [MVP]]

Hi Blue Max,

Your issue makes me suspect your virus scanner. Does it integrate with
Outlook?

A current common denominator I've come across with machines facing these
issues was that either Zone Alarm or Trend Micro was installed on the
system. In most cases recreating the Outlook exception in the application
solved the issue (and of course disabling their integration with Outlook but
that is a standard process for me). In some cases I had to completely remove
such applications and 1 system had to be rebuild (there were more issues on
that system).

All other systems I've come across (which is many many more than the above)
updated without any issue.

--
Robert Sparnaaij [MVP-Outlook]
Coauthor, Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003
http://www.howto-outlook.com/
Outlook FAQ, HowTo, Downloads, Add-Ins and more

http://www.msoutlook.info/
Real World Questions, Real World Answers

-----

"Blue Max" <mailr...@msn.com> wrote in message
news:C0AEF79B-0082-422D...@microsoft.com...

[Blue Max]

Hello Roady,

We are starting to get a small following on this issue, but haven't heard
back from you as yet. As an MVP, are you able to get any assistance from
Microsoft on this issue? Upon Googling this issue, I also found a number of
posts across other sites expressing this concern.

Thanks,
Richard

**************
"Roady [MVP]" <newsgroups_DELETE_@_DELETE_sparnaaij_NO_._SPAM_net> wrote in
message news:41A4219F-9D97-42AC...@microsoft.com...

[Blue Max]

Hello Scotch,

I hadn't noticed until you brought up the subject, but my fourth CPU core
steadily averages a 40%-75% commitment ratio after Outlook is opened.
Furthermore, this level of activity continues after closing Outlook 2007.
Additionally, the Windows Vista Task Manager reports that the OUTLOOK
process continues to run, consuming high levels of usage, even after the
program is closed.

**************

"Scotch" <Sco...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

[Jason]

In my case, whilst I did not create a new user, I did delete the profile and
allowed Windows (Vista) to recreate it. But this didn't appear to make any
difference.

I think the dialog problem that I'm getting now might be related to
activation, which I'm loathed to do until I'm in a position to fix the
problem.

I noted someone else here thinks Anti-Virus has something to do with it, and
interestingly enough, I do have Trend-Micro installed on that machine, albeit
the CSM Agent rather than the, I think, more common Internet Security Suite.

The argument against this is, I have two similar machines, each running
Outlook 2007 (Office 2007 SP1 + latest hotfixes), latest version of Trend
Micro's CSM, and Windows Vista (SP1 + other latest hotfixes). There are
unfortunately a number of other differences as well, which make deducing the
problem from differences nigh on impossible, but it does to me weaken the
argument for the anti-virus software being the issue.

Jason.

[Roady [MVP]]

I think we were replying at the same time ;-)

I can get assistance once I can deduce and repro the issue. At this moment I
haven't been able to do that to a point where I suspect it is an Outlook
issue. As I've mentioned in another post I think it's retraceable to 3rd
party security suites. I'd leave it then up to them to fight out if it is a
Microsoft issue or not as I cannot look in either's source code ;-)

I can raise awareness at Microsoft so they might update the "Know Issues"
section of the KB article for the security update but they cannot state
these problems with 3rd party products without proper proof. That would
result in yet another law suit ;-)

Also I'm not fully certain if all the issues reported are actually
retraceable to the security update. I'm not trying to dismiss your issues
here but it is a common occurrence that once an update has been released
people try to relate all their issues to it while in fact these are
standalone issues or issues that were already existing on a system but only
surfaced because of the update. Cause and symptom are easily confused
sometimes.

The fact that Outlook doesn't close when pressing the close button makes it
a 3rd party issue with about 99% certainty.
See for some solutions;
http://www.howto-outlook.com/faq/outlookdoesntclose.htm

--
Robert Sparnaaij [MVP-Outlook]
Coauthor, Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003
http://www.howto-outlook.com/
Outlook FAQ, HowTo, Downloads, Add-Ins and more

http://www.msoutlook.info/
Real World Questions, Real World Answers

-----

"Blue Max" <mailr...@msn.com> wrote in message
news:F587A7B1-2FE7-47E1...@microsoft.com...

[jlrodgers]

I can tell you that when the reading pane acts up, Outlook is using 0%
of the CPU with the CPU Usage being listed at under 2% total (for a
quad core) for all processes. Even when outlook is running, or closed
but still listed in the processes -- and I'm using AVG antivirus. On
top of it all... it affects all users on the computer, even the one
user account that's only logged once every two or three months.

If that helps you out any.

[Hombre]

On Mar 20, 4:25 am, Simon <Si...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
> I'm having exactly the same problems as previous posters have noted and they
> also started last week - so presumably also linked to the recent MS software
> update.
>
> The reading pane disappears and fails to work.  A restart sometimes fixes
> the problem but only temporarily.  I also see approx 50% CPU utilisation fromOutlookin the task manager after closingoutlook.  It appears thatOutlook
> never fails to close completely and is stuck.
>

> Isn't it timeMicrosoftacknowledged the problem and gave us a timescale for

> a proposed solution?
>
>
>
> "Jason" wrote:
> > I had the same problem as you originally described, however I've at least
> > found a work around that *sometimes* works.  I say "had", as I now seem to
> > have a problem that's even worse, and I know my original problem hasn't gone
> > away...  I think they're related...
>
> > Firstly, note that simply "left clicking" on the email, or using the up/down
> > arrows to cycle through the emails does not cause the reading pane to be
> > updated.  HOWEVER!!  (Now, because of my other problem, I can no longer test

> > the accuracy of the work around, but thegeneralidea is right)...  Start by

> > left clicking on an email, and then right-click on any other email.  You'll
> > get the context menu up on top, but the reading pane will also get updated
> > with the email you right-clicked on.
>
> > My new problem, is the "Reminders" window now pops up, and I cannot get rid

> > of it, or do much else inOutlook.  I try and create a new email, but I get

> > the message "A dialog box is open...", but I cannot see one for the life of
> > me.
>
> > If anyone has a solution other than uninstall recent updates, I'd be most
> > grateful!
>
> > Jason.
>
> > "Scotch" wrote:
>

> > > PS After writing the above message, I closedOutlook.  But Task Manager tells
> > > me thatOutlook.exe is a process which is still running and still consuming

> > > 45-55% of CPU!?  I'm going to reboot now and if I can get back to yesterday's
> > > healthier state.
>
> > > "Scotch" wrote:
>
> > > > I'm absolutely fascinated by the follow-up posts from others with similar
> > > > problems.
>
> > > > I fired up my laptop this morning (I'm based in the UK) about 20 minutes ago

> > > > and just to report that, as I type this,Outlookhas seized up again as soon
> > > > as it got going.  Task Manager tells me thatOutlookis now hogging 50% of

> > > > the CPU.
>
> > > > Here are two other symptoms of the weird behaviour: 1) NormallyOutlookis
> > > > set automatically to download my e-mail when it starts - but when it goes
> > > > AWOL like this morning I have to click 'Send/Receive' to get it to fetch my
> > > > mail; 2) If I open a message to read it (the reading pane is blank again, so
> > > > I have to open the message manually), and then click the big black X at the
> > > > top to delete it, nothing happens... I have to close the message, highlight
> > > > it in the Inbox, and then hit the black X or the delete button from there.
>

> > > > Yesterday, however,Outlookworked better for most of the day!

>
> > > > Is anyone from MS able to advise what we should do please?  Is it indeed
> > > > better to uninstall recent updates?
>
> > > > Thanks for everyone's support and interest.  
>
> > > > "Blue Max" wrote:
>
> > > > > Hello Roady,
>
> > > > > Here is another observation that might help.  Incident to all these other
> > > > > problems, we have found that we can no longer reliably attach files to an
> > > > > e-mail message.  You select the files and choose insert, the dialog closes
> > > > > normally, but the attachment field and listed attachments are never appended

> > > > > to the message.  We're usingOutlook2007,MicrosoftVista Ultimate, and 4

> > > > > GB of RAM, but still get some symptomatic delays while processing.
>
> > > > > ******************
> > > > > "Roady [MVP]" <newsgroups_DELETE_@_DELETE_sparnaaij_NO_._SPAM_net> wrote in

> > > > > messagenews:41A4219F-9D97-42AC...@microsoft.com...

> > > > > > Nope, can't remember coming across this issue before (and I'm here for
> > > > > > quite the number of years already).
> > > > > > Creating a test user is only to find out the scope of the issue; user
> > > > > > configuration issue or company wide configuration/installation issue. It
> > > > > > helps with troubleshooting and trying to find out how to make it work
> > > > > > under your own user account. That's why I called it a test user and not a
> > > > > > new user ;-)
>
> > > > > > --
> > > > > > Robert Sparnaaij [MVP-Outlook]
> > > > > > Coauthor, ConfiguringMicrosoftOutlook2003
> > > > > >http://www.howto-outlook.com/

> > > > > >OutlookFAQ, HowTo, Downloads, Add-Ins and more

>
> > > > > >http://www.msoutlook.info/
> > > > > > Real World Questions, Real World Answers
>
> > > > > > -----
>
> > > > > > "Scotch" <Sco...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> > > > > >news:DCC816E3-6348-4323...@microsoft.com...
> > > > > >> Thanks for your continuing support.
>
> > > > > >> Version number is:
> > > > > >> (12.0.6300.5000) SP1 MSO (12.0.6213.1000)
>
> > > > > >> Following your post I tried Repair (ie from Office CD) and this appeared
> > > > > >> to
> > > > > >> help initially, but since then the problem has recurred intermittently
> > > > > >> through the day.
>

> > > > > >> About half an hour ago I rebooted the computer, andOutlookis now

> > > > > >> working
> > > > > >> again fine.  The reading pane is functioning.  Before the reboot,
> > > > > >> however,

> > > > > >>Outlookhad again slowed to a crawl, the reading pane was disabled and

> > > > > >> there
> > > > > >> were several otherOutlookmalfunctions.  I noticed thatOutlook'sCPU
> > > > > >> usage
> > > > > >> had increased to 50%, and by co-incidence saw that the preceding poster
> > > > > >> in

> > > > > >> thisforummentioned a similar phenomenon.  Is something going on here

> > > > > >> across
> > > > > >> a number of other users too?
>
> > > > > >> I haven't tried logging on as another user.  Do you mean creating another
> > > > > >> Windows User on my laptop?  I'd prefer to avoid that if possible... it
> > > > > >> seems
> > > > > >> to be quite a palaver creating all the new user's setings.  I would give
> > > > > >> it a
> > > > > >> go if you still think it necessary - what is the way to do it as simply
> > > > > >> as
> > > > > >> possible please?
>
> > > > > >> "Roady [MVP]" wrote:
>
> > > > > >>> What is your exact version number? Help-> About
> > > > > >>> Did you try running Repair already?
> > > > > >>> If it still doesn't work after that, log on as a different user (create
> > > > > >>> a
> > > > > >>> test user if needed) and see if the issue also occurs when logged on as
> > > > > >>> that
> > > > > >>> user.
>
> > > > > >>> --
> > > > > >>> Robert Sparnaaij [MVP-Outlook]
> > > > > >>> Coauthor, ConfiguringMicrosoftOutlook2003
> > > > > >>>http://www.howto-outlook.com/

> > > > > >>>OutlookFAQ, HowTo, Downloads, Add-Ins and more

>
> > > > > >>>http://www.msoutlook.info/
> > > > > >>> Real World Questions, Real World Answers
>
> > > > > >>> -----
>
> > > > > >>> "Scotch" <Sco...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> > > > > >>>news:6642571E-CE67-42BB...@microsoft.com...

> > > > > >>> > I tried running safe mode, and theOutlookwindow looks exactly the

> > > > > >>> > same
> > > > > >>> > as
> > > > > >>> > normal mode - ie it didn't say 'Safe mode' in the title bar, or
> > > > > >>> > anything
> > > > > >>> > like
> > > > > >>> > that.  Is that right?
>
> > > > > >>> > Anyhow, the reading pane doesn't seem to work in that mode either.
>
> > > > > >>> > Thanks for your help with this.
>
> > > > > >>> > "Roady [MVP]" wrote:
>

> > > > > >>> >> Does it work inOutlookSafe Mode?

> > > > > >>> >> Start-> type;outlook.exe /safe
>
> > > > > >>> >> In addition see
> > > > > >>> >>http://www.howto-outlook.com/faq/outlookdoesntstart.htm
>
> > > > > >>> >> --
> > > > > >>> >> Robert Sparnaaij [MVP-Outlook]
> > > > > >>> >> Coauthor, ConfiguringMicrosoftOutlook2003
> > > > > >>> >>http://www.howto-outlook.com/

> > > > > >>> >>OutlookFAQ, HowTo, Downloads, Add-Ins and more

>
> > > > > >>> >>http://www.msoutlook.info/
> > > > > >>> >> Real World Questions, Real World Answers
>
> > > > > >>> >> -----
>
> > > > > >>> >> "Scotch" <Sco...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> > > > > >>> >>news:05160289-6C47-40D4...@microsoft.com...
> > > > > >>> >> > The reading pane has recently stopped working and is just grey.
>
> > > > > >>> >> > If I restart the computer, it may work briefly, then after a while
> > > > > >>> >> > stop
> > > > > >>> >> > and
> > > > > >>> >> > go blank again.
>
> > > > > >>> >> > Any suggestions please?
>
> > > > > >>> >> > Am running Vista for Business.  I recently successfully restored
> > > > > >>> >> > the
> > > > > >>> >> > computer to an earlier backup following a crash, and also recently
> > > > > >>> >> > installed

> > > > > >>> >> > Business Contact Manager forOutlook- could the reading pane

> > > > > >>> >> > problem
> > > > > >>> >> > be
> > > > > >>> >> > anything to do with either of these events?
>

> > > > > >>> >> > Apologies if I've missed an easy fix elsewhere in theforum, but I

> > > > > >>> >> > couldn't
> > > > > >>> >> > see anything on a quick look.
>
> > > > > >>> >> > If an expert has come across this problem before and knows the fast
> > > > > >>> >> > solution, it would be much appreciated.
>

> > > > > >>> >> > Thanks.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

I too am having the same problem with Outlook 2007 in Vista Business
not displaying a message is in the reading pane. This problem just
started this morning. Have all recent updates as of today March 20.
Am running Kaspersky 7.0 with no issues as of yet. It is a good
working AV program. Also, when sending an email with an attachment,
it does not "show" the attachment, but when you send it and look in
the "sent items", it shows the attachment. I have Office 2007
Enterprise and later installed Business Contact Manager from the MS
site. Hope there is a quick solution to this problem.

Thank you,

Richard David

[jlrodgers]

On Mar 20, 2:07 pm, jlrodgers <jlrodg...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I can tell you that when thereadingpaneacts up, Outlook is using 0%

EDIT: I just noticed (and disabled for the nth time) the stupid itunes
plugin for outlook.... outlook seems to run faster with that disabled
(and actually recovered from a reading pane problem with just a
restart of the program).

Not saying it fixed it... but it sure didn't hurt it (by disabling the
plugin that is).

[Blue Max]

Thanks, Roady, I appreciate the suggestions and link. We'll follow some of
the suggestions in the link to troubleshoot the problem and time will likely
tell if this is a widespread problem or not.

Thanks,

Richard

***********
"Roady [MVP]" <newsgroups_DELETE_@_DELETE_sparnaaij_NO_._SPAM_net> wrote in

message news:F067B1F0-0FB1-4503...@microsoft.com...

[gaca...@gmail.com]

On Mar 20, 4:32 pm, "Blue Max" <mailrich...@msn.com> wrote:
> Thanks, Roady, I appreciate the suggestions and link.  We'll follow some of
> the suggestions in the link to troubleshoot the problem and time will likely
> tell if this is a widespread problem or not.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Richard
>
> ***********
> "Roady [MVP]" <newsgroups_DELETE_@_DELETE_sparnaaij_NO_._SPAM_net> wrote in

> messagenews:F067B1F0-0FB1-4503...@microsoft.com...

> > "Blue Max" <mailrich...@msn.com> wrote in message

> >news:F587A7B1-2FE7-47E1...@microsoft.com...
> >> Hello Roady,
>
> >> We are starting to get a small following on this issue, but haven't heard
> >> back from you as yet.  As an MVP, are you able to get any assistance from
> >> Microsoft on this issue?  Upon Googling this issue, I also found a number
> >> of posts across other sites expressing this concern.
>
> >> Thanks,
> >> Richard
>
> >> **************
> >> "Roady [MVP]" <newsgroups_DELETE_@_DELETE_sparnaaij_NO_._SPAM_net> wrote

> >> in messagenews:41A4219F-9D97-42AC...@microsoft.com...

> >>>>> >> > Thanks.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

This is what worked for me:

Open Outlook 2007. From the Tools menu, select "Trust Center," select
"Add-ins," click "Go" on "Manage Com Add-ins" at the bottom of the
window, uncheck "OutlookAddin". That's it.

[Gustavo]

This is what worked for me:

Open Outlook 2007. From the Tools menu, select "Trust Center," select
"Add-ins," click "Go" on "Manage Com Add-ins" at the bottom of the window,
uncheck "OutlookAddin". That's it.

[Styles]

Within the last couple days I have noticed the same problem and finally
became frustrated enough to go searching for a solution. On my own I have
completed many of the mentioned diagnostics with no positive outcome. This
seems to be a newer posting but has anyone actually fixed the problem yet?

[Blue Max]

Thank you very much for the suggestion!

****************
<gaca...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:dcee84a7-80cb-4d96...@m44g2000hsc.googlegroups.com...

[Jason]

I tried all of the above as well, with no luck... in the end, I re-installed
Vista (as an upgrade over the top of the existing Vista), re-applied all the
hotfixes and service packs, and problem solved.

Jason.

[jlrodgers]

Kind of curious, but does anyone else with this problem happen to have
Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional (with the PDFMOutlook plugin) --
potentially also with the Business Contact Manager?

Not sure if me disabling this will work (nothing else did -- and
wasn't about to uninstall the KB946983 which was listed as a solution
that worked elsewhere). But I noticed after disabling it, the reading
pane seemed to load almost 2x as quick.

[jlrodgers]

Apparently not even that works.... Outlook 2007. Only Microsoft
plugins (as comes with outlook and installed by default) and the
reading pane problem still occurs. No AV plugin, nothing other than
MS ones.

[fortysixandtwo]

On Mar 27, 3:12 pm, jlrodgers <jlrodg...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Apparentlynoteven that works....Outlook2007. Only Microsoft
> plugins (as comes withoutlookand installed by default) and thereadingpaneproblemstill occurs. No AV plugin, nothing other than
> MS ones.

We are having this exact same problem, but ONLY with new users that
were set up on the Exchange server AFTER the last round of Updates
that have been mentioned in this thread. All 175+ employees that were
already set up in Exchange (including myself) are just fine. Not sure
what this means.

[fortysixandtwo]

On Mar 28, 9:35 am, fortysixandtwo <ajre...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Mar 27, 3:12 pm, jlrodgers <jlrodg...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Apparentlynoteven that works....Outlook2007. Only Microsoft
> > plugins (as comes withoutlookand installed by default) and thereadingpaneproblemstill occurs. No AV plugin, nothing other than
> > MS ones.
>

> We are having this exact sameproblem, but ONLY with new users that

> were set up on the Exchange server AFTER the last round of Updates
> that have been mentioned in this thread. All 175+ employees that were
> already set up in Exchange (including myself) are just fine. Notsure
> what this means.

The fix I've found, is that when you open Outlook, it hides a dialog
box to enter your initials (because, as I said in my previous post,
this only affects new users), so just open up Word, or Excel, and
enter in the persons initials in that dialog box you get there. Now
Outlook should do its thing, however, the reading pane will still not
display. Just close out of Outlook (you'll probably have to kill the
process in task manager) and re-open. No deleting add-ins, no
removing MS updates. Just a simple solution and everything runs super
smooth now!

[Jason]

That didn't work for me... I agree with you though, in that it seems to be
some sort of dialog box that is going into the background and hiding which is
the root of the problem. I noted some time after my initial problem started,
the symptoms changed slightly, and Outlook would complain of a dialog box
that was open somewhere. Do you think I could find one? Nope!!

Jason.

[wayne]

My wife had this problem, but I didn't. We both have the same laptop with
Vista Business and Office 2007. On closer inspection I noticed she had not
downloaded and installed Office 2007 SP1. I had. I suggested to her to
download and install SP1 for Office 2007. She did and the problem
disappeared. The problem has not reoccurred for going on 5 hours now.

Wayne.

[Scotch]

I thought I should at long last post an update to this board in case it's of
any help to the amazing number of people who have added messages about
similar problems - thanks for all the interest.

In parallel with the Outlook problem, I was experiencing a separate problem
that Windows Automatic Update had stopped working and was refusing to
download or install any more updates.

I feel as if I've spent most of the last fortnight fiddling with my computer
to try and solve these issues. When you come to these message boards you
suddenly realise how many hundreds if not thousands of people around the
globe are spending hours and hours of their time engaging with gremlins on
their machines... what on earth did people do with their time on the long
dark nights before computers were invented?

I got to the stage where I felt I was unable to waste any more time
unsuccessfully trying out various little fixes suggested by different people;
and decided on something more drastic.

I did a full restore of my whole system to a date in February which was
before the problems started occurring, using the Rescue and Recovery
programme supplied with my laptop. I had previously tried a 'partial'
restore - which is supposed to restore all system files and settings, but
leave other personal files and programmes alone - but it was after that the
problems were persisting, so it evidently hadn't done its stuff properly.

The full restore (havng saved my personal files etc to CD) took a whole lot
more time, but first it fixed the Windows Update bug, which was cause for
some optimism.

Incidentally I then did some other spring cleaning, especially defragmenting
the hard disk, which helped my copy of Outlook 2007 (*before* re-installing
Business Contact Manager) to perform much more quickly and smoothly.

Then came the moment to try re-installing Business Contact Manager (BCM).
Wondering whether this was at the root of the Outlook problems described in
this thread, I took another full backup of my system before adding BCM.

It took several attempts to get BCM to install properly, including more
references to support pages and message boards elsewhere to try and
understand why. Finally it did.

All seemed well on the first day... but then... on the second day Outlook
seized up again with all the problems noted in this thread! However... I
then noticed that Windows Update was offering me another update - Office 2003
Service Pack 3. This seemed a bit puzzling as I don't have Office 2003 on my
laptop, but Office 2007. But I had noticed that when installing BCM from the
Office 2007 CD, it had first of all loaded a component called 'Microsoft
Office 2003 Web Components'. So I let Windows Update install the update,
which is of course what it couldn't do when I first had the problems listed
in this thread, because Windows Update was also broken.

The outcome of this long story is that Outlook 2007 with BCM, and my laptop
as a whole, now seem to be working well. Not that I quite believe it... I
fully expect to have to post again tomorrow, or the next day, to say that the
gremlins have come back...

Is it conceivable that the problems are caused when BCM is installed on a
2007 system, but the additional Office 2003 SP3 component is missing or has
not yet been added on?

Hoping this feedback may be of some help.

Cheers

"Roady [MVP]" wrote:

> Does it work in Outlook Safe Mode?
> Start-> type; outlook.exe /safe
>
> In addition see http://www.howto-outlook.com/faq/outlookdoesntstart.htm
>
> --
> Robert Sparnaaij [MVP-Outlook]
> Coauthor, Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003
> http://www.howto-outlook.com/
> Outlook FAQ, HowTo, Downloads, Add-Ins and more
>
> http://www.msoutlook.info/
> Real World Questions, Real World Answers
>
> -----
>
> "Scotch" <Sco...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:05160289-6C47-40D4...@microsoft.com...

[blaz...@gmail.com]

This fix worked for me, on XPSP2 system and Office Suite 2007. The
issue seems to be that you need to open one of the other apps first
(Word, Excel), enter the user's initials and activate the software.
OL2007 doesn't appear to have the ability to deal with these other
windows which seem to be hidden in the first instance. Once I dealt
with the other windows in Word, Outlook appears to behave normally.
So...maybe MS can create a fix for that?

[Blue Max]

What if you don't have the "OutlookAddin" ?

*******************************
"Gustavo" <Gus...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:DFF9FFA3-95D8-4D51...@microsoft.com...

[Blue Max]

This doesn't work for us. We check the other applications and they already
have the initials, etc. The problem still occurs. For us, the problem
often resolves itself after a long, long wait - almost as if it was an
indexing problem?

*********************
"fortysixandtwo" <ajr...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1ef13672-e1ad-4b55...@p25g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...

[Scotch]

Hello again folks... unfortunately I'm back.

The gremlins have returned, and now plague me again on most, but not all, of
the times I open Outlook - so as I feared the extensive troubleshooting steps
I described above on 1st April did not, after all, get rid of them. It's
getting me down. The problem is obviously nothing to do with the Office 2003
components. I promise I wasn't doing a deliberate April Fool on all of you
who may have read the thread and then tried a fix based on what I wrote!

I've read some of the other helpful suggestions made by others here, but:

- In Manage Com add-ins, I don't seem to have one called simply 'MS Outlook
Add-In' (Gustavo's suggestion)
- I don't have any third-party security software (virus and firewall are
provided by MS Live OneCare), and I would say my laptop as a whole is fairly
'clean' of too much other software (other than Lenovo software tools
specificlally for this machine)
- I don't have Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional Plug-in
- My initials are already enabled in my other Office 2007 programmes (Word,
Excel etc).

Given the very careful troubleshooting steps I've gone through, and the
large number of other people reporting similar problems, the strong inference
has surely got to be that we have a programming bug here and that we need
some comment and help from MS.

One thing we know is that for many users the trouble seemed to start in
March and has been associated with one or other of the updates around that
time.

Another thing clear from my own experience is that on my laptop the problem
is very probably associated with Business Contact Manager in some way. I'd
be interested whether others agree - has everyone with the problem also got
BCM? My reasoning is that I cleaned up my computer and got everything
working very well, then the Outlook problems only began again after I
re-installed BCM.

As reported in my previous 1st April post, everything seemed to work fine
for a few days. One thing I did notice is that, after starting Outlook on
about 3rd April, a box popped up saying 'Starting SQL Server Database...', or
some such, with a blue bar showing that this was loading. I believe this is
something to do with BCM? Though I'm not quite sure if I need it on a
single-user laptop? Anyhow, it was after that point that the problems began
again. Can someone tell me if it may be something to do with that component?

If I open Vista's Performance & Reliability Monitor tool, and go into the
System Stability Chart, it tells me that I had a gradually improving
stability index for a few days, and then from 3rd April it fell again each
day, because of an 'Application Failure', details of which are that
Outlook.exe 'stopped working'.

Please could some wizard give us the magic potion, so we can all go quietly...

Cheers

[Scotch]

PS Following the above post, I went surfing again, and discovered a possible
link between our problems and MS update KB946983, the Security Update for
Outlook issued in the first half of March. Try Googling the phrase
'KB946983' and you'll see what I mean. It appears that MS may be aware that
this update may have caused some unforeseen consequences and problems, and
are investigating to some extent. It looks as if they are trying to find out
what other part of Outlook the update is incompatible with. If this update
is the root cause of my own problems, my experience suggests that maybe the
incompatibility lies with some part of Business Contact Manager.

Some people seemed to have found that uninstalling KB946983 caused their own
Outlook problems to go away, so I'm trying this and I'll keep the forum
posted. Certainly Outlook is working OK at the moment - after the first
switch-on following the uninstall of that update.

I'm just an amateur here - we really need input from the right technical
expert who can give correct advice on whether this may be the cause and if so
what users should do in the meantime. Also in the meantime, more posts from
other users with the same experiences might be useful to keep the ball
rolling and to give an idea of the scale of the problem.

Cheers

[Blue Max]

Hello, Scotch!

You describe our own problems to the 'T'. We have also suspected the
'Business Contact Manager', but have no definitive evidence to that effect
except for the following: FIRST, Outlook 2007 periodically displays some
odd messages relating to BCM. SECOND, we apparently disabled BCM at the
office (no Business Contact Manager shown in the folder pane), and Outlook
2007 works fine there.

We have followed many of the same troubleshooting procedures as you, but
cannot get rid of the problem. We do note, however, that it is sporadic.
We will observe that the pane is blank, but later notice that the pane is
updated and everything seems to work. At one time we felt the problem might
be associated with indexing new folders we would connect to from our office.

We have also noted that the problem not affects the reading pane, but
contact displays, adding attachments to new emails, and opening attachments
from old emails. These operations can be executed, without any error
messages, but they never finalize (i.e., attachment not added, or attachment
never opens).

I think you may be on to something regarding the BCM. I am going to figure
out how to uninstall or disable it an see what happens. For us the Business
Contact Manager is a little bit of a redundant enigma and it seems to
continue causing problems. Good luck, please let us know if you find any
resolutions and we will try to do the same.

Thanks,
Richard

********************

"Scotch" <Sco...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:1FE1CF05-D537-4468...@microsoft.com...

[Scotch]

Thanks, Blue Max.

I can report that since uninstalling update KB946983, as described in my
second post of 7 April, the problems seem to have gone away again, and
Outlook - with Business Contact Manager - appears to be working well. OK, so
it's only 2 days experience, but it feels promising.

If this is the correct diagnosis then the problem is not BCM per se, but
update KB946983 causing some kind of incompatibility with BCM.

If this is right, then advice from MS is needed on when the bug has been
fixed and it is safe to install a revised version of the update.

Scotch

[Blue Max]

I certainly concur. When a fix or update breaks something, it should be
quickly acknowledged (if indeed it is the problem) and summarily corrected.
Furthermore, I wish that Microsoft had an automated method for monitoring
the newsgroup threads so they could identify related issues and advise us of
a possible fix.

**************
"Scotch" <Sco...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:61DDEF6B-11C3-4149...@microsoft.com...

[Dapyman]

The dialog box issue is what was causing my problem and opening Word, forcing
Outlook to close via task manager, and then restarting work for me. Thanks
for the post.

[jlrodgers]

So has anything been reported to Microsoft to tell them that if you
happen to have the Business Contact Manager and that update (that I
can't remember the name of) with no other addins installed but
Microsoft ones -- that outlook crashes, doesn't load the reading pane,
doesn't check for messages, and sometimes takes up a good portion of
the processor?

I know my computer itself has been seeking for fixes for outlooks
crashes for probably over 200 exact same ones since the security
update. There's about 50 (after I got tired of the problem reports
reporting over 400 problems so I cleared the list) that get checked
for every few days for me hoping they've got a fix for it.

Not even Outlook knows what's going on, as every time it crashes,
it'll restart but there's never a box saying "X plugin has had issues,
if you continue to see this message disable X or look for updates".

[joey022461]

I JUST got off the phone with MS Tech about the reading pane being grayed out.
This recently just happened to me too.

This is what happened, and how it was fixed...

After him deleting registry keys(which I had to restore.. I use BCM also)
I watched him do this:

He searched for two files...
outcmd.dat
frmcache.dat

both were under the docs and settings folders under MY user name.

He renamed the files outcmd.datold, and frmcache.datold

When he restarted Outlook, the reading pane option was available again.
I asked if the new update caused the issue and he did not think so.

So everyone can try this to see if it works for u.

I was mad when he turned off all add-ins that I always used, and deleted reg
keys because I had to restore my reg and put the add-ins back. He ALSO wanted
to uninstall the whole program and reinstall, but I demanded that he did not
do that because I DIDNT THINK that was the issue, and that would have just
caused a nightmare I think.

So try the above easy fix. I hope it was a permanent fix too : )

Thanks...

JP

[Diane Poremsky [MVP]]

I doubt outcmd did anything - its toolbar customization. frmcache is the
forms cache and they could possibly cause nothing to display in the reading
pane. uninstall/reinstall rarely does anything that detect and repair
(office diagnostics) doesn't. At least he didn't tell you to reformat, or
worse yet, "write zeros". :)

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]
Author, Teach Yourself Outlook 2003 in 24 Hours
Need Help with Common Tasks? http://www.outlook-tips.net/beginner/
Outlook 2007: http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/ol2007/

Outlook Tips by email:
dailytips-sub...@lists.outlooktips.net

Outlook Tips: http://www.outlook-tips.net/
Outlook & Exchange Solutions Center: http://www.slipstick.com
Subscribe to Exchange Messaging Outlook newsletter:
EMO-NEWSLETTER-S...@PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM

"joey022461" <joey0...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:9D3E0591-9844-4431...@microsoft.com...

[jlrodgers]

After spending an hour opening, crashing, closing, forcibly
terminating the process (just to check messages once) -- I'm disabling
the business contact manager. Shame as we were going to actually use
it. That doesn't work, KB946983's being taken off -- and hopefully I
actually can since many updates have been released since.

I sure hope Microsoft decides to fix this issue..... having to disable
a Microsoft Plugin for their own product that it's designed for just
so it works is not acceptable.

[joey022461]

did you try deleting those two files? I use BCM too but dont seem to have
trouble with it..

OVERALL I think Outlook/BCM are two very UNSTABLE PROGRAMS...
Be sure to always have backups ready.. : )

[jlrodgers]

Neither file is even listed on my computer (or at least not indexed
for search results). There are no custom forms, and no toolbar
customization done - everything is the default install. And
considering it happened the exact same second the install of the KB
thing was done, pretty suspicious in itself. And actually even when
things weren't working, I could sometimes go a day or two with no
problems at all. Then it acted up to get even for the good days (or
you'd think given how it did it's thing).

On May 5, 3:08 pm, joey022461 <joey022...@discussions.microsoft.com>
wrote:

[Blue Max]

"joey022461" <joey0...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:9D3E0591-9844-4431...@microsoft.com...

> I was mad when he turned off all add-ins that I always used, and deleted

> reg
> keys because I had to restore my reg and put the add-ins back. He ALSO
> wanted
> to uninstall the whole program and reinstall, but I demanded that he did
> not
> do that because I DIDNT THINK that was the issue, and that would have just
> caused a nightmare I think.

Hello Joey,

Admire you for sticking to your guns and asking for a meaningful resolution!
I would like a nickel for everytime I was asked to re-install an application
and it did not make a bit of difference! Reinstallation, with all it's
undesirable ramifications, seems to be a stock answer when the technician
cannot find a quick solution. This time-wasting recommendation is being
prematurely suggested more and more often, especially by foreign
(non-English) support departments that struggle with trouble-shooting
concepts and language barriers.

[Rude Rup]

I am not too sure if this would work for everyone, but I had the same
problem, and I (for some reason) tried this solution.
- Close the Outlook Window
- Go to Task Manager and End the Outlook Program
- Go to Start Menu> Run and type "outlook.exe /cleanprofile" and press
enter

This will reopen the Outlook Window, and the reading pane should work
fine. Atleast it did for me. Best of luck.

- Rupesh

[Scott]

Has anyone else noticed that when you first start outlook a window pops up
asking for the user's name and their initials? I have this problem after
installing a new exchange server, when I set up a new profile, for some users
(XP), it just has the blank reading pane. But I noticed that after setting up
a new profile when you first open outlook it prompts for the user's name and
initials, but in some instances that dialog goes away right away without
letting you click ok. It seems like the popup might still be open but hidden
and keeping outlook from working properly.

I also have another issue, where a user receives a 6MB attachment and they
can never open it. The orange status bar on the top of the message just keeps
going and the message never opens, either in the reading pane or by opening
the whole message. This never happened with our hosted exchange. Oh, also,
with the first issue above, outlook works just fine when logged in as another
user. But with this newly created user and new mailbox acct the reading pane
doesn't work. But this issue also occured with an existing user after
upgrading to vista ultimate...

[Brian Tillman]

Scott <Sc...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

> Has anyone else noticed that when you first start outlook a window
> pops up asking for the user's name and their initials?

If you start Word or Excel first and fill in that dialogue, you shouldn't
see it any more.

> I also have another issue, where a user receives a 6MB attachment and
> they can never open it. The orange status bar on the top of the
> message just keeps going and the message never opens, either in the
> reading pane or by opening the whole message.

Can you save the attachment to disk and open it?
--
Brian Tillman [MVP-Outlook]

[Scott]

Yes if I right click on the message and go to "view attachments" I can open
it from there, but the message itself never opens. It just continues loading
with the orange status indicator across the top of the reading pane.

[Blue Max]

Thanks, Rude, I'll give this one a try next time we have the problem.
Incidentally, the problem has decreased in frequency. We wonder if
Microsoft has addressed the issue since we have not had a problem for some
time. Wish they would respond to threads like this and clarify what the
problem was and how it was resolved.

********************
"Rude Rup" <rupesh...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:63b6bee1-edcb-479f...@d45g2000hsc.googlegroups.com...

[Joey]

I could KISS the guy that said to open Word and enter your initials and name... that was all the problem was with mine. Outlook was COMPLETELY unresponsive for me, I open word, type in name and initials and reopen outlook and WHAM it works 100%!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH! I registered just to say this.

[cedo]

I had the same problem (Reading Pane menu was grey)and I have changed the outcmd.dat into outcmd.datold in :\Documents and Settings\MYNAME\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
It's now ok.
I couldn't find the other file
Thanks for the post

[Bryan]

I, too, am having the Reading Pane problems. I checked with the Dell tech
support and they suggested I use a script called SCANPST and scan this file:
C:\Users\MYNAME\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\outlook.pst. It works most of
the time, but not always. I have to remember to turn off the outlook process
in task manager. Sure is frustrating! I also run the Office Diagnostics and
am told they have a possible solution, but then the MS page is "gone." I will
try the trick of re-naming those two files, which by the way, are only found
on my VISTA machine using advanced search options.

[Scotch]

Hello, I'm back again.

This thread seems to have had lots of readers and commenters since I started
it, so I hope my experiences have been helpful to others.

Since my last post in April I have kept MS Update for Outlook KB946983
uninstalled, as this was definitely the fix which worked for me. A quick
search of the Internet will show that I definitely wasn't the only person for
whom that update caused bugs.

Just to report that MS recently issued another Outlook update, KB952142,
which among other things is, according to the accompanying technical
information, supposed to revise/replace KB946983. However for me it causes
exactly the same problems as the earlier one, so I'm also keeping this new
one uninstalled - and once again the bugs have gone away. Another quick web
search also shows others experiencing problems of various kinds with this
update, as well as the earlier one.

Has anyone else out there found the same problems and experiences? The more
people who post here to say yes, perhaps the more likely it will be that we
might receive some official comment, and/or a fix.

Scotch

[Robert Dennis]

I have also been experiencing the blank pane recently. I thought it might be my new iPhone and syncing it with iTunes. But based on this thread, it must just be Outlook and Microsoft. Do I understand that none of the fixes that Microsoft issued worked? Of course, if I reboot, it works fine for a while. Please keep us posted.
--
Robert F Dennis

[jlrodgers]

On Aug 5, 7:02 am, Robert Dennis <bobden...@mindspring.com> wrote:
> I have also been experiencing the blankpanerecently.  I thought it might be my new iPhone and syncing it with iTunes.  But based on this thread, it must just be Outlook and Microsoft.  Do I understand that none of the fixes that Microsoft issued worked?  Of course, if I reboot, it works fine for a while.  Please keep us posted.
> --
> Robert F Dennis

Disabling the "business contact manager" seems to work 100% of the
time, as does uninstalling the update referenced earlier in the thread
-- of course it's not a fix as it is disabling something that should
work but doesn't.

[Robert Dennis]

I am having the problem and DO NOT have Business Contact Mgr. activated.
--
Robert F Dennis

[Rabbott]

I just created a distribution list and the blank preview pane bug started.
Everything worked fine before the creation of the distribution list.