You receive a "Cannot Start Microsoft Outlook" message, and you cannot open a saved message (.msg) file in Outlook 2002 (824122)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Outlook 2002
  • Microsoft Office Outlook 2003

SYMPTOMS

When you try to open a saved message (.msg) file in Microsoft Outlook 2002, you receive the following error message:
Cannot Start Microsoft Outlook

CAUSE

This behavior occurs if all the following conditions are true:
  • You created and saved the .msg file by using Outlook 2003.
  • The computer where you tried to open the .msg file has Microsoft Outlook 2002 installed.
This behavior occurs because the Unicode Message Format is the default format for Outlook 2003, and earlier versions of Microsoft Outlook cannot open .msg files that are in this format.

WORKAROUND

To work around this behavior, turn off the Unicode Message Format as the default format for e-mail messages. To do this, follow these steps:
  1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
  2. On the Other tab, click Advanced Options.
  3. In the Advanced Options dialog box, click to clear the Use Unicode Message Format when saving messages check box, and then click OK three times.
  4. Quit and restart Outlook 2003.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:11/14/2005
Keywords:kbopenfile kbpending kberrmsg kbprb KB824122 kbAudEndUser
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