Outlook Data File Cannot Be Accessed: 4 Fixes To Try

Outlook provides some really great features that make your email easier and faster. However, many users face various problems while using Outlook. One of these problems is Outlook cannot access your personal data file.

The exact error message should look something like this:

0x8004010F: The Outlook data file is not available.

When this error occurs, you cannot send or receive emails and Outlook keeps showing the above error on your screen. This error is usually the result of a corrupted Outlook profile. There are several ways to fix this problem and make Outlook recognize data files.

Create and Use a New Outlook Profile

The easiest way to fix the “Can’t find Outlook data file” error is to create a new profile and use it as your primary profile in Outlook. This will get rid of the configuration issues of the old profile and allow you to start over.

Find data file location

First, you need to find the location of the Outlook data file.

1. Open Control Panel on your Windows computer.

2. Click the View By menu in the upper right corner and make sure Large Icons is selected.

3. Find and click the Mail option to view your email settings.

4. Click the Show Profiles button to view your Outlook profiles.

5. Select the current profile from the list and click Properties.

6. Click the Data Files button to see where the data file is saved.

7. The next screen will have a file entry with a check mark next to it. Take note of the location of this Outlook data file.

Create a new Outlook profile

Now you can create a new Outlook profile to replace the old and damaged one. Keep your email accounts close at hand as you will need them to create your email account.

– /

1. Open the control panel and click the “Mail” button.
2. Click the Show Profiles button to view your profiles.
3. Click Add on the next screen to add a new profile.

4. Enter a name for your new profile in the Profile Name field and click OK to save the profile.

5. The Email Configuration Wizard will open. Select the “Manual configuration or additional server types” option and click “Next” to start setting up your email account in Outlook.

6. Select your email account type and click Next at the bottom. If you have POP3 or IMAP information for your email account, select this option and you can manually configure your account settings.

7. Enter your email account information on the next screen. When finished, select Existing Outlook Data File under Deliver New Messages To and click Browse.

8. Navigate to the previously specified path to the Outlook data file and select that file.
9. Complete the Email Account Setup Wizard.
10. Return to in your mailbox, select the newly created profile from the Always use this profile menu and click OK. This will make your new profile the default email profile for Outlook.

Change Mail Delivery Location

Another solution is to add a new data file and configure Outlook to use it to store your emails. This will create a new data file for Outlook and usually fixes the “Outlook data file cannot be opened” error.

1. Open the Start menu and start Outlook.

2. Click the File tab at the top of the screen.

3. Select Info from the options in the left sidebar. Then click on “Account Settings” in the right pane and select “Account Settings” again.

4. By default, you are on the Email tab. Go to the Data Files tab and click the Add button to add a new data file.

5. Outlook will ask where you want to save the file. Choose a location, enter a file name and click OK to save the file.

6. Outlook will still use your old data file to save messages. Change this by setting the new data file as the default data file. Select the newly created file in the list and click “Set as default” at the top.

Take Ownership of Outlook Data File

Problems due to incorrect file permissions are common on Windows computers. In this scenario, the problem with Outlook may be due to incorrect ownership of the data file.

You can fix this permissions issue by taking back ownership of your user account.

1. Start File Explorer and navigate to the directory with the Outlook data file. In the first section of this guide, find where Outlook stores data files.
2. Right-click the Outlook data file and select Properties.

3. Click the Security tab and select Advanced.

4. Click Change next to Owner to change the owner of the selected file.

5. Place the cursor in the Enter the object name to select field, enter the computer username, and click Check Names. Then click “OK”.

6. Make sure the “Access” column shows “Full Control” next to your username. Then click “OK”.

Repair Outlook with the Repair Tool

If Outlook still displays a message that you cannot access your data file, your last resort is to use Microsoft’s recovery tool. This tool comes preinstalled in your Office installation, and you can use it to troubleshoot problems with all of your Office applications, including Outlook.

1. Open the Settings app.

2. Select “Applications” on the next screen.

3. Scroll through the list of applications until you find Microsoft 365 or Microsoft Office.
4. Click the Office entry and select Edit.

5. Select Yes if Windows asks you for some permissions.
6. The Repair Tool will ask how you want to repair Outlook and other Office applications. Select “Quick Repair” and see if it fixes the problem. If it doesn’t, select the “Online Recovery” option to completely restore your apps.

Data files are critical to sending and receiving Outlook email. Outlook can display various errors if these files are corrupted or inaccessible. The above methods will fix the data file access error. There are ways to fix slow Outlook as well as fix Autocomplete problems in Outlook.

–