OL97: How to Troubleshoot IPF in Outlook

ID: Q170600

The information in this article applies to:

SUMMARY

This article describes troubleshooting tips for when you receive the following error message: 

   OUTLOOK caused an invalid page fault in
   module OUTLLIB.DLL at <memory address>

MORE INFORMATION

This article discusses how to troubleshoot invalid page faults (IPF) in Outllib.dll. The methods described below start with the easiest and most likely fixes, and progress to the more difficult fixes.

DISABLE EXTENSIONS

Outlook may have problems with incompatible or invalid extension information. Extensions may cause Outlook to not start or create IPF's while running. Follow these steps to troubleshoot extension problems:

If Outlook Does Not Start

If Outlook does not start, try refreshing the Extend.dat file where Outlook caches extension information gathered from the Windows registry. Follow these steps.

1. Quit all programs.

2. On the Windows Taskbar, click Start, point to Find and click Files or 

   folders.
3. In the Named box, type extend.dat.

4. In the Look in list, click to select your hard drive.

5. Click to select Include subfolders and click Find Now.

6. In the Name list, right-click the file Extend.dat, and on the 

   context-sensitive menu, click Rename to rename the file to Extend.old.
7. On the File menu, click Close to exit Find File.

8. Restart Outlook. Restarting Outlook recreates a new Extend.dat file.

If Outlook Does Start

If you can start Outlook and you suspect an extension problem, follow these steps to disable extensions:

1. Start Outlook.

2. On the Tools menu, click Options.

3. Click the General tab.

4. Click Add-in Manager.

5. In the Add-in list, click to select the add-in you suspect and click to 

   clear the add-in check box.
6. Click OK and OK to close all dialog boxes.

For more information on Outlook extension issues, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 

   Article-ID: Q161212
   Title     : OL97: Error Message: "Unable to load NXPEXT32.DLL"

   Article-ID: Q167264
   Title     : OL97: ErrMsg in Extension Configuration File Starting
               Outlook

BOOT IN SAFE MODE

If the above method does not work, then try restarting your computer in Safe Mode. Safe Mode will disable programs that start automatically. For more information on Safe Mode, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 

   Article-ID: Q156126
   Title     : Troubleshooting Windows 95 Using Safe Mode
If Safe Mode resolves the issue then you may want to examine how Safe Mode starts your computer. For more information on Safe Mode, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 

   Article-ID: Q122051
   Title     : How Windows 95 Performs a Safe-Mode Start

CREATE a NEW PROFILE and PERSONAL FOLDERS FILE

Create a New Profile from the Control Panel

To create a new profile, follow these steps:

1. In Windows Control Panel, double-click the Mail And Fax icon. 

   (The icon is a Mail icon if you did not install fax services.)
2. On the Services tab, click Show Profiles to list your profiles.

3. Click Add to start the Inbox Setup Wizard.

4. Check that the default is set to "Use the following information 

   services."
5. Click to clear all services except the one you are troubleshooting. 
   For troubleshooting purposes, add only one service at a time.
6. Click Next and in the Profile Name box, type a name for the new 
   profile.
7. Follow the Inbox Setup Wizard prompts, answering the questions for your 
   service until you finish. Make sure you specify a new Personal Folders
   file (*.pst) and do not use the existing file when prompted by the
   wizard.

   NOTE: Since you are not using the old PST file while troubleshooting,
   you will not see any of your old PST folders or files.

Create a New Profile from the Inbox

Follow these steps to create a new profile from the Inbox:

1. With the right mouse button, click the Inbox icon on the Windows 

   Desktop to open the Inbox Properties.
2. On the Services tab, click Show Profiles to list your profiles.

3. Click Add to start the Inbox Setup Wizard.

4. Check that the default is set to "Use the following information 

   services."
5. Click to clear all services except the one you are troubleshooting. 
   For troubleshooting purposes, add only one service at a time.
6. Click Next and in the Profile Name box, type a name for the new 
   profile.
7. Follow the Inbox Setup Wizard prompts, answering the questions for your 
   service until you finish. Make sure you specify a new Personal Folders
   file (*.pst) and do not use the existing file when prompted by the
   wizard.

   NOTE: Since you are not using the old PST file while troubleshooting,
   you will not see any of your old PST folders or files.

REFRESH the OUTLLIB.DLL FILE

Renaming the Outllib.dll file on your hard drive and copying Outllib.dll from your original disc to your hard drive sometimes corrects IPF errors. Follow these steps to refresh the Outllib.dll file: 

 1. On the Windows Taskbar, click Start and then point to Find and click
    Files or Folders.

 2. In the Name box, type Outllib.dll and in the Look in list, click to
    select the hard drive that contains Outlook. Click to select, Include
    subfolders.

 3. In the Name list using your right mouse button, click Outllib.dll and
    on the context-sensitive menu, click Rename. Rename the file to
    Outllib.old.

 4. In the Look in list, click to select your Outlook or Office disc. And
    click Find Now.

 5. In the Name list using your right mouse button, click Outllib.dll
    and on the context-sensitive menu, click Copy.

 6. On the Windows Taskbar, click Start and then click Run.

 7. In the Open box, type Explorer and click OK.

 8. In the Explorer, navigate to the following folder:

       C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office

 9. Using your right mouse button, click to select the Office folder above
    and from the context-sensitive menu, click Paste.
10. Start Outlook.

Reregister the Outlook Forms

Try running the SwitchForms utility to re-register your Outlook forms. For more information on registering Outlook forms, please see the following article(s) in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 

   Article-ID:  Q143476
   Title     :  OL97: SwitchForms Utility for Outlook and Exchange

   Article-ID:  Q143477
   Title     :  OL97: E-mail Forms Fix Utility

REMOVE and REINSTALL WINDOWS MESSAGING and OUTLOOK

As a last resort, remove and reinstall the Windows Messaging and Outlook files. This is a three-step process that must be done in this order:

1. Remove Windows Messaging and Outlook. 

   WARNING: Removing Windows Messaging will remove your profile
   information from the registry. You will have to recreate your profile
   after reinstalling Outlook.
2. Reinstall Windows Messaging.

3. Reinstall Outlook.

NOTE: You can skip step two if you do not use fax services or any other program, beside Outlook (such as Personal Information Manage software), that uses Windows Messaging. When you reinstall Outlook in step three, Outlook installs all of the Windows Messaging files needed by Outlook. This does not include Windows fax services files used by other programs.

Remove Windows Messaging and Outlook

1. On the Windows Taskbar, click Start then point to Settings and then 

   click Control Panel.
2. In Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs.

3. On the Install/Uninstall tab, click to select either Office 97 or 

   Outlook 97 and click Add/Remove.
4. If you are running Outlook Setup, at the Setup Maintenance Program 
   dialog box, click Remove All.

   If you are running Office Setup, at the Setup Maintenance Program
   dialog box, click Add/Remove and click to clear the Outlook
   check box. Click Continue to remove only Outlook components.
5. When prompted if you want to remove the shared Windows Messaging 
   component, click Remove.

   WARNING: Removing the Windows Messaging component will remove the
   registry key that stores your messaging profile information. If you
   must retain your messaging profile, click Keep.
6. Continue until the uninstall program finishes. If prompted, Restart 
   Windows.

Reinstall Windows Messaging

1. On the Windows Task Bar, click Start and point to Settings and then 

   click Control Panel.
2. In Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs.

3. Click the Windows Setup tab.

4. Click to select either the Windows Messaging or Microsoft Exchange 

   components, depending on your version of Windows.
5. Click OK to install the Windows Messaging or Microsoft Exchange files.

Reinstall Outlook

Run Setup from your Office 97 or Outlook 97 CD to reinstall Outlook.

REFERENCES

For more information on troubleshooting Outlook configuration problems, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 

   Article-ID: Q161973
   Title     : OL97: Troubleshooting Outlook configuration Problems
Additional query words: loading starting running gpf 
Keywords          : EvnGpf 
Version           : WINDOWS:97
Platform          : WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbhowto

Last Reviewed: December 4, 1998