How to Fix 'The Set of Folders Cannot Be Opened' in Outlook

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Solve the error message that prevents you from accessing Outlook

Co-authored by Hannah Dillon Reviewed by Stan Kats

Last Updated: March 10, 2026 Fact Checked

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• Using Registry Editor
|
• Resetting the Navigation Pane
|
• Disabling Add-ins in Safe Mode
|
• Video

|Show more |Show less

Are you getting an error in Outlook that says "This set of folders cannot be opened"? This is a very frustrating error to encounter, especially since the error code isn't very clear about how to fix it. Thankfully, there are a few ways you can fix this error, and they're all quite easy. In this article, we'll go over three ways to fix this Outlook error. Keep reading to learn how.

Ways to Fix "The Set of Folders Cannot Be Opened"

• Use the Registry Editor to clear out your Outlook profiles.
• Use the Run command "Outlook.exe /resetnavpane" to reset the navigation pane.
• Start Outlook in safe mode, then disable any add-ins.

Steps

Section 1 of 3:

Using Registry Editor

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1. 
   1
   Open the Registry Editor. To do this, type regedit in the taskbar search bar, then click Registry Editor in the Start menu that opens up. If prompted by Windows to confirm that you want to open Registry Editor after clicking on it, click Yes.

   • Note: Be careful when using Registry Editor, and only delete the folders mentioned in the steps below. Deleting the wrong thing in Registry Editor can cause your computer to not work properly. Always back up your Registry Editor by going to File > Export… to save a copy of your current settings.
2. 
   2
   Expand the HKEY_CURRENT_USER folder. When you first open Registry Editor, you'll see a pane on the left-hand side of the screen. "Computer" will be expanded, and it has five folders: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT, HKEY_CURRENT_USER, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, HKEY_USERS, and HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG.
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3. 
   3
   Expand the Software folder. The folders are listed alphabetically, so Software will be near the bottom of the list.
4. 
   4
   Navigate to the Outlook profiles folder. To get there, expand these folders in this order: Microsoft > Office > 16.0 > Outlook > Profiles.

   • If you're using a different version of Outlook, you might see a different number instead of 16.0.
5. 
   5
   Delete any folders in the "Profiles" folder. You'll likely see one folder in the profiles folder called "Outlook." To delete it, right-click it and select Delete.

   • If you don't see any folders in the "Profiles" folder, try one of the other methods in this article.
   • Once you delete the folder in Registry Editor, restart your computer and see if you can open Outlook once again.
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Section 2 of 3:

Resetting the Navigation Pane

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1. 
   1
   Close Outlook, if you have it open. To reset the navigation pane, Outlook must be closed before you can start.
2. 
   2
   Open the Run dialog. You can do this by pressing ⊞ Win+R or by typing run in the taskbar search bar and clicking Run in the Start menu that opens.
3. 
   3
   Type Outlook.exe /resetnavpane. Click OK to run the command. After you do this, open Outlook to see if you still get the error.
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Section 3 of 3:

Disabling Add-ins in Safe Mode

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1. 
   1
   Close Outlook, if you have it open. To reset the navigation pane, Outlook must be closed before you can start.
2. 
   2
   Open the Run dialog. You can do this by pressing ⊞ Win+R or by typing run in the taskbar search bar and clicking Run in the Start menu that opens.
3. 
   3
   Type Outlook.exe /safe. Click OK to run the command. Outlook should open in safe mode.

   • You may be prompted to select a profile when signing in. Choose the default "Outlook" profile.
   • If Windows can't find "Outlook.exe," try typing the full path to Outlook. By default, it's located in Program Files > Microsoft Office.
4. 
   4
   Sign in with your Outlook email address. If prompted, sign in to Outlook using your Outlook account.
5. 
   5
   Click File > Options. This will open your Outlook settings menu.
6. 
   6
   Click Add-ins. It's near the bottom of the list on the left-hand side of the options menu.
7. 
   7
   Click Go… next to the "COM Add-ins" dropdown. This will open a new dialog window.
8. 
   8
   Uncheck all of your add-ins. Click the blue checkbox next to each add-in to disable it. If an add-in has a white, unchecked square, don't click it.
9. 
   9
   Click OK. This will save the add-ins you've disabled.
10. 
    10
    Close Outlook, then re-open Outlook in normal mode. Don't use the Run dialog to open Outlook again. Open it from the Start menu, desktop, or taskbar to see if disabling add-ins in Safe Mode fixed the issue.
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