Fixing Instant Search

ere are a couple of levels at which Instant Search in Outlook 2007, Outlook 2010 and Outlook 2013 can break. You can troubleshoot Instant Search in the mentioned order in this article. Marked for indexing First let us check if the pst-file or mailbox has been marked to be indexed. Outlook 2007 Tools-> Options-> Search Options… In the Indexing section you can select which data file to index. Outlook 2010 File-> Options-> section Search-> button Indexing Options…-> button Modify-> expand Microsoft Outlook In the list that is shown under Microsoft Outlook, make sure that your pst-file or mailbox is displayed and selected. If it is not listed, you’ll have to recreate your mail profile. Outlook 2013 File-> Options-> section Search-> button Indexing Options…-> button Modify Here, make sure that Outlook is selected. Unlike in Outlook 2007 and Outlook 2010, you cannot specify which mailboxes or pst-files in Outlook to index; You either index Outlook or you don’t. heck for pst-file corruptions If your pst-file has been marked but Outlook doesn’t display the correct results, it usually means there is some corruption going on in your pst-file. In order to fix these you should scan your pst-file for errors with scanpst.exe. You can find this file in the same folder as outlook.exe or use OutlookTools (free!) to locate it for you. Once repaired, open Outlook and leave it idle for some time. To see if everything has been indexed now use: Outlook 2007 Tools-> Instant Search-> Indexing Status Outlook 2010 and Outlook 2013 Click in the Search field in order to make the Search Tools tab visible in the Ribbon. Here click the Search Tools button and select the Indexing Status… When you have a big pst-file or mailbox, this indexing could take some time but if the number of items left to index doesn’t change after leaving your computer idle for over 30 minutes, something is wrong still. Disable and then re-enable the file for indexing Go back to the Search Options and deselect the data file that is giving you issues. Close Outlook and wait for about 5 minutes and also verify in Task Manager (CTRL+SHIFT+ESC) that on the Processes tab the outlook.exe process actually quits. You might get a lot of disk activity; this is the Search Indexer removing the indexed items from the Index. After this open Outlook again and go back to the Search Option and select the pst-file we just deselected. Leave the computer idle again and see if it will eventually reach the status of “0 items remaining.” Rebuild the index If it doesn’t, it might be that the Index itself has been damaged. In order to reset this, go to Control Panel-> Indexing Options-> Advanced-> button Rebuild (Type “Indexing” in the Search field of Control Panel to quickly locate the applet.) This will rebuild the entire Index from scratch and depending on the amount of documents to be indexed, this could take quite long and degrade your system’s performance while the Indexer is still busy. I would recommend to have it rebuild itself overnight. Advanced Indexing Options in Windows 7. Reset the index If it still doesn’t work press the “Restore Defaults” button that you can find under the Rebuild button in Windows Vista. The difference with Rebuild is that, aside from resetting all customized indexing settings like indexing location and file type selections, it will recreate the actual Index files as well. In Windows 7 and Windows 8, you can press the blue “Troubleshoot search and indexing” link. This will start a troubleshooting wizard in which you can select the option “E-mail doesn’t appear in search results”. Reinstall the Windows Search feature If your installation of Windows Search got damaged, you can remove and reinstall it in the following way. Control Panel-> Programs-> Turn Windows features on or off Deselect: Windows Search Press OK and wait until the installer is finished. Reboot your computer. Repeat the above steps to enable it again. Check Event Viewer and post in the newsgroups Still running into indexing issues? It might be good to take a look in the Event Viewer and look for any errors logged by the “Search” or “Microsoft Outlook”. If the error logged there is not helpful to you, post it in the Outlook forums together with your configuration details in order to help you troubleshoot it.

How to remove the Search Protect from Internet Explorer, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox

How to remove the Search Protect from Internet Explorer, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox Over time, we’ve told you how to remove a couple of toolbars that hijack your search engine or your homepage and cause a lot of browsing slowdown, not to mention directing you to malicious websites. Since most of our targeted audience has learned how to deal with these pesky toolbars, the potentially unwanted applications have moved on to a stealthier level. Instead of a toolbar, you might end up with a program that modifies your search engine and your homepage, but sounds entirely legitimate and... is nowhere to be found. Where is the worst part? It comes with an End User’s License Agreement, which makes it hard (legally speaking) for security solutions to remove it. Such an example is Search Protect by Conduit, which claims to keep your browser protected from malware, bad extensions and home page hijacks. Oh, the irony! Not only that, but it will add a Startup task – which will load every time you turn your computer on, or a Scheduled Task (which triggers it at any User’s logon to Windows). There are multiple steps in getting rid of this pesky program. But, as a thousand mile journey starts with a single step, getting rid of Search Protect by Conduit starts with removing it from the list of installed programs. To do that, you’ll need to hit Start and type in Control Panel, then select Programs and Features or Uninstall a Program. Our XP users will click Start - (Settings) - Control Panel and select Add/Remove Programs. Once in the list of installed programs, scroll to Search Protect, right click it and select “Uninstall”. Easy-peasy! Also, please keep an eye out for any of the programs listed below. Not only do they fall in the same category, but they can also be bundled with Search Protect: Mobogenie Mixi.DJ toolbar WhiteSmoke Toolbar Delta Search toolbar Oople Toolbar Internet Helper Toolbar DivX Browser Bar Yontoo Travelocity Toolbar Entrusted Toolbar Social Search Toolbar VisualBee Webcake This, however, won’t fix the issue. So, for the next step, we’ll reset the browsers: Internet Explorer For Internet Explorer 9 and above: Click on the Tool button (Cogwheel) in the top right corner and click again on Manage Add-ons. For Internet Explorer 8: Click on Tools, then select Manage Add-ons. In the new window, make sure to select the Toolbars and Extensions category from the left side, and then browse for Search Protect by Conduit (and any of the previously mentioned toolbars). If you find traces right click on them and select disable. Click on the Search Providers category from the left side of the window, right click on all Conduit traces and select Remove. If it is set as a default search engine, select another one (Bing, Google) and set it as default, then remove Conduit. Close and open Internet Explorer again. Click on the Tool button (Cogwheel) in the top right corner and select Internet Options. If the Home Page is set to search.conduit.com (or anything other than your regular homepage), you will need to delete the URL and type a new home page. It can be www.google.com , www.bing.com , www.msn.com , or any other page that you wish to set as your home page. Click Apply, then OK and restart Internet Explorer in order to apply the settings. If you open a new tab in Internet Explorer and it still displays Conduit Search as the home page, do the following: Open Internet Explorer, click on the Tools icon (Cogwheel), and select Internet Options. In General tab, click the Tabs button (in the Tabs section). In the new window, go to the drop down menu and select the option: Your first home page. Click OK, Apply and OK in the next window as well. Restart Internet Explorer. Mozilla Firefox Here are some small steps to make your browser really works for you: At the top of the Firefox window, click the Firefox button. From the New Menu select Add-ons. In the new tab browse the Extension sections for any traces of Conduit. Select one at a time and then click on Remove. Access the Plug-ins category and search for Conduit Search Protect, then from the right side select Never Activate (if found). Click again on the Firefox button in the top left corner, and access Options. In the General Tab, if the Home Page is set to search.conduit.com, you will need to remove the URL and instead type a new home page. It can be www.google.com , www.bing.com , www.msn.com, or any other page that you wish to set as your home page. Restart Firefox after performing these steps Open Mozilla Firefox, click on the address bar and type "about:config". Press Enter. You will get a warning about "warranty". Click on the button that says, "I'll be careful". In the next screen type "Conduit" in the Filter window (a search field in the config located at the top of the page). A list of results should be displayed afterwards. Highlight the entries one at a time, right click on them and select "reset"; Simply restart Mozilla and check if it has been removed. Google Chrome For Google Chrome just follow these steps: Open Google Chrome and click on the Chrome menu. Click Tools and then select Extensions. In the Extensions tab, remove everything related to Conduit from the list then restart your browser. Open Chrome again and click on the Chrome menu. Select Settings, then click Manage Search Engines. Select Conduit from the list and click the X that appears at the end of the row. Select Google or another search engine (Bing, Yahoo) from the list to make it your default search engine. Restart Chrome, then click on the Chrome menu. Select Settings, then change the home page as follows: Add the home button to the browser toolbar The homepage button is off by default. Select the "Show Home button" checkbox in the "Appearance" section to have it displayed in the browser toolbar. Set your homepage When the "Show Home button" checkbox is checked, a web address appears below. If you want the Homepage button to open up a different webpage, click Change to enter a link. You can also choose the New Tab page as your homepage. The Search Protect by Conduit also creates startup for Windows system and this is probably the reason that many users still see the conduit hijacker and redirects in their web browser when they restart their computer even if they’ve done all the uninstall and browser repair. For this next step, you’ll need Autoruns, which can be downloaded from here. Extract the content, then right click Autoruns.exe and select “Run as Administrator”. Our fellow XP users will just need to double click the file. Wait for the list to be populated, then click on the Logon tab. Look for “BackgroundContainer.dll” (or anything published by Conduit), right click it and select Delete. Then, click on the “Scheduled Tasks”, look for “BackgroundContainer.dll”, right click it and select Delete. Restart your PC and you’ll be all set! When your PC is acting up, call Bitdefender Tech Assist. We are a team of computer experts, always available to give full personal attention to your PC needs. Tech Assist is available 24/7. We save you time and energy so you can focus on what's really important for you. PS: If you like this post, you might also like How to improve your Internet browsing speed and performance when using Internet Explorer and How to improve your Internet browsing speed and performance when using Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome.

"Either there is no default mail client or the current mail client cannot fulfill the messaging request" error message when you send e-mail from third-party program in Outlook

Let me fix it myself

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type regedit, and then press ENTER.
3. In Registry Editor, locate the following subkey in the registry:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Clients\Mail\Microsoft Outlook
4. Select the subkey, and then press DELETE.
5. Click Yes.
6. Quit Registry Editor.
7. Start Outlook.
8. For Outlook 2000 and Outlook 2002, click the Help menu, and then click Detect and Repair .
   For Outlook 2007, click the Help menu, and then click Office Diagnostics .
   For Office 2010, Click Start, click Control Panel, click Programs and Features, select Microsoft Office 2010 and then click the Change button. Next, click Repair, and then click Continue.
9. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the repair.

How to Fix: Print Spooler Error 1053

How to Fix: Print Spooler Error 1053
Options
?03-15-2013 12:49 PM - edited ?03-15-2013 12:55 PM

Are you getting an error when trying to restart the print spooler?  Did your printer spooler error out and now won't restart?

Have you seen "Error 1053: The service did not respond to the start or control request in a timely fashion."?

There is a Microsoft support page with information about this error that can be found here.

According to Microsoft:

Cause: The ServiceBase class calls the OnStop method directly from the Service command handler that is defined in the ScDispatcherLoop of the Advapi32.dll file. After 30 seconds, if the ScDispatcherLoop thread is not ready to receive a new service command from the service control manager, Windows Service Controller marks the service as "time out." Therefore, you receive this error message.
Resolution: To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for the Microsoft .NET Framework.

This resolution does work for some and allows the service to return to proper functionality.  However, I would like to provide some workaround steps incase this option does not work for some.

Open the Run command by selecting it under the start menu or by pressing the Windows Key (left of alt)+ R
Type services.msc and press Enter
Scroll down and double left click on Print Spooler
Select the Log On tab
Uncheck the box for Allow service to interact with desktop
Click Apply
Select the General Tab for the Print Spooler and select Start
I have confirmation that this workaround solution does work for some users.

How to use command line switches

Using command line switches

You can directly execute command line switches in the following way:

1. Open the Run command via Start-> Run or press the Windows Logo + R on your keyboard.
• If you are using Windows Vista or Windows 7, you can also open the Start Menu and use the Search field to type in for the next step.
• If you are using Windows 8, open the Start Screen and directly start typing. This will automatically open the Search Pane which also allows for commands.
2. In the box you opened in step 1, type; outlook.exe
3. Press the SPACEBAR once, and then type a forward slash mark (/) followed by the switch you want to use (see the list below). For example, if you want to use the CleanRemindersswitch, the command you type in the Open box should look like this:
   outlook.exe /cleanreminders
4. To run the command, click OK or press ENTER.

Starting Outlook with the cleanreminders switch in Windows 7.
(note the space in the command above)

Creating shortcuts with command line switches

You can also create a shortcut which includes one or more switches so you can automate tasks or start Outlook in a certain folder like the Calendar;

1. Click the Start button, and then click Search to find the Outlook executable file, Outlook.exe. For example, by default the path for Outlook 2007 on a 32-bit version of Windows is;
   C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\Outlook.exe
2. Right-click Outlook.exe, and then on the shortcut menu point to Send To, and then click Desktop (create shortcut).
3. Close the Search Results dialog box, and then go to the desktop.
4. Right-click the shortcut you just created, and from the shortcut menu click Properties.
5. On the Shortcut tab, locate the Target box. It contains the path for Outlook.exe.
6. Press the SPACEBAR once to type a space after the path, and then type;
   /select outlook:calendar
   The full command should now look like this;
   "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\Outlook.exe" /select outlook:calendar
7. Click OK.
8. On the desktop, double-click the Outlook shortcut you created.

Creating a custom shortcut with the command line to start
Outlook in the Calendar folder (click on the image to enlarge).

Tip!
To create a shortcut that creates a new message, follow the above instructions but instead of typing /select outlook:calendar use /c ipm.note. You can also drag & drop this shortcut to your Quick Launch toolbar on the Taskbar so you can easily create a new message without going to Outlook first.

Command line switches overview

The overview of commands below are taken from various local and on-line help files of all Outlook versions and from KB articles discussing them. In the right column you’ll find to which Outlook version the command applies.

Switch	Description	Works in
/a path:\<filename>	Creates an item with the specified file as an attachment. Example: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\Outlook.exe" /a "C:\My Documents\labels.doc" If no item type is specified, IPM.Note is assumed. Cannot be used with message classes that aren’t based on Outlook.	2000, 2002/XP, 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013
/altvba <otmfilename>	Opens the VBA program specified in otmfilename, rather than %appdata%\Microsoft\Outlook\ VbaProject.OTM.	2003, 2007, 2010, 2013
/autorun macroname	Opens Outlook and immediately runs the macro specified in macroname. (no longer supported after Outlook 2003 SP2)	2003
/c <messageclass>	Creates a new item of the specified message class (Outlook forms or any other valid MAPI form).Examples: /c ipm.activity creates a Journal entry /c ipm.appointment creates an appointment /c ipm.contact creates a contact /c ipm.note creates an e-mail message /c ipm.stickynote creates a note /c ipm.task creates a task	2002/XP, 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013
/checkclient	Prompts for the default manager of e-mail, news, and contacts.	2000, 2002/XP, 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013
/cleanautocompletecache	Removes all names and e-mail addresses from the AutoComplete list.	2010, 2013
/cleancategories	Deletes any custom category names that you have created. Restores categories to the default names.	2007, 2010, 2013
/cleanclientrules	Starts Outlook and deletes client-based rules.	2003, 2007, 2010, 2013
/cleanconvongoingactions	Deletes the Conversations Actions Table (CAT). CAT entries for a conversation thread usually expire 30 days after no activity. The command-line switch clears all conversation tagging, ignore, and moving rules immediately stopping any additional actions.	2010, 2013
/cleandmrecords	Deletes the logging records saved when a manager or a delegate declines a meeting.	2003, 2007, 2010, 2013
/cleanfinders	Removes Search Folders from the Microsoft Exchange server store.	2000, 2002/XP, 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013
/cleanfreebusy	Clears and regenerates free/busy information. This switch can only be used when you are able to connect to your Microsoft Exchange server.	2000, 2002/XP, 2003, 2007, 2010
/cleanfromaddress	Removes all manually added From entries from the profile.	2010, 2013
/cleanips	Restores receival of new messages in Exchange Cached mode (KB968773)	2007, 2010, 2013
/cleanprofile	Removes invalid profile keys and recreates default registry keys where applicable.	2003, 2007
/cleanpst	Launches Outlook with a clean Personal Folders file (.pst)	2003
/cleanreminders	Clears and regenerates reminders.	2000, 2002/XP, 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013
/cleanroamedprefs	All previous roamed preferences are deleted and copied again from the local settings on the computer where this switch is used. This includes the roaming settings for reminders, free/busy grid, working hours, calendar publishing, and RSS rules.	2007, 2010, 2013
/cleanrules	Starts Outlook and deletes client- and server-based rules.	2003, 2007, 2010, 2013
/cleanschedplus	Deletes all Schedule+ data (free/busy, permissions, and .cal file) from the server and enables the free/busy information from the Outlook Calendar to be used and viewed by all Schedule+ 1.0 users.	2000, 2002/XP, 2003
/cleanserverrules	Starts Outlook and deletes server-based rules.	2003, 2007, 2010, 2013
/cleansharing	Removes all RSS, Internet Calendar, and SharePoint subscriptions from Account Settings, but leaves all the previously downloaded content on your computer. This is useful if you cannot delete one of these subscriptions within Outlook 2010.	2010, 2013
/cleansniff	Deletes duplicate reminder messages.	2003, 2007, 2010, 2013
/cleansubscriptions	Deletes the subscription messages and properties for subscription features.	2003, 2007, 2010, 2013
/cleanviews	Restores default views. All custom views you created are lost.	2000, 2002/XP, 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013
/designer	Starts Outlook without figuring out if Outlook should be the default client in the first run.	2003
/embedding <msgfilename>	Opens the specified message file (.msg) as an OLE embedding. Also used without command-line parameters for standard OLE co-create.	2002/XP, 2003, 2007, 2010
/explorer	Opens the new window in “explorer” mode (link bar on).	2000, 2002/XP, 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013
/f <msgfilename>	Opens the specified message file (.msg) or Microsoft Office saved search (.oss). (Support for oss-files has been dropped since Outlook 2003 SP2 due to security restrictions)	2002/XP, 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013
/finder	Opens the Advanced Find dialog box.	2007, 2010, 2013
/firstrun	Starts Outlook as if it were run for the first time.	2003, 2007
/folder	Opens a new window in “folder” mode (Navigation Pane off).	2000, 2002/XP, 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013
/hol <holfilename.hol>	Opens the specified .hol file.	2003, 2007, 2010, 2013
/ical <icsfilename>	Opens the specified .ics file.	2003, 2007, 2010, 2013
/importprf path:\<filename.prf>	Launches Outlook and opens/imports the defined MAPI profile (*.prf). If Outlook is already open, queues the profile to be imported on the next clean launch.	2002/XP, 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013
/l <olkfilename>	Opens the specified .olk file.	2003
/launchtraininghelp assetid	Opens a Help window with the Help topic specified in assetid.	2003, 2007, 2010, 2013
/m emailname	Provides a way for the user to add an e-mail name to the item. Only works in conjunction with the /c command-line parameter. Example: outlook.exe /c ipm.note /m emailname	2003, 2007, 2010, 2013
/nocustomize	Starts Outlook without loading outcmd.dat (customized toolbars) and *.fav file.	2003, 2007
/noextensions	Starts Outlook with extensions turned off, but listed in the Add-In Manager.	2003, 2007
/nopollmail	Starts Outlook without checking mail at startup.	2003
/nopreview	Starts Outlook with the Reading Pane off and removes the option from the View menu.	2000, 2002/XP, 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013
/p <msgfilename>	Prints the specified message (.msg). Prior to Outlook 2007, this does not work with HTML messages.	2002/XP, 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013
/profile <profilename>	Loads the specified profile. If your profile name contains a space, enclose the profile name in quotation marks (“).	2002/XP, 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013
/profiles	Opens the Choose Profile dialog box regardless of the Options setting on the Tools menu.	2002/XP, 2003, 2007, 2010
/recycle	Starts Outlook using an existing Outlook window, if one exists. Used in combination with /explorer or /folder.	2000, 2002/XP, 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013
/regserver	Rewrites all Outlook specific registry keys and re-associates file extensions without having to reinstall Outlook or run setup with the /y switch. The settings are stored in the Outlook.srg file located in the same folder as the Outlook program.	2000, 2002/XP
/remigratecategories	Starts Outlook and and initiates the following commands on the default mailbox: Upgrades colored For Follow Up flags to Office Outlook 2007 color categories. Upgrades calendar labels to Office Outlook 2007 color categories. Adds all categories used on non-mail items into the Master Category List. Note: This is the same command asUpgrade to Color Categories in each Outlook mailbox properties dialog box.	2007, 2010, 2013
/remigrateconversations		2010, 2013
/resetfoldernames	Resets default folder names (such as Inbox or Sent Items) to default names in the current Office user interface language.For example, if you first connect to your mailbox Outlook using a Russian user interface, the Russian default folder names cannot be renamed. To change the default folder names to another language such as Japanese or English, you can use this switch to reset the default folder names after changing the user interface language or installing a different language version of Outlook.	2002/XP, 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013
/resetfolders	Restores missing folders for the default delivery location.	2000, 2002/XP, 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013
/resetformregions	Empties the form regions cache and reloads the form region definitions from the Windows registry.	2007, 2010, 2013
/resetoutlookbar	Rebuilds the Outlook Bar.	2000, 2002/XP
/resetnavpane	Clears and regenerates the Navigation Pane for the current profile.	2003, 2007, 2010, 2013
/resetquicksteps	Restores the default Quick Steps. All user-created Quick Steps are deleted.	2010, 2013
/resetsearchcriteria	Resets all Instant Search criteria so that the default set of criteria is shown in each module.	2007, 2010, 2013
/resetsharedfolders	Removes all shared folders from the Navigation Pane.	2007, 2010, 2013
/resettodobar	Clears and regenerates the To-Do Bar task list for the current profile. The To-Do Bar search folder is deleted and re-created.	2007, 2010, 2013
/restore	Attempts to open the same profile and folders that were open prior to an abnormal Outlook shutdown.	2010, 2013
/rpcdiag	Opens Outlook and displays the remote procedure call (RPC) connection status dialog.	2003, 2007, 2010, 2013
/s <filename>	Loads the specified shortcuts file (.fav).	2002/XP, 2003
/safe	Starts Outlook without extensions, Reading Pane, or toolbar customization.	2000, 2002/XP, 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013
/safe:1	Starts Outlook with the Reading Pane off.	2003, 2007, 2010, 2013
/safe:2	Starts Outlook without checking mail at startup.	2003
/safe:3	Starts Outlook with extensions turned off, but listed in the Add-In Manager.	2003, 2007, 2010, 2013
/safe:4	Starts Outlook without loading Outcmd.dat (customized toolbars) and *.fav file.	2003, 2007
/select foldername	Starts Outlook and opens the specified folder in a new window. For example, to open Outlook and display the default calendar use: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\Outlook.exe" /select outlook:calendar	2002/XP, 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013
/share feed://URL/filename/share stssync://URL /share web://URL/filename	Specifies a sharing URL to connect to Outlook. For example, use stssync://URL to connect a Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 list to Outlook.	2007, 2010, 2013
/sniff	Starts Outlook and forces a detection of new meeting requests in the Inbox, and then adds them to the calendar.	2003, 2007, 2010, 2013
/t <oftfilename>	Opens the specified .oft file.	2003, 2007, 2010, 2013
/unregserver	Deletes all registry keys and file associations for Outlook. Its actions are based on the Outlook.srg file located in the same folder as the Outlook application. Use the /regserver switch to rewrite the registry keys and file associations after using this switch.	2000, 2002/XP
/v <vcffilename>	Opens the specified .vcf file.	2003, 2007, 2010, 2013
/vcal <vcsfilename>	Opens the specified .vcs file.	2003, 2007, 2010, 2013
/x <xnkfilename>	Opens the specified .xnk file.	2003, 2007