Outlook email addresses erasing every time the computer is rebooted

Question

Using Microsoft Outlook 2010 on a network with a Microsoft Exchange Server 2010. The Exchange Server is the only email address associated with my Outlook. Have not had any problems for over a year, but three days ago my email cache disappeared.

In other words, when I start typing an email address to send a new message, my previously sent email addresses do not list. They will start to re-accumulate all day while I use it, but will be gone again after a reboot.

Has anyone else had this problem?

Solution

This can be caused by a corrupted Autocomplete list (what used to be the .NK2 files, now C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\RoamCache\Stream_Autocomplete*.dat.), so try flushing it and see if that helps:

In Outlook 2010:

• File -> Settings -> Mail -> Send Messages -> Empty Auto Complete List
• Restart Outlook.

Or run Outlook 2010 with the CleanAutoCompleteCache switch:

Outlook.exe /CleanAutoCompleteCache

Hopefully that'll make it remember better. ;)

Comments

[r0ca]

Check when it's the last modify date for Outlook.nk2. That file is keeping all the "auto-populated" email addresses int he "TO:" field. It will be in there: C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook

[r0ca]

Do you know if the user has a roaming profile?

[thims]

Outlook 2010 does not use .nk2 files.

[James Watt]

Not using a roaming profile and the rest of his profile seems normal and intact

[James Watt]

All of the .dat files must have been corrupted because they all were dated 11/16/2011. I cleared them out, started Outlook with /CleanAutoCompleteCache and everything worked fine. .dat files are now reporting today's date. Thanks!