Fix the Outlook Error – ‘The operation Failed. An object Could not be Found’

Megha Sharma | Updated On - December 05, 2022 |

Read time 8 minutes

The error which we are talking about pops up in a message displayed as follows:

The error usually appears when you click Send and Receive in Outlook.

Why does ‘The Operation has Failed’ Error Occur?

The answer to why this Outlook error occurs cannot be exactly explained, but it is sure that the reason lies in the Outlook PST file. Either it is corrupt, or the exact file the user is looking for does not exist. Another possible reason could be that there is a misconfiguration of the Outlook profile. So, the user has to assume these reasons one by one and try the fixes to know which actually works as a solution.

Let us know what manual tricks can help to resolve ‘The operation has failed. An object could not be found, error and make the Outlook work again.

• Manual Trick No. 1 – Check for Compatibility Settings
• Manual Trick No. 2 – Disable Anti-virus Scanner
• Manual Trick No. 3 – Build a Fresh Outlook Profile
• Manual Trick No. 4 – Repair Microsoft Office
• Manual Trick No. 5 – Perform PST Recovery

1. Check for Compatibility Settings
   This issue can also arise if the compatibility mode in Outlook is enabled. You can perform the given set of instructions to check if the compatibility mode in Outlook properties is disabled or not.
   1. Type outlook.exe in the search box on the Start menu on your system. Right-click on the displayed program and select Open file location.
   2. Now right-click on OUTLOOK.EXE and select the Properties option.
   3. On the OUTLOOK.EXE Properties dialogue box, switch to the Compatibility tab and check whether the checkbox against Run this program in compatibility mode for is selected or not. If it is selected, make sure to unselect it and then click on OK.
   4. After doing this, restart the Outlook application and check if the error issue is resolved.
2. Disable Anti-virus Scanner

Sometimes external applications may affect the Outlook performance resulting in the error. For example – the Anti-virus scanner. Users can try turning OFF this scanner application and then accessing their emails in Outlook as it could be the reason for the slow processing of emails and ultimately for the error.

3. Build a Fresh Outlook Profile
   Corruption in the existing Outlook profile could be the reason for this error. You can try creating the new Outlook profile and then can see the effects.
   1. Close your Outlook application. Open the Control Panel by typing it in the search from the start menu.
   2. Now double-click the Mail option.
   3. Then, in the opened Mail Setup dialog box, click the Show Profiles option.
   4. After selecting Prompt for a profile to be used, click the Add option to create a new email account for the profile.
   5. Provide a profile name and click OK.
   6. Now add the email account details which you want to configure in Outlook and click Next.
   7. It will start establishing the connection with the server, provide its details and click OK.
   8. Once the account is successfully configured, click the Finish option.
4. Repair Microsoft Office
   Manual repair of the Microsoft Office program could also help here. Users can perform a trial via the following steps.
   1. Type appwiz.cpl in the Run box (press Windows button with R alphabet) and click OK.
   2. Right-click the Microsoft Office edition and select the Change option.
   3. Click Yes to continue and then select one of the repair options – quick or online. Click OK.
   4. The repair will get started and finish after some time.
   5. Restart your Outlook application and try accessing emails again.
5. Perform Repair PST File
   As earlier mentioned, PST corruption is the most suspected reason for this Outlook error. So, a user should try repairing the Outlook file using scanPST.exe application. This application can be found at the location C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office15. Locate the scanPST.exe application and perform these steps.
   1. Run the in-built scanPST.exe application.
   2. Browse the PST file from the path C:\Users\%username%\Documents\Outlook Files\ and click the Start option.
   3. It will start scanning the file. You can make a backup of PST file before performing its repair by selecting the checkbox and providing the saving path for the backup file. Click Repair.
   4. After a while, the repair process gets completed after which you can try restarting the Outlook to check for the issue.

   Note – This manual PST file repair method repairs minor corruptions in PST files that too up to 2 GB only. And users may require to run this utility multiple times to fix complete errors in the Outlook PST file.

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Conclusion

Outlook errors are annoying, though we can search out valid solutions for them. One such error is ‘The operation failed. An object could not be found’ which generally occurs while clicking Send/Receive option in the Outlook application. Some manual tricks are discussed for users seeking a free solution. For a major PST corruption scenario, a reliable third-party tool as recommended in the blog is also suggested.