# Crazy Outlook problem

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-outlook-problem/418812>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 11, 2007, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-outlook-problem/418812 "2007-09-11T18:46:33Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Sunrazor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sunrazor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunrazor)\
**Post date:** [September 11, 2007, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-outlook-problem/418812/1 "2007-09-11T18:46:33Z")

</div>

I’m running an HP Pavilion laptop with WinXP and Office 2003. Suddenly, when I go to open my Outlook, I get:

Your personal address book could not be opened. The file is either not  
accessible or is not a personal address book. Choose Retry to use your  
personal address book, or choose Cancel to not use your personal address  
book with this application.

Microsoft says this is a designed feature, something about opening .pab and .pst files for read/write access. I have no idea what’s going on. I even uninstalled and re-installed Office 2003, willing to start all over with my address book, but it still won’t open. Now I’m desperate! I have student papers I have to pull down and grade, my own grad work to send in, and Yahoo’s web-based e-mail program is just too clunky!

Anybody?!