Here’s a summary and the step-by-step fix for the recent Microsoft Outlook crashing issue, confirmed by both Forbes and Microsoft support:
Issue Overview
What’s Happening?: Outlook is crashing when users try to open or start a new email.
Who’s Affected?: Mostly users on Microsoft 365 Office (all channels), particularly those using virtual desktop infrastructure, and those with Outlook update version 2504.
Why?: The crash is due to Outlook not being able to open the Forms Library. This is not related to malware or an external attack.
Temporary Fix
Microsoft’s suggested workaround is to create a missing folder locally. Here’s how:
Close Microsoft Outlook and all other Office apps.
Open the Run dialog:
Press Win + R on your keyboard.
Type the following path and press OK: %localappdata%\Microsoft
Create the FORMS2 folder:
In the Explorer window, find the Microsoft folder.
Go to New > Folder.
Name the new folder exactly: FORMS2
Restart Outlook: Open Outlook again. The crashing-on-email-creation/reading issue should be resolved.
Reminder
This is a temporary workaround. Microsoft is investigating and will update their support page when a permanent fix is available.
No security risks are linked to this crash, and you don’t need to change your password or scan for malware due to this particular issue.