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Oct 18, 2011

Reminders in Outlook Not Popping Up

When Reminders in Outlook (2007/2010) do not properly display the Reminders Window Popup, below is a series of troubleshooting steps to attempt a repair.

I worked with a user having this issue...and while these steps did not work for me, the Hotfix below did.  So I thought I would outline all troubleshooting steps I came across to hopefully help someone else out...


1. Check the 'Show Reminders' Setting is enabled:

    2007:  Tools -> Options -> Other -> Advanced Options -> Reminder Options
    2010:  File Tab -> Options -> Advanced -> Reminders

    2007: Ensure "Display the reminder" is checked.
    2010: Ensure "Show Reminders" is checked.

2. Attempt to re-apply the 'Show Reminders' Setting:
   
    2007:  Tools -> Options -> Other -> Advanced Options -> Reminder Options
    2010:  File Tab -> Options -> Advanced -> Reminders

    Uncheck 'Show Reminders'...Press OK, (OK again for 2007), then close Outlook.
    Open Outlook, Check 'Show Reminders'...Press OK, (OK again for 2007), then close.  
    Open Outlook again and test...

3. If using reminders from the calendar on Exchange, ensure mail is delivered to the Exchange inbox (and not the inbox from a PST file).

    
    2007: Tools -> Account Settings 
    2010: File Tab -> Account Settings

4. Start Outlook with "/cleanreminders" switch:

    Start -> Run, type "outlook.exe /cleanreminders", then test...

5. Try with "/cleanfreebusy" switch:

    Start -> Run, type "outlook.exe /cleanfreebusy", then test...

6. Try with "/resetfolders" switch:

    Start -> Run, type "outlook.exe /resetfolders", then test...

7. If all the above fail, use MFCMapi.exe to delete the Reminders Folder...and recreate with /resetfolders switch:

    Ensure Outlook is closed
    Download MFCMapi.exe for your version of Office (i.e. x86 or x64), and run
    Click "Session" -> "Logon and Display Store Table" -> Select the profile -> OK
    Double-Click the Exchange Account -> "Expand Root Container"
    Right-Click "Reminders" in the Left Pane, Delete (Check box for 'Hard Delete')
    Start Outlook with /resetfolders switch (as seen in step 6 above), and test...

8. If the issue still is apparent (as with my case), the last resort was to enable logging and contact Microsoft Support.

NOTE:  Once logging is enabled, the "logcalb#" files which contain the Reminders info are encrypted and can only be viewed from Microsoft Support...(I searched everywhere and could not find a tool to read these files).

    2007:  Tools -> Options -> Other -> Advanced Options
    2010:  File Tab -> Options -> Advanced -> Other

    Check (Enable) the "Enable troubleshooting logging" 
    Click OK (OK again for 2007), Restart Outlook.
    

    * Ensure to disable logging when resolved as it will continue to generate LARGE files...

9. (SOLVED) In my case, once I opened the call with Microsoft, they had me run this Hotfix which finally solved my issue:   http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2553028



Reference:    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/286166
                      http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2553028

8 comments:

  1. I had the same issue several times, but found a different resolution. I typically use Outlook 2010 which is installed on my work PC. On rare occasions I access email via Outlook Web Access. When reminders stop showing up in Outlook 2010, here's how I resolve it:
    1) Log into OWA.
    2) In the top right corner, click the notification that indicates how many missed reminders I have.
    3) Choose to dismiss all reminders.
    4) Log out of OWA.
    5) Problem solved. The next reminder to occur in Outlook 2010 just shows up when it should.

    It appears that one or more old reminders ends up blocking the new ones and prevents their display. Did I hit some maximum number of reminders while I was on vacation(I was at 42 when I dismissed them most recently)? Did I cause some unexpected data condition when I changed the date on my PC and then a reminder popped up? (I'm in SQA, so this happens sometimes.) Did my accessing of reminders by OWA cause an unexpected data condition? I don't know yet, but I'll keep these in mind in case the error occurs again.

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    1. I have the exact same issue. Outlook 2010 with reminders not appearing. And I solve it the exact same way as above (OWA). Problem is I don't know when this is going to recur until I've missed some major appointments...

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  2. Same here. Tried everything including the above outlook switches, created new profiles etc. In the end I dismissed all reminders from OWA and all subsequent reminders started coming through the MAPI.

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  3. Thanks so much. That did the trick.

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  4. fantastic, worked a treat!

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  5. you are my saviour! after the many meetings that I have missed, i finally now have the solution!! thanks a million!

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  6. Fantastic - spend a lot of time with a user who didn't get any reminders. MFCMapi fixed it :)

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  7. Hi Dave,

    This is the only relevant article I found so far. My issue still persists. Reminders don't pop up in OWA or Outlook - no matter which client I try. We have a hybrid environment and issue started when the user was onboarded to o365 and then brought back to on premise. The reminders stopped working ever since then.

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