Tip 1043: Using an Outlook profile with different Outlook versions

With the wider availability of Office 2013, it's time for another reminder: if you are going to try Outlook 2013, it's generally a good idea to make a new profile.

Outlook 2013 converts IMAP data files to OST format and converts Outlook Connector accounts to EAS. While Outlook 2013 should be able to make the conversions without issue, a few users have received error messages referencing the Outlook Connector (msncon.dll). Others complained that IMAP "didn't work right" until they made a new profile.

When previous versions first became available, I recommended new profiles to avoid problems with the profile, either with the new version of Outlook or with the old version if you decide to go back to your older Outlook.

If you used a profile in a newer version of Outlook then reverted back to the older version, Outlook kicks up warnings and error messages. This is not a problem with Outlook 2013 since the profile is no longer stored in the Windows Messaging Subsystem key. It's now under the Office keys:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\15.0\Outlook\Profiles

As a result, you can switch back your older version of Outlook with the profile intact.

If you are using Outlook 2010 and switch back to Outlook 2007, you can delete the 0003036f value from the profile key and restart outlook to put an end to this warning message:

The mail profile «profilename» was created with a newer version of Outlook and might contain information that is not compatible with your current Outlook version. If you experience problems with this profile, you can create a new profile. In Windows Control Panel, open Mail, then click Show Profiles, and then click Add.

Press windows key + R to open the Run command, type regedit in the Run field and press Enter. Browse to your Outlook profile keys (or use Search) and locate 0a0d020000000000c000000000000046. Find and delete the value 0003036f.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows Messaging Subsystem\Profiles\&lt;profile&gt;&#92;&#48;a0d020000000000c000000000000046 
Name: 0003036f

Published November 27, 2012. Last updated on November 28, 2012.