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My email drafts don't save and the IT guy at my company couldn't fix it. Need major help!

Tate Crawford 0 Reputation points
2025-10-21T20:21:11.4+00:00

My email drafts won't save anything and I have tried so many tricks already. Even the IT guy at my company couldn't fix it or figure it out. It works on new outlook, but I have to use old outlook.

Outlook | Windows | Classic Outlook for Windows | For business
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  1. Ian-Ng 4,535 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2025-10-21T22:09:00.8133333+00:00

    Hi @Tate Crawford,   

    Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum.  

    Thank you for reaching out about the draft-saving issue in Classic Outlook. Given that this is often related to subtle configuration or profile corruption within the Classic Windows application, please follow the steps below sequentially, starting with the recommended workaround. Kindly inform us of the outcome after completing each step. 

    Step 1/ Compose an email in a dedicated window 

    • When creating a new email, reply, or forward, immediately double-click the message to pop it out into a separate, full window before you start typing any content. Compose a test message and close the separate window. Check the Drafts folder to see if it saved. 

    Step 2/ Verify auto-save timing settings 

    We need to confirm that the automatic save function is active and set to a frequent interval. 

    • Go to File > Options > Mail. 
    • Scroll down to the Save messages section. 
    • Ensure that "Automatically save items that have not been sent after this many minutes" is checked and set to a low number (e.g., 1 or 2 minutes).
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    Step 3/ Test cached exchange mode 

    Since this is a business environment, disabling the local cache temporarily can rule out local synchronization file corruption. 

    • Go to File > Account Settings > Account Settings. 
    • Select your primary account and click Change. 
    • Uncheck the box next to "Use Cached Exchange Mode to download email to an Outlook data file." 

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    • Click Change and Finish, then restart Outlook. 
    • After that, create a new draft in this online mode. Does it save successfully now? (If it does, the issue is with your local cache file). 

    Step 4/ Create a new outlook profile 

    If the above steps fail, the most common root cause is a corrupted local profile or associated data file. 

    • Close Outlook completely. 
    • Open the Windows Control Panel and search for Mail (Microsoft Outlook). 
    • Click Show Profiles... > Add. Name the new profile (e.g., "NewTest"). 
    • Set up your company email account under this new profile. 
    • Set Outlook to "Prompt for a profile to be used" when starting and then launch Outlook using the NewTest profile. 
    • Then create a draft in this completely fresh profile. 

    Step 5/ Contact Microsoft support

    Should the problem persist after you have completed all four phases, please contact your internal IT administrator and request that they open a support ticket with Microsoft in the admin center. Leveraging a Microsoft support agent provides access to specialized diagnostic tools and the ability to apply official, high-level fixes directly from the product developer.

    For detailed instructions on how to get support, please refer to Get support - Microsoft 365 admin.

    I hope the information provided proves useful. Please proceed with the outlined steps and let me know whether they resolve the issue. If not, I’ll be glad to continue working with you to find a solution.  

    Thank you for your patience and understanding throughout this process. Should you have any questions or need further assistance, feel free to reach out at any time. I look forward to hearing from you.

    If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".User's image

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  2. Hal Hostetler MVP-Outlook 11,676 Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2025-10-22T23:40:46.3966667+00:00

    Since drafts save with Cached Exchange turned off, and do not save when you turn it back on again, there is a good chance the issue is due to a problem with your local cache (.OST) file. Since this appears to be an Exchange Server mailbox, the first thing to try would be to replace this file. You can do this by locating and deleting the associated .OST file with Outlook CLOSED. Outlook will automatically rebuild the cache file when next started. In Classic Outlook, File > Account Settings > Account Settings will show you the file's location. You can also try running the Inbox Repair Tool on the cache file; the tool will fix many, but not all problems with cache files.

    More info is in this Microsoft Support article - https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/repair-outlook-data-files-pst-and-ost-25663bc3-11ec-4412-86c4-60458afc5253

    While you can use Scanpst.exe on offline folder (.OST) files used for cached or offline access to Exchange Server folders, it is recommended to delete the OST file and let Outlook recreate it. It's generally faster to resync the data than it is to repair the OST and a new OST file results in fewer problems. If you do try to repair the OST file and it's corrupted beyond the ability of Scanpst.exe to repair it, delete the OST When you reopen Outlook it will make a new OST file.

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