« previous next »
Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: Hotmail/Outlook Very Slow  (Read 7597 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline socaltek

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 14
Hotmail/Outlook Very Slow
« on: April 15, 2017, 10:38:22 PM »
I've been having problems logging into my Hotmail and Outlook e-mail accounts. To make a long story short, here's a summary of my observations along with some comments. I have a 3 year old Dell PC running on Windows 10 with Internet Explorer 11 and McAfee security software offered by Cox Communications.   

Some 2 months ago I starting noticing a slowness in opening my MSN e-mail accounts (1 hotmail and 1 Outlook). It seems to me the system is slowest on weekday evenings and most of weekends. It would sometimes take over 15-minutes to get to my in-box. I would then have to wait another 15-30 minutes or longer for the icons on the top left to appear before I can read or reply to my e-mails. On bad days I'm unable to open my e-mail at all. After opening one of my e-mail accounts, opening the second one takes a lot longer.

At first I attributed the slow response to Microsoft upgrading their website but since the problem has persisted, I've discounted that possibility. Could the culprit be my security software? If so, how come everything else, including my Yahoo e-mail, appears to running smoothly. Another possibility might be a site-specific virus that targets the Outlook website. I've thought about abandoning Hotmail and migrating to different e-mail but after using Hotmail for over two decades that'll be painful. Has anyone else been in this horrible situation? I welcome anyone with an insight into the root cause of this problem to please voice their opinion.

Logged

Offline Corrine

  • The Mystical Rose
  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21027
  • "Stronger than the past, united in our goal."
    • Security Garden
Re: Hotmail/Outlook Very Slow
« Reply #1 on: April 15, 2017, 10:53:49 PM »
Hi, socaltek.

There were a few days a month or two ago when Outlook mail (regardless of whether it was @Hotmail, @Live, etc. account) was really, really slow.  However, whatever that issue was, it was resolved.

One thing I discovered I had to do for webmail access was change my bookmarks.  Where it used to be the server name +mail.live.com, now it is https://outlook.com. 

Whether the issue is McAfee or not, the only way to know that is to temporarily disable McAfee and see if that makes a difference.  You may also have corrupt cookies so could try removing all cookie for the two mail accounts.

Have you tried the Mail "app" that comes with Windows 10?  You might want to set up your Hotmail or Outlook address on that and see if it makes a difference. 

One last thing, consider that IE is outward bound.  Although it shouldn't matter, still see if there is a difference using Microsoft Edge.
Logged


Take a walk through the "Security Garden" -- Where Everything is Coming up Roses!

Remember - A day without laughter is a day wasted.
May the wind sing to you and the sun rise in your heart.

Offline socaltek

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 14
Re: Hotmail/Outlook Very Slow
« Reply #2 on: April 17, 2017, 02:34:26 AM »
Thank you Corrine for your helpful comments. Below is the action I took based on your suggestions.

Cleared all the cookies from my computer.
Typed in Outlook.com, without using a bookmark.
Disabled McAfee firewall and antivirus protection
Used Edge and Mozilla browsers instead of the IE.
Didn't use the Mail App because for reasons of privacy, I'm uncomfortable being logged in all the time.

After those fixes this afternoon, I noticed some improvements in accessing my e-mails but that success was short-lived. Tonight the 'demons' are back and it is taking inordinately long to get to my inbox. 

Here's what I've decided to do. The Outlook e-mail account is relatively new so I can get rid of it with ease. The Hotmail account, however, has too much history and my plan is to phase it out gradually. If in the meantime I can find a cure for my Outlook headache, I can always go back to it.
Logged

Offline socaltek

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 14
Re: Hotmail/Outlook Very Slow
« Reply #3 on: April 18, 2017, 04:15:58 PM »
I'm trying to export my Hotmail contacts to Yahoo. Is there an elegant way of achieving this other than the brute force method (copying contacts individually) I've am using right now? 
Logged

Offline Corrine

  • The Mystical Rose
  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21027
  • "Stronger than the past, united in our goal."
    • Security Garden
Re: Hotmail/Outlook Very Slow
« Reply #4 on: April 18, 2017, 04:30:16 PM »
Logged


Take a walk through the "Security Garden" -- Where Everything is Coming up Roses!

Remember - A day without laughter is a day wasted.
May the wind sing to you and the sun rise in your heart.

Offline socaltek

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 14
Re: Hotmail/Outlook Very Slow
« Reply #5 on: April 18, 2017, 04:51:59 PM »
Again thank you Corrine. I knew there had to be a better way. That simplifies the process a lot!
Logged

Offline Corrine

  • The Mystical Rose
  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21027
  • "Stronger than the past, united in our goal."
    • Security Garden
Re: Hotmail/Outlook Very Slow
« Reply #6 on: April 18, 2017, 05:11:32 PM »
You're welcome.
Logged


Take a walk through the "Security Garden" -- Where Everything is Coming up Roses!

Remember - A day without laughter is a day wasted.
May the wind sing to you and the sun rise in your heart.

Offline Corrine

  • The Mystical Rose
  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21027
  • "Stronger than the past, united in our goal."
    • Security Garden
Re: Hotmail/Outlook Very Slow
« Reply #7 on: April 18, 2017, 05:35:14 PM »
A couple thoughts -- if you have Skype/Messenger enabled, see if disabling it helps.  Also disable any add-ins, Settings > Manage Integrations: Using Add-ins in Outlook on the web - Office Support.
Logged


Take a walk through the "Security Garden" -- Where Everything is Coming up Roses!

Remember - A day without laughter is a day wasted.
May the wind sing to you and the sun rise in your heart.

Offline socaltek

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 14
Re: Hotmail/Outlook Very Slow
« Reply #8 on: April 20, 2017, 04:36:26 PM »
I've been trying to open Hotmail to change my settings but things have gotten worse,  I've been able to fully access my account only twice in the past four days. I do use Skype but it is not enabled through MSN. As for Hotmail add-ons, I deleted all entries in my MSN Calendar including all notification features I had enabled.

By going to Manage Integration I found out, unbeknownst to me, some of the Add-ins were turned on. I turned them all off. I still haven't noticed an improvement in getting to my e-mail.

This morning as I attempted to open my e-mail, I got a message saying that OneDrive needed upgrading. In desperation I agreed, thinking that may be the source of my problems. After waiting some twenty minutes with no action in the download from OneClient.stx.ms to OnedriveSetup.exe, I refreshed the page. That started the process but when it got stuck at 1%, I aborted the process. To the best of my knowledge, I've never used OneDrive.
Logged

Offline socaltek

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 14
Re: Hotmail/Outlook Very Slow
« Reply #9 on: April 24, 2017, 04:36:40 PM »
Some good news at last! For the past three days I have been able access my mailbox without any delays and tortures. I'm cautiously optimistic the problem has gone away. What caused the change? Below are the steps I took that may have defeated the problem.

•   I added MSN, hotmail and outlook to my trusted websites. 
•   For the past couple of years, I have been permanently logged in to Skype. I logged off of Skype and made sure it was deleted from the startup programs.

My hunch is the second action I took did the trick. I would never had thought of a Skype/Outlook connection had it not been for Corrine, who correctly pointed me in that direction. At present when I attempt to login to my Hotmail or Outlook inbox, I face a series of "security warnings: The current webpage is trying to open a site in your trusted sites list." I accept opening most of them except for the ones that request opening Skype (shown below), which I refuse.
Current site: https//a.lw.skype.com
Trusted site: login.live.com
Logged

Offline MikeW

  • LzD Friends
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 568
Re: Hotmail/Outlook Very Slow
« Reply #10 on: April 24, 2017, 06:03:40 PM »
Quote from: socaltek on April 24, 2017, 04:36:40 PM
Some good news at last! For the past three days I have been able access my mailbox without any delays and tortures. I'm cautiously optimistic the problem has gone away. What caused the change? Below are the steps I took that may have defeated the problem.

•   I added MSN, hotmail and outlook to my trusted websites. 
•   For the past couple of years, I have been permanently logged in to Skype. I logged off of Skype and made sure it was deleted from the startup programs.

My hunch is the second action I took did the trick. I would never had thought of a Skype/Outlook connection had it not been for Corrine, who correctly pointed me in that direction. At present when I attempt to login to my Hotmail or Outlook inbox, I face a series of "security warnings: The current webpage is trying to open a site in your trusted sites list." I accept opening most of them except for the ones that request opening Skype (shown below), which I refuse.
Current site: https//a.lw.skype.com
Trusted site: login.live.com


Dangerous to add anything to your trusted sites IMHO
Logged
Win 7 Home Premium  IE11 MSE  Mbam Pro

Offline Corrine

  • The Mystical Rose
  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21027
  • "Stronger than the past, united in our goal."
    • Security Garden
Re: Hotmail/Outlook Very Slow
« Reply #11 on: April 24, 2017, 06:05:49 PM »
Removing from trusted can be done after a day or two to confirm the issue was Skype. 

Fingers crossed that did the trick and you don't have to stop using your two-decade Hotmail account!
Logged


Take a walk through the "Security Garden" -- Where Everything is Coming up Roses!

Remember - A day without laughter is a day wasted.
May the wind sing to you and the sun rise in your heart.

Offline socaltek

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 14
Re: Hotmail/Outlook Very Slow
« Reply #12 on: April 26, 2017, 09:41:30 PM »
I removed all the webpages I had previously added to the trusted site and I'm happy to report Hotmail is working like a charm! No more do I have to wait for an hour or two to get into my inbox and send a reply to my e-mails.

Why would adding well known and trusted webpages to the "trusted site" cause a danger? I am a bit confused on that issue.
Logged

Offline Corrine

  • The Mystical Rose
  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21027
  • "Stronger than the past, united in our goal."
    • Security Garden
Re: Hotmail/Outlook Very Slow
« Reply #13 on: April 26, 2017, 10:31:24 PM »
So glad your email is working properly again! 

I have never and do not plan to ever add any website to "trusted sites".  The reason is that any website can have a vulnerability.  Perhaps some update to the site introduces some new code and a malware write discovers a way in the back door. 
Logged


Take a walk through the "Security Garden" -- Where Everything is Coming up Roses!

Remember - A day without laughter is a day wasted.
May the wind sing to you and the sun rise in your heart.

Offline lgordon225

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 1
Re: Hotmail/Outlook Very Slow
« Reply #14 on: April 27, 2017, 01:25:55 PM »
I suggest that you optimize your browser to make sure it's full performance and to help us isolate for a possible browser issue. 
Also, you should upgrade your browser to its’ latest version
Logged
Pages: [1]   Go Up
« previous next »