Outlook 2007 Cumulative Updates via KB 968009 Released - “Performance Patch”

A new cumulative update for Outlook 2007 has been released. This release will also be a part of the upcoming Office 2007 Service Pack 2.

The base article is here: MS KB 968009: Outlook 2007 improvements in the February 2009 cumulative update.

There are two Hotfix downloads indicated in the above KB article:

• MS KB: 961752 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/961752/ ) Description of the Outlook 2007 hotfix package (Outlook.msp): February 24, 2009.
• KS KB: 967688 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/967688/ ) Description of the Outlook 2007 hotfix package (Outlook-en-us.msp): February 24, 2009.

The first one has a large number of fixes included in it while the second one is specific to using keyboard shortcuts to cut and paste in a custom form.

We have applied the first hotfix since it is applicable here. The performance improvements seen in Outlook 2007 are tangible. Clicking through various high content volume folders is noticeably quicker as is the search feature for both contacts and for content within the folders themselves.

The first hotfix will require a reboot of the system even though we had Outlook and any TSRs shut down during the update.

Once the system came up after the reboot and Outlook was started, this is what we were greeted with:

Outlook 2007: Preparing Outlook for first use.

The above process did indeed take enough time to refill the tea cup and get a couple of needed phone calls in!

Make sure to have a backup of your PST/OST/Mailbox prior to running any Outlook updates!

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts will not be written on a Mac until we replace our now missing iMac!

Windows Live Writer

Office 2007 - Outlook Performance Patch KB933493

Here is a screen shot of my OST file (SBS Exchange 2003 SP2 integrated):


Yes, it is over a gigabyte. The second 800 MB OST file is the backup that was created when we did a Swing Migration to consolidate our multiple servers into one SBS server.

I have been having performance problems pretty much from day one of my Office 2007 install in Outlook 2007.

So, I have been keeping an eye out for updates for this and other Outlook issues.

Via the Exchange Team Blog, an update for Outlook can be found at the following Microsoft KB 932086: You may experience performance problems when you are working with items in a large .pst file or in a large .ost file in Outlook 2007.

This lead to KB 933493: Description of the update for Outlook 2007: April 13, 2007.

And, to the download patch here: Update for Outlook 2007 (KB933493) (.exe). Note, that validation will be required to download the update.

Vlad posted his bad experience this morning with this particular update: Why not to install Outlook 2007 Performance Patch (KB933493). So, I was pretty wary of the possibility of a broken Outlook after the patch.

I made sure to backup before beginning. Fortunately, the update took with no issues.

So, did the update work? On an initial observation, the answer is a profound YES!

So far, e-mail is actually opening when I click on it. Before the update, it would take anywhere up to 30 seconds before an e-mail would open up, be deleted, or a group would delete.

Thus, in my opinion, this update is good to go.

This is my previous blog post on Outlook Performance Issues.

UPDATE 07-04-25: The above link to Vlad's blog has since been removed and replaced by: Vladville volcano NOT related to 933493.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

Office 2007 - Outlook Performance on XP - Outlook 2007 Bug

A while back, I blogged about my having performance issues with Office 2007, specifically Outlook 2007, on XP versus Vista.

It seems that there is a documented bug in Outlook 2007 that causes a huge impact on performance that is tied into the POP3 email receive being broken.

Roundtrip Solutions Blog has the lowdown on it here.

It now makes sense as to why the huge difference. The Vista machine is running Outlook via RPC/HTTPS to our SBS Exchange server here in the office. So, no POP3 accounts are setup on that system.

The machine here in the office is connected to our company's SBS Exchange server internally, but is also pulling e-mail for my other company accounts via POP3 from the same Exchange server. It makes it easier to sort e-mail coming in that way, and the POP3 connection remains behind ISA with accounts that are setup only for e-mail.

So, now we wait for Microsoft to fix the issue!

Thanks to David Overton for the original head's up here.

And, I stand corrected on my original assessment of Office performance on XP versus Vista! ;)

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

Office 2007 and IE 7 peformance on XP Pro Versus Vista Business

Is it just me, or does Office 2007 and IE 7 run like dogs on XP Pro SP2?

The reason I ask this is because the XP Pro SP2 based system I run in the Office is no slouch!

• Intel QX6700 Quad Core Extreme


• Intel 975XBX


• ATI X1900 CrossFire & X1900XTX Video


• 4 GB Kingston RAM

It may be possible that I am experiencing some sort of configuration issue, but nothing comes up in the diagnostics for Office that I can see.

The system at Home running Office 2007 and Vista Business is configured as follows:

• Intel P4 650 3.4 GHz. HT


• Intel D925XCEV2


• ATI X850 PCI-E


• 4 GB Kingston RAM

Office runs so smooth, as does IE 7.

When it comes to IE 7, we are running a smaller Internet connection at home, 1.5 Mb/s as opposed to the 4.0 Mb/s here in the office where the XP box is. Makes for even more puzzlement.

Same sites on both machines, XP & IE 7 renders slower than Vista and IE 7.

I can remember hearing at the various Microsoft events that I attended that Vista, Office 2007, and IE 7 were meant for each other.

This experience of mine working with both OS configurations on fairly high end machines definitely puts some truth to that!

By the way, both the home and the office are Small Business Server 2003 Premium integrated with Exchange 2003 SP2.

The big thing for me at this point is to wait until the more exotic components that I have plugged into the system here in the office has Vista drivers that are no longer in Beta. I will then blow away the box and build on Vista Ultimate as we are licensed for it via our Software Assurance.

In my experience, Vista, Office 2007, and IE 7 rock together!

Happy Vista, Office 2007, and IE 7 Operating!

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists