Outlook crashes due to Fault Module: MSPST32.dll, and here's how to resolve this error

While working with Microsoft Outlook, some time you may face that the client application crashes due to Fault Module: MSPST32.DLL file. This is often an indication that the associated Outlook data file has been corrupted.

If you encountered this error, check this blog post to know how you can recover from this crash by fixing the root cause of the issue.

The crash could happen for two different reasons: either the Outlook data file has been corrupted or the MSPST32.dll file is corrupt. In either of the cases, you may encounter the crash while loading the Outlook client application and the Windows Event Viewer will report it as an error with faulting module name: mspst32.dll, as shown in the following screenshot:

Faulting application name: OUTLOOK.EXE, version: 16.0.9029.2167, time stamp: 0x5a8e5a0c
Faulting module name: MSPST32.DLL, version: 16.0.9029.2167, time stamp: 0x5a8e7296
Exception code: 0x80040813
Fault offset: 0x00000000001ec0bd
Faulting process id: 0x3118
Faulting application start time: 0x01d3bceaf5851d35
Faulting application path: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Office16\OUTLOOK.EXE
Faulting module path: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Root\Office16\MSPST32.DLL
Report Id: 3f48df51-28de-11e8-9203-448a5be655b6

If you encountered this error, first try to run the Outlook application in safe mode. If it runs fine in safe mode, this could be because of some installed add-ins. In such case, try disabling the add-ins one by one to find the one which is causing this crash.

In case it's crashing even after running Outlook in safe mode, open the scanpst tool and scan the Outlook data file to check and fix any errors. This is often the root cause behind this crash. If the tool reports any data file error, fix it first.

If you are still facing this error, you may have to repair the mspst32.dll file. To do this, search for the file in this location: C:\WINDOWS\system32\mspst32.dll and if it is there, rename or delete the file and restart Outlook. You may also try by creating a new Outlook Profile.