Cannot save new account settings

Hi Howard Shachter

From your post, I understand how frustrating this is, especially after removing the account and then being unable to add it back.

Have you tried the Q&A Assist suggestions under your post?

Just to make sure I’m guiding you correctly, could you please confirm:

• When you try to add the account again, what exactly happens? Do you get an error message, or does the process fail without completing?
• Is this a personal Outlook.com/Hotmail account, a work/ school account, or an account from another email provider?

Meanwhile, please try these steps next:

1, Confirm the account works outside Outlook first

Before adding it back, try signing in directly on the provider’s website (for example, Outlook.com or your email provider).

• If it doesn’t work there, the issue is with the account/password
• If it works, then the issue is with Outlook setup

2, Clear saved credentials (common cause when password won’t save)

Old credentials can prevent Outlook from saving the new password:

• Close Outlook
• Open Control Panel > Credential Manager > Windows Credentials
• Look for any entries related to your email account and remove them
• Reopen Outlook and try adding the account again

3, Test Outlook in safe mode

• Close Classic Outlook app completely
• Press Windows + R, type outlook.exe /safe > press Enter
• If it's stable in Safe Mode, disable add-ins (Go to File > Options > Add-ins > Manage: COM Add-ins > Go) and re-enable them one by one to find the culprit.

Please feel free to let me know how it goes. Thank you for your time and understanding.

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Use classic Outlook’s account settings to add the account back, and if needed, create a new data file first.

1. In classic Outlook for Windows, select File.
2. Select Account Settings > Account Settings.
3. On the Email tab, select New (or Add Account) and follow the prompts to re‑add the email address and password.
4. Complete the setup wizard and let Outlook connect and finish configuration.

If Outlook shows a warning about needing a new data location (for example, when the last/only account was removed):

1. In classic Outlook, select File > Account Settings > Account Settings.
2. Go to the Data Files tab.
3. Select Add and create a new Outlook Data File (.pst) as described in Create an Outlook Data File.
4. Set this new data file as the default, then return to the Email tab and add the account again.

If the password was changed with the email provider, ensure the new password works by signing in on the provider’s website first. If the password for a Microsoft account was forgotten, use the Microsoft account sign-in helper or see Reset a forgotten Microsoft account password.

References:

• Add an email account to Outlook for Windows