Fix: Outlook Error "Sending reported error (0x800CCC13) : ‘Unable to connect to the network. Check your network connection or modem"

Known fix:
Delete the mail account from the active profile.
Re-create the mail account. That's it!
I've came across this problem under Windows XP(SP3) + Outlook 2010 using POP3 account.

Other possible fixes:

Start the Office program in safe mode
1. Click Start, point to All Programs, and then point to Microsoft Office.
2. Press and hold the CTRL key, and then click the Outlook Application.

If the problem does not occur in the safe mode, this issue might be related to some third-party add-ins in the Office program, we can try to disable them. Normally, you could do the following to disable the conflict add-ins in your Office program:

Disable add-ins
a) Click File menu, click Options > Add-in, click Go button in the Manage: Com-in Add.

b) Check if there are any add-ins, clear the checkbox to disable them.

c) Close the Office program and restart it.
d) Add one check back each time to the list of Add-In, restart the Office program, and repeat the above procedure. Once the issue reappears again, we can determine which add-in causes this problem and then disable it.

Related Articles:

"0X800CCC13" error message when you try to send an email message by using a POP3 account or an IMAP account in an Outlook profile that has an Exchange Server 2010 mailbox configured

Outlook 2010 Command-Line Switches

The information is availble from Microsoft at this link.

Available switches



The information is listed in the following format:
/Switch   Description


/a Creates an item with the specified file as an attachment.

Example:

"c:\program files\microsoft office\office14\outlook.exe" /a "c:\my documents\labels.doc"


If no item type is specified, IPM.Note is assumed. Cannot be used with message classes that are not based on Outlook.

/altvba otmfilename Opens the VBA program specified in otmfilename, instead of %appdata%\microsoft\outlook\vbaproject.otm.


/c messageclass Creates a new item of the specified message class (Outlook forms or any other valid MAPI form).


Examples:

/c ipm.activity creates a Journal entry


/c ipm.appointment creates an appointment


/c ipm.contact creates a contact


/c ipm.note creates an e-mail message


/c ipm.stickynote creates a note


/c ipm.task creates a task






/checkclient Prompts for the default manager of e-mail, news, and contacts.


/cleanautocompletecache Removes all names and e-mail addresses from the Auto-Complete list.


/cleancategories Deletes any custom category names that you have created. Restores categories to the default names.


/cleanclientrules Starts Outlook and deletes client-based rules.


/cleanconvongoingactions Deletes the Conversations Actions Table (CAT). CAT entries for a conversation thread usually expire 30 days after no activity. The command-line switch clears all conversation tagging, ignore, and moving rules immediately stopping any additional actions.


/cleandmrecords Deletes the logging records saved when a manager or a delegate declines a meeting.


/cleanfinders Resets all Search Folders in the Microsoft Exchange mailbox for only the first profile opened.


/cleanfreebusy Clears and regenerates free/busy information. This switch can be used only when you are able to connect to the server that runs Exchange.


/cleanfromaddress Removes all manually added From entries from the profile.


/cleanmailtipcache Removes all MailTips from the cache.


/cleanreminders Clears and regenerates reminders.


/cleanroamedprefs All previous roamed preferences are deleted and copied again from the local settings on the computer where this switch is used. This includes the roaming settings for reminders, free/busy grid, working hours, calendar publishing, and RSS rules.


/cleanrules Starts Outlook and deletes client-based and server-based rules.


/cleanserverrules Starts Outlook and deletes server-based rules.


/cleansharing Removes all RSS, Internet Calendar, and SharePoint subscriptions from Account Settings, but leaves all the previously downloaded content on your computer. This is useful if you cannot delete one of these subscriptions within Outlook 2010.


/cleansniff Overrides the programmatic lockout that determines which of your computers (when you run Outlook at the same time) processes meeting items. The lockout process helps prevent duplicate reminder messages. This switch clears the lockout on the computer it is used. This enables Outlook to process meeting items.


/cleansubscriptions Deletes the subscription messages and properties for subscription features.


/cleanviews Restores default views. All custom views that you created are lost.


/embedding Used without command-line parameters for standard OLE co-create.


/f msgfilename Opens the specified message file (.msg) or Microsoft Office saved search (.oss).


/finder Opens the Advanced Find dialog box.


/hol holfilename Opens the specified .hol file.


/ical icsfilename Opens the specified .ics file.


/importNK2 Imports the contents of an .nk2 file which contains the nickname list that is used by both the automatic name checking and Auto-Complete features.


/importprf prffilename Starts Outlook and opens/imports the defined MAPI profile (*.prf). If Outlook is already open, queues the profile to be imported on the next clean start.


/launchtraininghelp assetid Opens a Help window with the Help topic specified in assetid displayed.


/m emailname Provides a way for the user to add an e-mail name to the item. Only works together with the /c command-line parameter.






Example:

Outlook.exe /c ipm.note /m emailname

/nopreview Starts Outlook with the Reading Pane off.


/p msgfilename Prints the specified message (.msg).


/profile profilename Loads the specified profile. If your profile name contains a space, enclose the profile name in quotation marks (" ").


/profiles Opens the Choose Profile dialog box regardless of the Options setting on the Tools menu.


/promptimportprf Same as /importprf except that a prompt appears and the user can cancel the import.


/recycle Starts Outlook by using an existing Outlook window, if one exists. Used in combination with /explorer or /folder.


/remigratecategories Starts Outlook and starts the following commands on the default mailbox:






Upgrades colored For Follow Up flags to Outlook 2010 color categories.


Upgrades calendar labels to Outlook 2010 color categories.


Adds all categories used on non-mail items into the Master Category List


Note This is the same command as Upgrade to Color Categories in each Outlook mailbox properties dialog box.






/resetfolders Restores missing folders at the default delivery location.


/resetfoldernames Resets default folder names (such as Inbox or Sent Items) to default names in the current Office user interface language.






For example, if you first connect to your mailbox in Outlook by using a Russian user interface, the Russian default folder names cannot be renamed. To change the default folder names to another language, such as Japanese or English, you can use this switch to reset the default folder names after you change the user interface language or install a different language version of Outlook.






/resetformregions Empties the form regions cache and reloads the form region definitions from the Windows registry.


/resetnavpane Clears and regenerates the Navigation Pane for the current profile.


/resetquicksteps Restores the default Quick Steps. All user-created Quick Steps are deleted.


/resetsearchcriteria Resets all Instant Search criteria so that the default set of criteria is shown in each module.


/resetsharedfolders Removes all shared folders from the Navigation Pane.


/resettodobar Clears and regenerates the To-Do Bar task list for the current profile. The To-Do Bar search folder is deleted and re-created.


/restore Attempts to open the same profile and folders that were open prior to an abnormal Outlook shutdown.


/rpcdiag Opens Outlook and displays the remote procedure call (RPC) connection status dialog box.


/safe Starts Outlook without the Reading Pane or toolbar customizations. Both native and managed Component Object Model (COM) add-ins are turned off.


/safe:1 Starts Outlook with the Reading Pane off.


/safe:3 Both native and managed Component Object Model (COM) add-ins are turned off.


/select foldername Starts Outlook and opens the specified folder in a new window. For example, to open Outlook and display the default calendar, use: "c:\program files\microsoft office\office14\outlook.exe" /select outlook:calendar.


/share feed://URL/filename


/share stssync://URL

/share web://URL/filename


Specifies a sharing URL to connect to Outlook. For example, use stssync://URL to connect a SharePoint list to Outlook.


/sniff Starts Outlook, forces a detection of new meeting requests in the Inbox, and then adds them to the calendar.


/t oftfilename Opens the specified .oft file.


/v vcffilename Opens the specified .vcf file.


/vcal vcsfilename Opens the specified .vcs file.

Tool: Script For Restarting Microsoft Outlook

Below is a batch script for safely restarting Microsoft Outlook.
This is useful for cases where an Outlook process gets stuck and trying to launch Outlook opens the application but prevent Oulook from receiving or sending mails.

Use Notepad to create a new text file and save it with the extension .BAT to make it as a batch file.
Note that the path for Outlook in this example is for Outlook 2010 32bit running on a 64bit Windows.
If you're using a different Oulook or Windows version, change the path according to your system.

The Script commands:

@echo off
taskkill /im outlook.exe /t
echo.
echo.
echo **************************************
echo Please Wait While Restarting Oulook...
echo **************************************
echo.
echo.
sleep 3
taskkill /f /im outlook.exe /t
sleep 3

cls
echo ************************************************************
echo This Window Can Be Safely Closed by Pressing the X Button...
echo ************************************************************
call "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\OUTLOOK.EXE" /recycle
exit

How to import .nk2 files into Outlook 2010 (AutoComplete Contacts)

Background:
Back in Outlook 2003-2007, Microsoft used to save your AutoComplete Contacts in a cache file with the extension NK2. When moving from one PC to another, we used to just copy the file to the new machine and Outlook automatically loaded the information.


In Outlook 2010 things changed, and now the data is saved as "Suggested Contacts" inside the Personal Folder data file.


Instructions:
To import .nk2 files into Outlook 2010, follow these steps:

1. Make sure that the .nk2 file is in the following folder:
   %appdata%\Microsoft\Outlook
   (Click on Start-Run- Type the above path and press Enter)
   Note The .nk2 file must have the same name as your current Outlook 2010 profile. By default, the profile name is "Outlook." To check the profile name, follow these steps:
   1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
   2. Double-click Mail.
   3. In the Mail Setup dialog box, click Show Profiles.
   4. 
      
2. Click Start, and then click Run.
3. In the Open box, type outlook.exe /importnk2, and then click OK. This should import the .nk2 file into the Outlook 2010 profile. 
   
   Note After you import the .nk2 file, the contents of the file are merged into the existing nickname cache that is currently stored in your mailbox.

Note The .nk2 file is renamed with a .old file name extension on the first start of Outlook 2010. Therefore, if you try to re-import the .nk2 file, remove the .old file name extension.  


Reference:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/980542 (English)
http://blogs.microsoft.co.il/blogs/support/archive/2010/12/05/752806.aspx (Hebrew)

Guide: Features Differences Between Outlook 2003, 2007 And 2010

A good list comparing Outlook features and their location in the program-interface was created by the good guy of howto-outlook.com

The features have been grouped in the following categories;

• Global Outlook options and features
• Outlook management and maintenance
• Account and data file management
• Views
• Exchange
• Receiving Settings
• Messages (composing and reading)
• Calendar
• Contacts

if you were wondering: Where do I find that missing feature I used to have on my older Outlook...?
Check it out here:

http://www.howto-outlook.com/faq/locatefeature.htm

Fix: Outlook Hang & Crash

Microsoft Outlook could get crash from lots of reasons.
in most cases the problem can be resolved easily by following these steps:

1. Try reseting the data-settings files:
go to the "application data" folder in the user's profile
In Windows XP: 
C:\Documents and Settings\%UserProfile%\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook 
In Windows Vista/7: 
C:\Users\%UserProfile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Outlook
rename the extensions of these files to *.old:
outcmd.dat
outlook.srs
outlook.xml
another file called OutlPrnt. is related to printing problems in outlook. you can try rename it to
.old also in cases where Outlook crash after trying to print an item (email, tasks etc.).
Try running Outlook and see if it is fixed. if no- proceed to step 2.

2. Try running ScanPst.exe to fix data errors in Oulook Personal Folders.
ScanPst.exe is a tool provided inside Microsoft Office folder. it is used to scan and fix
data errors inside Outlook data files.


You can find it here:
Office 2003: c:\program files\common files\system\msmapi\1033\
Office 2007/2010: c:\program files\microsoft office\14.0\
after running the tool, browse and select the pst file to scan and run a repair.
afterwards- try running Outlook again.

if it doesn't help try step 3,4,5.

3. Create a new Outlook Profile
4. Try repairing Office's installation.
5. Try uninstalling & re-installing Microsoft Office.