The cache mode of Outlook creates a copy ("cache") of your mailbox on the hard disk of your PC, so that you can access your mailbox on a notebook even if you do not have a network connection.

However, updating this cache can considerably delay the start of Outlook with very large mailboxes and especially with older PCs and is occasionally the cause of problems with the search function (-> incomplete results).

You can therefore switch off the cache mode on PCs that are not mobile or on notebooks that you only use online. Please follow these instructions from Microsoft:

Switch cache mode on/off

Please also note the following on this subject:

• After switching the work mode, you may have to recreate your favourites - normally displayed in the top left-hand corner of Outlook. To do this, right-click on a folder that should appear in the favourites and then select "Show in favourites" from the context menu.
• You can also switch off the cache mode if you are using a notebook. However, you will then not be able to access any mails, appointments or other contents of your mailbox offline - i.e. without any Internet connection, e.g. on a plane. (If you also use a SmartPhone to synchronise your mailbox, you would at least have the most recent mails and appointments available there).
• You can also switch back from online to cache mode later, but the initial synchronisation of the cache with your mailbox may take hours, depending on the size of the mailbox, and it will take some time afterwards until the search in your mailbox delivers all results again. We therefore advise against frequent switching back and forth between the two work modes.
• Changes to the Outlook work mode only affect the work with Outlook on the PC on which you make the change. These changes have no effect on access via owa.uni-wh.de , via SmartPhone or via IMAP.

If you want to restore deleted mails, please first look in the "Deleted Items" folder. Here you will find all the mails that you have deleted in the last 30 days (or that were deleted by a rule you created). You can move these mails back to the desired location just as you can move mails from other folders.

All mails in the "Deleted items" folder are moved to an initially invisible area of your mailbox 30 days after they were deleted, where they are kept for another 30 days. Only after this period has elapsed will they be permanently deleted. You can also move mails directly into this area by holding down the Shift key when deleting a mail.

You can access this "hidden" area as follows:

1. Open the folder from which the mail was probably deleted. (This is usually the "Deleted Items" folder).
2. Select the "Folder" tab from the Outlook menu.
3. Now select "Restore deleted items".

You will now receive a list with all the mails that were deleted 30 to 60 days ago and you can restore these mails.

The search does not return any or all of the expected results, although there are definitely matching mails in the searched area. What can I do?

1. It is possible that the mails you searched for but did not find have already been archived if these mails are more than two years old. You can find more details about this here under "Searching in the primary mailbox and in the archive".
2. If you have not carried out your search in Outlook Web Access, please try it there. If you do not get the expected results in Outlook Web Access either, please contact us at BIT-Support@uni-wh.de.
3. If the search in Outlook Web Access was successful, then the problem obviously lies with the mail programme you are using. If it is Outlook, the problem could be related to the "cache" mode.
   Please check if Outlook is running in cache mode. To do this, please follow the instructions we have linked in our info on cache mode above. If Outlook is running in cache mode and you are not using a notebook with which you also have to work offline with Outlook, then you should switch off cache mode (see above).
   If Outlook is not (any longer) in cache mode and you still do not receive the expected search results, please contact us.
4.     Otherwise - the cache mode is switched on and you would like to continue using it - please proceed as follows:
   1. Exit Outlook
   2. Copy %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook into the address line of the Explorer (at the top of every Explorer window) and press Return
      -> The specified folder is displayed in the Explorer.
      (Please do *not* replace %USERPROFILE% with anything else but copy the string as above).
   3. You will now find a file called <your mail address>.ost, which is usually by far the largest file in this directory. Please delete this file.
   4. Start Outlook.
      The local copy of your mailbox will now be created and subsequently also the search index for this local copy. Depending on the size of your mailbox, this may take from a few minutes to many hours, and this action will place a heavy load on your PC, so that other programmes may run more slowly than usual. You can check the current status of the re-indexing by first clicking in the search field, then on the icon "Search tools", then on "Indexing status". The re-indexing is only complete when "0 elements" is displayed there, so that the search can find all matching mails again.
      If you do not receive the expected search results even after reindexing in cache mode, please contact us at BIT-Support@spam protectuni-wh.de.

In exceptional cases, it may make sense to create the Outlook profile again. We will then point this out to you. Please follow these instructions:

1. Exit Outlook
2. Open the Control Panel (Windows 7: -> Start (bottom left) -> Control Panel, Windows 10: -> Start -> type in "Sytem.." -> The "Control Panel" desktop app will then be found and offered immediately -> Click).
3. Change to the "User Accounts" folder and start "E-mail". (Possibly there is no folder structure - then start "E-Mail" directly).
4. Click: Show profiles -> Add -> Enter any name -> OK -> Next -> Finish
5. Check "Always use this profile" and select the newly created profile -> OK

The new profile will now be used the next time Outlook is started, thus avoiding various problems that can arise from a defective Outlook profile.

Attention: If you had included additional mailboxes or had made other special settings, you must now repeat this once. You will find help here: Integrating mailboxes in Outlook

If you miss a mail that should have appeared in your inbox by now (or your communication partner misses a mail from you), please proceed as follows:

1. First, please check whether it is possibly just a display problem:
   Please make sure that the mails in your inbox are sorted by date of receipt and that a display grouping by "conversation" or "thread" is switched off.     
2. Please check whether you can find the missing mail in your webmail access -> owa.uni-wh.de. Please make sure that the mail is sorted and displayed correctly (see above). (If your communication partner misses a mail from you, then the webmail address is most likely different). If the missing mail does not appear here either, then you or your communication partner have most likely not actually received this mail.
   If you find the missing mail in the webmail access but not in Outlook, then there is most likely a problem with your Outlook cache. In this case, please follow point 4 in our FAQ on solving search problems.     
3. If a mail cannot be delivered, the sender usually receives an automatic error message from the system, which is often overlooked because it is formulated in a rather technical way. Please check whether you find such an error report in your inbox.
   In the section "Diagnostic information for administrators" you will find information on the cause of the problem, which can often be helpful for non-administrators as well.
   Here you will find explanations of the most common error messages that always follow "Remote server returned" in the section "Diagnostic information for administrators":
   Error code 550, e.g. "550 Unknown recipient" or "550 Requested action not taken: mailbox unavailable" or also.  550-5.1.1 The email account that you tried to reach does not exist. Please try 550-5.1.1 double-checking the recipient's email address for typos or 550-5.1.1 unnecessary spaces.
   means:
   The address to which the mail was sent does not exist (any more). Or have you or the external sender simply mistyped the address?
   Error code 550 (5.2.2), e.g. "550 Mailbox Quota Exceeded".
   means:
   The recipient is using a mailbox with limited storage capacity, which has been exhausted in the meantime. Therefore, no further mails will be delivered to this mailbox. You then only have the option of contacting the recipient by other means.
   Error code 554, e.g. 554 5.7.1 <your UWH address>: Sender address rejected: uni-wh.de sender address not allowed from external servers
   means:
   You have tried to send your e-mail with a UWH sender address via an external i.e. non-UWH server. Our server rejects such e-mails as part of our defence measures against phishing e-mails, because the use of sender addresses that appear serious or familiar is a means frequently used by phishing e-mails to feign seriousness. Please use only the methods documented by us to access your UWH mailbox: Access options
   Error code 554, e.g., "554 5.7.1 Service unavailable; Client host [194.25.134.22] blocked using bl.spamcop.net; Blocked - see www.spamcop.net/bl.shtml.
   means:
   The mail was rejected by the mail server of the communication partner within the framework of its anti-SPAM measures, because the sending server is listed on the Internet (here: with the service provider "spamcop") as a SPAM-sending server. (This should never happen to you with mails you send yourself, because then UWH would have the problem of being listed as a "spam slinger").  
   However, in the opposite direction - mails from external communication partners are rejected by our server - this happens more often. You can then follow the link given in the error message to check the current status of the sending server on the Spamcop site or, if applicable, on the site of another service provider. If the server is no longer listed, the mail will reach the destination address when you try to send it again. (In the case of large providers, it makes sense to make a further attempt to send the mail even without considering the spam status).
   At the beginning of the text of the error mail:   
   Error delivering the message to the following recipients or distribution lists: 
   students_medi (<- example)  
   Your message was not delivered due to security policies.
   means:
   You have sent a mail to a mail distribution list for which you lack the necessary authorisation. In this case, please read on here: Mail distribution list     
4.  If you do not find an error message or cannot interpret it with the above information, please contact us:
   So that we can investigate the problem, please forward us the error message or inform us of the sender address, destination address and the approximate time of sending.