Outlook forced new outlook.com account on my new computer - can't access old email

Dan Hamilton 0 Reputation points
2026-11-05T18:16:06.1466667+00:00

I recently bought a refurbished Dell desktop. When starting it up and adding data from old computer, Outlook would not proceed until I clicked on an ******@outlook.com email address. Now, I cannot receive emails from my working email address. I can send from the new computer but cannot receive any emails. And the forced @outlook.com address is completely idle.

How can I resolve this?

Outlook | Windows | New Outlook for Windows | For home
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  1. AI answer

    2026-11-05T18:16:24.33+00:00

    Try these checks in order:

    1. Check whether mailbox storage is full. If Microsoft cloud storage is full, Outlook cannot send or receive email, and messages sent while storage was full are bounced back and are unrecoverable. Check mailbox storage and clear space if needed.
    2. Verify the account on the new computer:
      • If the password was changed recently, update it.
      • If the account was temporarily blocked because of unusual sign-in activity, unblock the Outlook.com account.
    3. In Outlook.com, check whether incoming mail is being hidden or redirected:
      • Check the Other tab.
      • Check the Junk Email folder and Junk Email settings. If a message was marked as junk by mistake, right-click it and choose Mark as not junk.
      • Check Filter > Sort > Date to restore chronological order.
      • Check whether email forwarding is enabled.
      • Check whether there are email rules moving or hiding messages.
    4. If this started after setting up the account on the refurbished PC, remove the account from Outlook and add it again.
    5. If Outlook on the desktop still shows a strange Outlook.com address such as outlook_[long series of letters and numbers]@outlook.com, create a fresh Outlook profile and set the account up manually:
      • Close Outlook.
      • Press Windows key + R, type outlook /profiles, and select OK.
      • In Choose Profile, select Options > New.
      • Enter a new profile name and select OK.
      • Choose Advanced options > Let me set up my account manually.
      • Enter the account password and choose Connect.
      • If setup fails, select Change Account Settings and enter the server information from the email provider or the POP and IMAP server reference.
      • Finish setup, then in Choose Profile, select Set as default profile.
    6. If mail still does not arrive, test in Outlook.com on the web. If mail appears there but not in the app, the issue is with the Outlook app profile on the new computer.

    If none of these steps help, use Outlook.com support from within Outlook.com: select Help on the menu bar, enter the issue, then go to Still need help? and select Yes.

    References:

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