Outlook 2011 CPU spike to 100% only when connected to exchange

05. November 2013 · Write a comment · Categories: Outlook for Mac · Tags: ,
I have done a ton of research and troubleshooting on this issue and have yet to find any kind of solution. I have a user who's Outlook causes CPU usage to go up to 100% immediately after the application is opened. The catch is that it only occurs if it connects to the Exchange server (Exchange 2007). If I disconnect the machine from the network (disable wi-fi and unplug ethernet) Outlook runs fine and only uses 2-3% CPU.

So far I have:

-Disabled/uninstalled anti-virus.
-Removed and re-installed Office 2011.
-Rebuilt outlook identity.
-Tried everything recommended in the KB article here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2409331/en-us
-Disk check/permissions check.
-Reformatted the machine and rebuilt from scratch.

Obviously there is one or more specific mail items causing an issues. Likely it's related to synchronization, but I have no idea how to determine what item is so we can go in and delete it. The application hard locks as soon as it's opened so I cannot do any troubleshooting within the application. Are there error logs somewhere I can check?

Oddly I have the user set up on a spare machine (also a Mac running 2011) and it does not have the same issue. The only difference is that Office on his laptop is fully up to date, while on the spare machine it's just a base install. This makes me think the issue is the result of a bug introduced in an update.

The user is running a 2012 MacBook air, mountain lion, both OSX and Office are fully up to date. It is connected to a Windows domain and Exchange 2007 server. Any assistance would be appreciated.

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