Fix Slow Outlook Email Address Auto Complete

Problem 1

Using Microsoft Outlook 2007, the autocomplete feature runs slowly when VSE Buffer Overflow protection is enabled

Problem 2

There is a delay after typing in the first few characters of a recipient’s address before Outlook displays the list to select from.

Problem 3

Outlook 2007 autocomplete runs slowly when typing a recipient address.

Problem 4

This only happens on a few computers with VirusScan Enterprise (VSE) 8.5i  installed and Buffer Overflow Protection (BOP) enabled.

Cause

Outlook 2007 has changed from previous versions, regarding email address resolution. In previous versions, Outlook resolved addresses when sending the message, or using the on-demand feature. However, Outlook 2007 tries to resolve the address as you type a character.

Simultaneously, Outlook queries the registry for data and additionally VirusScan BOP adds about a one millisecond overhead to this operation. This overhead is unnoticeable to the user but, for example, if 5000 registry queries are being made, this can add a five-second overhead.

Outlook is for the most part querying registry values that may not exist.

Solution

To resolve the issue, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article 941275 – Description of the Outlook 2007 post-Service Pack 1 hotfix package (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/941275).