"Cannot copy the items" error in Outlook

[ErikJan]

Since a few days, after I startup my Windows Outlook App I get this error message when I drag emails from my inbox to my PST file.

2023-11-25 13_07_50-Microsoft Outlook.png

I repaired my OST's and PST's but that doesn't help. The only 'fix' I found is to start the "Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant" (which I installed). I then choose "Outlook" and then on the next screen I choose "Other problems". Then the tool displays "Validating user open authentication" and I'm prompted to sign into my MS account (Windows is already signed in and also my Edge browser is). I click my account in "We found and account you can use here" (and that says: "Signed in" even). I then need to confirm on my ceel with MS Authenticator and then (without sending info to MS),Outlook works again. Ideas? Suggestions?

[ErikJan]

And to make things more weird, I have "Quick Steps" defined that move mails into my PST. These always work and the error message only shows when I drag manually...

[ErikJan]

Additional update: today things worked so maybe it's gone now?

[Jay Freedman]

That was your obligatory annual reminder not to trust Microsoft farther than you can throw your computer.

Yesterday I turned on my 10-year-old laptop (which I do about once a week to keep it alive as an alternative to the desktop) and found it was "unable" to connect to either of the two WiFi networks in the house. There was no hint to why it wouldn't connect, except that the authorization just kept going and never finished. The Windows troubleshooter said it couldn't fix the problem, but wouldn't say what problem it was trying to fix.

After 20 minutes of disabling/enabling connections, rebooting, and general messing about, suddenly it worked. @#%^&* Good thing, too, as I was about to try percussive maintenance.

[ErikJan]

Thanks Jay, good to see that I'm not the only one with seemingly random mysteries every once in a while. Still, the 'scientific' part of me knows computers are all about bits and, theoretically, nothing can be random and therefore every event must have a cause somehow (but as the software was developed by humans, I'm not saying that the cause should be logical...).
In my case (and I'm not sure yet if it's gone now), I recall I did 'something' with privacy settings that must have triggered this. Yesterday I got fed up and re-signed in to some accounts so maybe that did it?

[ErikJan]

The problem is back... Suggestions?