PSA - Tip I found to help with Outlook slowness to load emails

Nice tip — disabling GPU acceleration can definitely help on low-spec office PCs where the graphics stack becomes the bottleneck.

Quick PSA before anyone edits the registry: make a backup first, so you can roll back if something goes wrong.

How to back up the Windows Registry (safe approach)

Option A (recommended): export just the key you’re changing

1. Press Win + R, type regedit, press Enter
2. Navigate to:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\Graphics
3. Right-click Graphics → Export
4. Save the file as something like: Outlook_Graphics_Backup.reg

To restore later: double-click the saved .reg file (or in Regedit: File → Import), then reboot/sign out-in.

Option B: create a System Restore Point (extra safety net)

1. Open Start → search Create a restore point
2. Select your system drive (usually C:) → Configure (turn protection on if needed)
3. Click Create and name it (e.g., “Before Outlook registry tweak”)

That way you can undo more broadly if needed.

Also worth noting: on some Office builds there’s an Office UI setting for hardware graphics acceleration, but the registry method is great for enforcing it when the UI option isn’t present or doesn’t stick.

Thanks for sharing — this will save people a lot of frustration.