SteveB wrote:

When I first installed Outlook I intended to connect to an exchange
server but that failed so I've decided to just use it locally but now
I can't open Outlook as it continues to try and connect to an
exchange server and I have no option to decline that mode. I've
tried uninstalling and reinstalling the program but it still
remembers my attempt to connect to an exchange server and the problem
is not resolved.

In Control Panel, open the Mail applet, click the E-mail Accounts button and
recmove the Exchange accout.
--
Brian Tillman