Microsoft Word or Excel Not Opening

What can I do if Microsoft Office is not opening? #

1. Open Task Manager
2. Go to the source
3. Use Safe Mode
4. Repair or Reinstall
5. Install Windows updates
6. Uninstall Windows updates
7. Disable Add-Ins
8. Make sure Office is activated

1. Open Task Manager #

If you’ve tried to open Microsoft Office Word (for example) from your Windows 10 computer or laptop and it didn’t do anything, try opening the Task Manager.

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc or right click on the Taskbar and select Task Manager and take a look either through the opened apps or under the Details tab, where you will find it as WINWORD.EXE.

If you see the process there, this means that Windows 10 thinks the program is opened and will not do anything about it. In this case, try to create a new document and right-click it and select Edit.

In some cases, this method has proven useful and might help you in a tight spot.

2. Go to the source #

If your Microsoft Office shortcuts don’t do anything when you try to launch them, then there might be an issue of communication between the shortcut itself and the actual executable it should open.

Depending on what Office version you’ve installed, you should find them in one of these locations:

• C:Program FilesMicrosoft OfficeOffice14
• C:Program Files (x86)Microsoft OfficeOffice14

Try launching the tool you need from here, if it works, then your shortcut was to blame. Create a new shortcut for the Office components you use and replace the faulty ones.

If your Office shortcut isn’t working on Windows 10, take a look at this useful guide to solve the problem easily.

3. Use Safe Mode #

Starting an Office product in Safe Mode is pretty simple, as it was in previous Windows versions.

Just open the Run utility (Windows key + R) and type in the name of the product you want to follow by /safe.

For example, if you wish to open Microsoft Excel in Safe Mode, type in excel /safe. More information on opening Office products in Safe Mode can be found here.

Safe mode is not working on Windows 10? Don’t panic, this quick guide will help you get past the booting problems.

4. Repair or Reinstall #

Lastly, if you’re left with no other solution, try using the Repair feature. You can access this by opening Control Panel -> Programs and Features -> locate Microsoft Office and select Change from the top menu.

In the window that appears, choose Repair and follow the wizard. If this does not fix your issue, then you should uninstall Microsoft Office and perform a fresh install.

More information on Microsoft Office uninstall and reinstall can be found here.

5. Install Windows updates #

Microsoft regularly releases updates for Microsoft Office (and other in-house features and programs) through Windows Update.

Run a System Scan to discover potential errors #

Click Start Scan to find Windows issues.

Click Repair All to fix issues with Patented Technologies.Run a PC Scan with Restoro Repair Tool to find errors causing security problems and slowdowns. After the scan is complete, the repair process will replace damaged files with fresh Windows files and components.

So, if your current version of Office is disrupted in some way, there’s a chance a new update will fix it. And it doesn’t necessarily need to be an Office update.

Maybe some other features installed on your computer are interfering with Office, preventing you from accessing it. In both cases, installing fresh updates can resolve the problem.

To install the latest updates on your computer, simply go to Settings > Update & Security, and check for updates.

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6. Uninstall Windows updates #

1. Go to Settings.
2. Now, go to Updates & Security > Windows Update.
3. Go to Update history > Uninstall updates.
4. Now, find the latest Office update installed on your computer (you can sort updates by date), right-click it, and go to Uninstall.
5. Restart your computer.

Now, let’s do the total opposite of the previous solution. If the problem started to manifest after you’ve updated your Office suite, then you can easily uninstall the latest updates and see if this fixes your problem.

7. Disable Add-Ins #

1. Open the troublesome app.
2. Go to File > Options.
3. Click Add-Ins, and then disable all add-ins.
4. Restart the program, and run it without any add-ins enabled.

Sometimes, damaged add-ins may block your Word/Excel/PowerPoint from opening any document.

Since you can’t know for sure which add-in causes the problem, we recommend uninstalling all of them and then installing one by one again.

That way, you’ll be able to find out which one causes problems. The task is time-consuming, but you don’t really have too many choices.

8. Make sure Office is activated #

If your copy of Microsoft Office Suite is not genuine, you won’t be able to open any Office app. Technically, you’ll be able to open any program normally, but you can’t do anything with it.

You can’t create new documents, or open and edit existing documents. It’s just an empty shell. So, make sure your Office is properly activated, and try to run in once again.