What to do if excel not responding

Similar to any other program, you may experience problems with Microsoft Excel while opening or working on a document. Sometimes, it may not start at all or freeze and display an error message such as ‘Excel is not responding’. When it happens, you may want to wait for the program to respond.

Tip: If you are experiencing Excel not responding problem with a particular Excel file, it’s quite possible that the file is corrupt or partially damaged. And thus, leading to an Excel freeze or crash problem. Use Stellar Repair for Excel software to quickly repair and restore Excel (.xls/.xlsx) file in its original, intact form. You can download the free trial version of the software from the below link.

But if Excel doesn’t respond after a while and remains stuck, you need to force close the program from “Task Manager”. Now, this could be disastrous if happens while you are working on an important Excel document that took you hours to prepare. Force closing Excel due to such error can damage the Excel document and it may fail to open next time.

Why Excel is Not Responding?

Excel may stop responding, freeze, or crash suddenly due to several reasons. It can happen while saving a spreadsheet or opening an Excel document. It may also occur while editing or inserting images, graphs, etc. But usually, it occurs when the system crashes or shuts down abruptly while you are working on a document. Here’s an instance,

Suppose, you worked overnight on a critical document which is to be presented at a meeting the next day. This Excel spreadsheet includes critical graphs and charts, and much more. When you are about to save it, there is a power failure, and your system shuts down without warning. When the power is up, you restarted the system to check your Excel. To your dismay, a message pops up – “Excel Crashed” or “Microsoft Excel not responding”. 

This could be frustrating. However, there is no need to despair as there are solutions to not just overcome this error but other corresponding issues such as Excel freezing, hanging, crashing, etc. Below is an infographic that quickly briefs all the possible solutions to fix Excel not responding error.

Solutions to Fix ‘Microsoft Excel is not responding’ Error

Follow the solutions discussed below in the given order to fix Excel freezing and hanging issues.

Solution 1: Open Excel in Safe Mode

If Excel is not working as intended and frequently stops responding, you may try to start Excel in Safe Mode. It is a common DIY way to fix ‘Excel is not responding’ problem.

In Safe Mode, Excel starts with only essential services, bypasses certain functionalities and doesn’t load the add-ins, which might be the reason behind the error in MS Excel . To open and troubleshoot Excel in Safe Mode:

• Press Windows + R keys, type excel.exe /safe and press ‘Enter’ or click ‘OK’

Open the Excel file and check if it still crashes. If not, the problem could be a faulty add-in or formatting and styling error.

Proceed to the next solution to check and fix the problem.

Solution 2: Check for Faulty and Unwanted Add-ins

In Microsoft Excel, there are two types of add-ins:

• COM add-ins
• Other Add-ins Installed as XLAM, XLA, or XLL File

Both types of add-ins can cause the freezing problem in Excel . Follow the steps below to disable unwanted and faulty add-ins:

• In Excel , click File and go to Options to open ‘Excel Options’ window
• Click Add-ins button to view and manage ‘Microsoft Office Add-ins’
• Uncheck required add-ins to disable them
• At this stage, you can also click the ‘Remove’ button to remove any unwanted add-ins

• Now enable an add-in and check the Excel performance. Observe Excel for not responding error or freezing problem

If Excel doesn’t freeze, enable subsequent add-in and then again use Excel to observe it. Repeat the steps until you find the faulty plugin, which is causing the problem.

Then remove it from Excel add-ins to resolve the problem.

Solution 3: Install the latest Windows and Office Updates

This problem may also occur if Windows and MS Office are not updated. Therefore, install the latest updates for both Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office.

You can set the installation and update option to ‘Automatic mode’ in Windows. This will download and install critical updates for MS Office, which might fix the Excel performance issue. The steps to enable automatic updates are as follows:

1. Go to Settings> Update & Security> Windows Update

• Click Advanced options and enable all the toggle switches to automatically download and install updates for Windows and other Microsoft products

After update, restart Excel and check if the problem is resolved.

NOTE: From now on, MS Excel will also get the latest update consistently, without the need for manual intervention.

Solution 4:  Check and Disable Anti-virus

Antivirus is important for device safety. However, if your antivirus conflicts with MS Office apps such as Excel, it could lead to Excel freezing and not responding errors.

To check if the problem is due to anti-virus, disable it and reopen the Excel document. Check if Excel performs well or if it still hangs.

If the problem is resolved, contact your antivirus software provider for help to keep antivirus running without affecting the system and other programs such as MS Excel.

Solution 5: Change the ‘Default Printer’

Although it may seem irrelevant, changing the default printer is another easy and effective solution to overcome the error. Reason being, Excel communicates with the printer to find supported margins when we open an Excel sheet.

If Excel doesn’t find the supported margin, it may stop responding or crash. The steps to change the default printer are as follows:

1. Open Control Panel on your Windows system
2. Click Printer and Devices
3. Right-click Microsoft XPS Document Writer to set it to the default printer

Reopen the Excel document to check whether the error occurs or not.

Solution 6: Repair Microsoft Office

A corrupt or damaged Microsoft Office can also cause the ‘Excel is not responding’ problem. You can resolve this by repairing the Microsoft Office files. The steps are as follows:

1. Close all running MS Office programs
2. Go to Control Panel on your Windows system
3. Click Programs and then Programs and Features
4. Select Microsoft Office and in the Microsoft Office window, click ‘Change’
5. Then select the ‘Repair’ option and click ‘Continue’

This may take a while. After the repair is done, check your Excel program and file for the error.

Solution 7: Remove and Reinstall Microsoft Office

Sometimes, repairing MS Office may not work. In such a case, removing and reinstalling Microsoft Office can resolve the ‘Excel is not responding’ problem. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Close all running MS Office programs
2. Go to Control Panel on your Windows system
3. Click Programs and then Programs and Features
4. Right-click on Microsoft Office and choose Uninstall

Then run the MS Office installation setup to re-install MS Office on your system.

Solution 8: Repair Microsoft Excel (XLS/XLSX) file

In several situations, a corrupt or partially damaged Excel (XLS/XLSX) file is the cause of this error. In such a case, you can download and install Stellar Repair for Excel to repair the corrupt or damaged Excel file. By repairing the Excel file, you can resolve the Excel freezing error quickly without applying much efforts.

The steps to use the software for Excel file repair are as follows:

1. Download, install and launch the Excel file repair software
2. Browse and select the corrupt Excel file

• Click ‘Repair’ to start repairing the damaged Excel file
• After file repair, it provides a preview. Check your file

• Then click the ‘Save File’ option in the main menu
• You can either choose default location or browse a new folder location to save the repaired Excel file

• After repair, open the file in Excel and continue with your work

And keep Stellar Repair for Excel installed on your system. You never know when you might need this handy tool.

You may also refer to Microsoft support for more details on Excel not responding, hangs, freezes or stops working issues.

Conclusion

Now that the methods for fixing the ‘Excel is not responding’ error are before you, try all these and see which one works for you. If the cause of this error is a damaged or corrupt Excel file, only repairing the XLS/XLSX file can resolve the issue.

For this purpose, it’s recommended to use a reliable software such as Stellar Repair for Excel as it offers an easy-to-use interface, thereby making Excel file repair process a seamless experience.

The software recovers table, chart, chart sheet, cell comment, number, text, shared formulas, image, formula, sort and filter, and other objects. It also preserves worksheet properties, layout, and cell formatting. It can repair multiple XLS/XLSX files simultaneously and fix all Excel file corruption errors.

All these features extend the software capabilities beyond just fixing the ‘Excel not responding’ error.

Sometimes when you launch Excel or are in the process of working with Excel, Excel freezes and returns a message box indicating that Microsoft  Excel is not responding. 

This tutorial lists some of the causes of Microsoft Excel is not responding errors and shows 10 ways to fix it.

Some Causes of Excel Not Responding Error

The following are some of the causes of Excel not responding:

1. Insufficient RAM caused by too many programs running at the same time 
2. Damaged or corrupted Excel file
3. Keeping source formatting when copying data from web pages
4. Add-ins that conflict with Excel
5. Antivirus that conflicts with Excel
6. Windows and Office not updated
7. Inaccessible default network printer
8. Corrupted Office files

Let’s have a look at 10 things you can try to fix the Excel not responding issue.

Method #1: Close All Programs and Re-open Excel Only

Sometimes Excel crashes when it runs out of needed system sources such as memory (RAM). 

This could be caused by too many unnecessary programs running at the same time hogging system resources (it’s often the Chrome browser in my experience).  

A simple solution is to close Excel and all the unnecessary programs and re-open Excel only.

Sometimes when Excel crashes, the computer is also frozen and you may not be able to close the programs in the normal way.

You may have to close the programs using the Task Manager App in the following way:

1. Press Ctrl + Alt + Delete.
2. Select Task Manager in the window that appears.
3. In the Task Manager window, select the programs you want to close, one at a time, and click End Task.

When you re-open Excel, check its performance and see if the error is resolved. If the error continues then try the next solution.

Method #2: Repair The Excel File

Sometimes Excel fails to respond because the workbook you are working on is corrupted. 

You can try to repair the Excel file using Excel’s built-in way.

We use the following steps:

1. Select Close the program on the Microsoft Excel is not responding message box.

1. Launch Excel and select Open on the left sidebar of the welcome screen.

1. Navigate to the folder where the Excel file you were working on is stored.

1. Select the File and select Open and Repair on the Open drop-down list.

1. Click the Repair button in the message box that appears. 

Excel attempts to repair the workbook, opens the Excel file, and returns a message box informing you of the state of the repair.

1. Click the Close button to dismiss the message box.
2. Save the repaired file to a different file name. 

Continue working with the Excel file and check if the error is resolved. If the error is not resolved, proceed to the next solution.

Method #3: Copy and Paste Data From Web Pages in Excel as Text

Sometimes Excel stops responding when you paste in data from web pages on the internet.

This is because the data is in HTML format and Excel has to decode it to maintain the source formatting. This process is involved and causes Excel to stop responding. 

This issue is resolved when you use the Paste Special Text option.

If you are copying data from the Internet, use the following steps to paste it into Excel as plain text:

1. Select the data you want to copy from the internet and press Ctrl + C to copy it.
2. In Excel, select the cell into which you want to paste the data.
3. Right-click the selected cell and select Paste Special on the shortcut menu.

1. In the Paste Special dialog box select Text in the Paste As list box and click OK.

The data is pasted into Excel without any formatting and Excel does not freeze.

Also read: Not Enough Memory to Complete This Action in Excel – How to Fix?

Method #4: Change the Default Printer

Sometimes if your default printer is a network printer, Excel may have trouble accessing it and stop responding. 

To solve this issue, change the default printer to Microsoft XPS Document Printer, using the following steps:

1. From the Windows Search box, search and select Control Panel App from the list that appears.

1. In the Control Panel window, select View devices and printers under the Hardware and Sound option.

1. In the Devices and Printers window, right-click the Microsoft XPS Document Writer icon and select Set as default printer from the shortcut menu.

1. Click OK on the warning message box that appears

A check mark appears next to the Microsoft XPS Document Writer icon, indicating that it is now the default printer. 

1. Close and reopen Excel. Check its performance to see if the error of not responding is resolved. Try the next solution if Excel continues to freeze. 

Also read: How to Change Page Orientation in Excel (for Printing)

Method #5: Temporarily Disable the Antivirus

Sometimes the antivirus installed on the device may conflict with Excel causing it to stop responding. 

To find out if Excel is not responding because of a conflict with the antivirus, disable the antivirus for some time and re-open Excel.

If Excel works just fine then contact the provider of the antivirus for support on resolving the conflict between Excel and the antivirus.  

If the support given by the antivirus provider does not resolve the issue, then proceed to the next solution.

Method #6: Launch Excel in Safe Mode

If Excel repeatedly freezes or stops responding you may try to launch it in Safe Mode.

When you open Excel in safe mode, it bypasses certain functions, excludes add-ins, and starts with only essential services. This can help you isolate the cause of the error.

To launch Excel in Safe Mode, we use the steps below:

1. Open the Run App using any of the following techniques:

Press Windows + R. Check between the Ctrl and Alt keys for the Windows key.

Or

Type the word Run in the Windows search box and select Run App from the list that appears.

The Run App opens:

1. Type the following command in the Open drop-down list. Remember to input a space character before the forward slash:

excel.exe /safe

Excel opens in Safe Mode: 

If Excel opens in Safe Mode and does not crash most likely the cause of the error could be a faulty add-in.

We open Excel in Safe Mode temporarily in search of a permanent solution. If Excel does not crash in Safe Mode, proceed to the next way in search of a permanent solution.

Also read: Formulas Not Copying Down in Excel – How to Fix!

Method #7: Check For Faulty Add-ins and Disable or Remove them

Excel Add-ins and custom Component Object Model (COM) Add-ins provide optional features and commands for Microsoft Excel. Sometimes an add-in can become faulty and cause Excel to crash or not respond.  

We use the following steps to isolate a faulty add-in and disable or remove it:

1. Select File on the Excel Ribbon to open the Excel Backstage screen.

1. Select Options on the left sidebar of the Backstage screen.

1. Select Add-ins on the left sidebar of the Excel Options dialog box.

1. Disable all the add-ins by doing the following:

To disable Excel Add-ins, select Excel-Add-ins in the Manage drop-down list at the bottom of the Excel Options dialog box and click the Go button:

In the Add-ins dialog box that appears, uncheck all the add-ins in the Add-ins available list box and click OK.

To disable all the COM Add-ins, first re-open the Excel Options dialog box as explained earlier in this tutorial and select Add-ins on the left sidebar of the dialog box. 

Open the Manage drop-down list, click COM Add-ins and click the Go button:

In the COM Add-ins dialog box that appears, uncheck all the add-ins in the Add-ins available list box and click OK.

1. Enable one add-in and observe the performance of Excel. If Excel does not freeze, enable the next add-in and check the performance of Excel. 

If Excel stops responding after enabling an add-in, then that add-in is the one causing the Excel is not responding error.

You can disable it as explained earlier in this tutorial or you can remove it.

How to Remove an Add-in

We use the following steps to remove an unwanted Excel Add-in:

1. Open the Excel Options dialog box as explained earlier in this tutorial.
2. Identify the path of the add-in as in the example below:

1. Close Excel.
2. Navigate to where the add-in is stored on your computer. Select the add-in and press Delete.

1. Open Excel.
2. Open the Excel Options dialog box and select Add-ins on the sidebar on the left.
3. Open the Manage drop-down list, click Excel Add-ins, and click Go.
4. In the Add-ins dialog box, select the unwanted add-in in the Add-ins available list -box.

A message box pops up informing you that Excel cannot find the add-in, giving you the option to delete it. Click Yes to remove the unwanted add-in.

The add-in is removed from the list of available add-ins:

1. Click OK.

Removing a COM Add-in is straightforward. We use the following steps:

1. Open the Excel Options dialog box and select Add-ins on the left sidebar.
2. Open the Manage drop-down list, click COM Add-ins, and click Go.
3. In the COM Add-ins dialog box, select the add-in in the Add-ins available list box and click Remove.

Method #8: Update Windows and Office

Sometimes Excel freezes and does not respond because either Windows or Office suite or both are not updated.

In this case, ensure to update both Office and Windows. The installed updates can fix the performance issues of Excel.

Update Windows 

To check if Windows updates are available and install them, use the following steps:

1. Open Settings by clicking the Windows Start button in the bottom left corner of the screen and selecting Settings.

1. Click the Check for Updates button and if Windows updates are available, click the Download button. This starts the downloading and installation of updates.  

Update Microsoft Office

To update Microsoft Office, use the following steps:

1. In Exel, select File to open the Backstage window.

1. In the Backstage window, select Account on the left sidebar.

1. In the Account window, in the Office Updates section, select Update Now in the Update Options drop-down list.

After updating Windows and Office, open Excel and check if the Excel is not responding error is resolved.

If Excel continues not to respond, try the next solution of repairing Office. 

Enable automatic updates of Windows and Office

We can set Windows to automatically update Windows and Office so that we do not have to do a manual update in the future.

Do the following to enable automatic download and installation of Windows and other Microsoft products such as Office:

• In the Settings window, select Advanced options.

• In the Advanced options window, enable the update options as shown below.

With the update options enabled as shown, Excel will be automatically updated regularly.

Method #9: Repair Microsoft Office 

Sometimes even after you have updated Windows and Office, Excel continues to crash. A damaged or corrupted Office could be the reason. 

Repair Office and see if the error is resolved.

To repair Microsoft Office, we use the steps below:

1. Close all running Office Apps. 
2. From the Windows Search box, search and select the Control Panel App on the list that appears.

1. Click on the Programs option in the Control Panel window.

1. Select Programs and Features in the Programs window.

1. In the Programs and Features window, select Microsoft Office in the list of programs and click on Change.

1. You see the User Account Control prompt that asks Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device?  Choose Yes.
2. In the dialog box that appears, select Quick Repair and click the Repair button. If the problem persists you can later try Online Repair.

The process of repair takes a while. After the repair, open Excel and check if the error is resolved. 

Method #10: Uninstall and Reinstall Office

If repairing Office does not fix the problem. Try uninstalling and reinstalling Office.

Uninstall Office

To uninstall Office, use the following steps:

1. Close all running Office Apps. 
2. Search and select the Control Panel App on the list that appears.

1. Select Programs in the Control Panel window.

1. Select Programs and Features in the Programs window.

1. In the Programs and Features window, select Microsoft Office in the list of programs and click Uninstall.

The uninstallation process may take a while. 

Re-Install Office

To reinstall Office, use the following steps:

1. Go to www.office.com and select Sign in. Sign in using the account you connected with your version of Office.

1. From the home page of Office select Install Office and follow through as you are guided through the installation process. 

The installation process may take a while. When Office is installed, open Excel and check if the Excel not responding error is resolved. 

Excel can stop responding because of various reasons ranging from insufficient RAM to damaged Office files. This tutorial has explained 10 ways to fix the problem of Excel not responding.

Other Excel articles you may also like:

• How to Find out What Version of Excel You Have (Easy Way)
• Excel Shortcuts Not Working – Possible Reasons + How to Fix?
• Excel Fill Series Not Working
• VLOOKUP Not Working – 7 Possible Reasons + Fix!
• Why does Excel Open on Startup (and How to Stop it)
• Why is Excel so Slow? 11 Tips to Fix Slow Excel Files!
• Microsoft Excel vs Google Sheets – Which One Is Better for You?
• How to Turn OFF Scroll Lock In Excel?

Is your Microsoft Excel file all of a sudden stopped working and starts throwing Excel Not Responding Error message? Sometime you may encounter the similar issue with a different error message i.e Excel has stops working while trying to operate over an Excel file?

Excel keeps not responding issue is actually very irritating and annoying but the situation gets more serious when you have some unsaved data. If you are unable to access your important insights saved in the MS Excel 2016 or any other version due to the Excel is not responding issue then also you don’t have to get worried. As, today in this post, we are going to discuss about this very commonly rendered issue.

This particular blog includes solution on how to fix Excel not responding issue and best ways to recover unsaved Excel data.

About Excel Not Responding Issue:

Meanwhile the occurrence of Microsoft Excel Not Responding you will see an hourglass or a looping circle showing that a heavy thing yet to be completed but actually it got stuck. After passage of few minutes, on your Excel window you will get to see a message Excel not responding.

Some of the common not responding message pops ups are:

• “Excel is not responding”
• “Excel has stops working”

Problems of Microsoft Excel not responding issue mainly occurs due to the following reasons:

• When you haven’t installed Excel application latest updates.
• Your Excel application may be currently being used by any another process.
• Previously installed or Pre-installed add-in may be hindering your Excel application to work properly.
• May be your MS Office programs needs to get repaired.
• Outdated antivirus software or sometime confliction of antivirus software with Excel.
• Some other program of your PC may be conflicting with your Excel application.

Now, coming to the main point how to fix Excel is not responding and “Excel has stops working” error without calling any professional.  Try the following solutions one by one to fix Excel keeps not responding issue permanently.

 How To Fix Excel Not Responding Error

In this section we will discuss about easy troubleshooting steps to resolve Excel 2016 not responding error. take a quick glance over the fixes of Excel is not responding error:

1: Try to open Excel in Safe Mode
2: Install the Latest Update
3: Recompile Macros
4: Disable Add-Ins
5: Try to Change the Default Printer
6: Fix Microsoft Office
7: Reinstall Microsoft Excel

So, let’s catch complete detail about each method…!

Method 1: Try to open Excel in Safe Mode

In order to fix Microsoft Excel is not responding on your Windows 10 computer or laptop, follow the below given steps:

Step 1: Press the Windows + R button simultaneously to open the run dialogue box.

Step 2: In the Run window, type excel.exe /safe and press the Enter key. This will open up the Microsoft Excel program into the Safe Mode.

Step 3: After it, try to open the Non-responsive Excel File again. If the file opens normally then save the data to another excel file for future use.

Method 2: Install the Latest Update

Sometime these issues may start appearing when you skip o install the latest Windows and Office Updates.  So, make sure that you have installed the latest updates on your computer.

If not, then follow the below given steps:

Step 1: Go to the Control Panel and then click on the System and Security.

Step 2: Now, set it to the Automatic Mode by Start Maintenance option.

Method 3: Recompile Macros

Using problematic Macros may also trigger not responding issue. Follow the below-given steps to fix it:

Open the MS Excel and then navigate to the Developer –> Visual Basic.               

Go to the Tools -> Options. After opening the Options window click on the General tab and clear the ‘Compile on Demand’.

Using the Project navigation pane you have to right-click on the Module and choose ‘Insert’ in order to insert a new module.

At last, save the excel file and close the MS office application.

After applying the above steps, when you try to use the macros next time then you shouldn’t face the Microsoft Excel not working error.

Method 4: Disable Add-Ins

Disabling Add-Ins will also help you to fix Microsoft Excel not responding, freezing or getting stuck issues.

First, you have to open the Excel file into safe mode. To do this, follow the Method 1.

After opening the Microsoft Excel file into the safe mode, follow the below-given steps:

Step 1: Click on the File option present at the top left corner and click on the Excel Options button

Step 2: Then click on the Add-ins option present at the side menu. After it, choose Excel Add-ins and click on the Go button to open the Add-Ins selection window.

Step 3: Now, you have to disable all the Add-Ins present on your system. To do this, unmark the box present along with the active Add-Ins 

Step 4: At last, save the changes by clicking on the OK

Reboot Microsoft Excel and check for the issue.

Method 5: Try to Change the Default Printer

This method seems irrelevant but it is not. As, whenever the user opens an Excel Spreadsheet then it internally tries to communicate with the connected Printers to check for the compatible margins.

That’s why it is recommended to change the Default printer in order to fix Excel 2016 Not Responding Error.

Step 1: Open the Control Panel and then click on the Printer and Devices.

Step 2: In order to set Printer to default, you have to right click on the Microsoft XPS Document Writer.

At last, try to open the Excel File again to verify the issue.

Method 6: Fix Microsoft Office

This is one of the common solutions from the several issues, this will help you to fix Microsoft Excel not responding error on your Windows 10 by fixing the damaged or inaccessible program files.

Follow the below given steps:

Step 1: Go to the Control Panel of your system by navigating through Start button -> Windows System. After it, click on the Control Panel

Step 2: Form the Control Panel window, click on the Program and Features.

Step 3: At the next Window you have to right-click on the Microsoft Office and then click on the Repair option.

Method 7: Reinstall Microsoft Excel

In order to uninstall and then install the fresh copy of MS Excel follow the given steps:

Navigate through the “Control Panel” -> “Programs” -> “Programs and Features” -> Search for the Microsoft Office and right click then select “Uninstall“.

After uninstalling, now download a fresh copy and install it again.

How To Restore Unsaved Excel Files When Excel Not Responding?

We have found that most commonly people ask one question regarding Excel Not Responding issue, that How Can I Save My Work When Excel Is Not Responding? Well you need not to worry about it…! As in this section you will get answer of this query.

Just try the following methods to retrieve unsaved Excel file data when all of sudden your Excel stopped working or starts showing Excel not responding error:

Method 1# Go with the Microsoft Office Application Recovery

Method 2# Use AutoRecovery Option

Method 3# Using Excel Repair Tool

Let’s discuss them one by one in brief…!

Method 1# Go with the Microsoft Office Application Recovery

Step 1: Navigate through the Start > All Programs > Microsoft Office Tools > MS Office Application Recovery.

Step 2: Select the contaminated Excel document that is showing Excel not responding error

Step 3: Click on the option “Recover Application” and restore the document.

Method 2# Use AutoRecovery Option

Step 1: Run Microsoft Excel application and then click on the File -> Tab Recent, search and select the exact one – unsaved Excel document.

Step 2: Click on the “Recover Unsaved Workbooks” and wait for the process to complete

Step 3: Open the lost Excel document and then click “Save As” and save this document into any other safe place.

Sometime it happens, that AutoRecovery option won’t work in Excel. In that case check out our tutorial on : How to Fix Excel AutoRecover Not Working Issue.

 Method 3# Using Excel Repair Tool

Mostly it is seen that such Excel keeps not responding issue encounters due to corrupt or damaged excel file. So, to troubleshoot such issue, you need to first repair corrupt or damaged XLS/XLSX file. For this purpose, it’s highly recommended to make use of reliable software like Excel Repair Tool.

* Free version of the product only previews recoverable data.

The software is having so many key features like it can do easy recovery of chart, cell comment, table, shared formulas, chart sheet, image, formula, number, sort and filter, text and other objects etc. It will not hamper damage in the worksheet layout, cell formatting and properties.

This software efficiently repairs many XLSX/ XLS files in one go and successfully fix other issues of Excel worksheet.

Wrap Up:

That’s all, it is hoped that Microsoft Excel Not Responding error is now fixed and your unsaved data get recovered.

If you have any other query or suggestion then you can freely ask in our comment section. we will try our best to fix it as soon as we can.

Also Read:

8 Common Excel Error Messages that Irritates You The Most

How To Recover MS Excel Lost Content From Excel Temp Files

7 Quick Ways To Fix Excel File Read Only Error

5 Quick Fixes To Resolve “Failed To Parse The Corrupted Excel File” Error

Check to make sure Excel is not in use by another process If you try to perform other actions while Excel is in use, Excel may not respond. Let the task in process finish its job before attempting other actions. If Excel is not is use by another process, continue on to the next item on the list.

Why is Excel not responding on my computer?

The problem of Microsoft Excel not responding might be due damaged or corrupted program files. This can be fixed by using the Repair option as available on your Windows computer. 1. Right-click on the Start button and click on Run.

What would cause Excel to freeze?

Microsoft Excel may crash due to any one or more reasons given below, Incompatible Add-Ins. Outdated MS Excel program. Conflict with other programs or antivirus tool.

How do you unfreeze Excel?

To unfreeze panes, open your Excel spreadsheet. Select the View tab from the toolbar at the top of the screen and click on the Freeze Panes button in the Windows group. Then click on the Unfreeze Panes option in the popup menu. Now when you move around in your spreadsheet, columns and rows should display as normal.

How do I recover Excel not responding?

How to recover unsaved Excel files

1. Go to FILE -> Open.
2. Choose Recent Workbooks.
3. Scroll down and click on the Recover Unsaved Workbooks button at the bottom of the list. Note.
4. When the Open dialog box pops up, just select the necessary file and click Open.

How do you save Excel when it is not responding?

When Excel apps opens, you may also click File>Info>Manage Workbook>Recover Unsaved Workbooks, see if you could find your workbook. If you find it, select it and click Open and save it again.

Should I wait if excel is not responding?

If the numbers are up then it is calculating, even if it indicates it is not responding, that is fine. Do not try click on excel as this will reset the calculation process or even pressing keys while the excel window is open.

Why is excel slow to respond?

recalculate every time there is a change in the workbook. For example, if you use NOW function in a cell, every time there is a change in the worksheet, the formula would be recalculated and the cell value would update. This takes additional processing speed and you end up with a slow excel workbook.

Why is excel lagging?

The biggest reason for slow Excel files are formulas that take too long to calculate. So the first tip you can use is to ‘press pause’ on any calculations!This stops formulas being recalculated after every edit you make. When it’s set to Manual, formulas won’t re-calculate unless you edit an individual cell directly.

How do I unlock the typing in Excel?

Here’s how to lock or unlock cells in Microsoft Excel 2016 and 2013.

1. Select the cells you wish to modify.
2. Choose the “Home” tab.
3. In the “Cells” area, select “Format” > “Format Cells“.
4. Select the “Protection” tab.
5. Uncheck the box for “Locked” to unlock the cells. Check the box to lock them. Select “OK“.

How do I unlock my keyboard in Microsoft Excel?

For Windows 10

1. If your keyboard does not have a Scroll Lock key, on your computer, click Start > Settings > Ease of Access > Keyboard.
2. Click the On Screen Keyboard button to turn it on.
3. When the on-screen keyboard appears on your screen, click the ScrLk button.

How do I reset my Excel settings?

If you Open up Microsoft Excel. Click on the “Tools” menu and then click “Customize.”. Right-click the menu you want to restore and then click the “Reset” button. This will restore the menu to its original settings.

Why is Excel taking so long to open?

Styles: When a workbook has too many cell styles, shapes, or formatting, it can cause Excel Online to take many times longer to open a file than usual. To see the cell styles for an Excel workbook, locate the Home tab, and then click the Down arrow in the lower-right corner of the Styles group.

How do you find what is slowing down Excel?

To find out if formatting is slowing down the file, make a copy of it and open the copy in Excel. Select the entire worksheet by pressing Ctrl-A. If the workbook has more than one worksheet, hold down Shift while you click the last tab at the bottom of the window so that you select all of the worksheets.

How can I make Excel run faster?

How to make Excel calculate faster

1. Try using “faster formulas”
2. Avoid volatile formulas.
3. Avoid large ranges.
4. Replace formulas with values.
5. Avoid conditional formatting.
6. Decrease the number of worksheets.
7. Use multi-threaded calculation.
8. Use 64bit version of Excel.

How can I improve my Excel skills?

5 Ways to Improve Your Excel Skills

1. Master the Shortcuts. Using the mouse and keyboard to explore all the menus and different options seems convenient, but it’s often time-consuming.
2. Import Data from a Website.
3. Result Filtering.
4. Autocorrect and Autofill.
5. Excel 2016 Intermediate Training.

Why is Excel slow Windows 10?

3) Disable add-ins in safe mode. 4) Disable hardware graphics acceleration in Advanced Options. 5) Switiching off Cortona. 6) Disable Cortona in Win 10 registery.

Why is my keyboard locked?

What Causes a Keyboard to Lock Up? Any number of problems can cause your keyboard to lock or freeze up. You may have inadvertently pressed a key combination that causes your keyboard to hibernate (this is especially true on a laptop), of your keyboard, may not be properly connected to your system.

How do you unlock a locked Excel spreadsheet?

Unprotect an Excel worksheet

1. Go to File > Info > Protect > Unprotect Sheet, or from the Review tab > Changes > Unprotect Sheet.
2. If the sheet is protected with a password, then enter the password in the Unprotect Sheet dialog box, and click OK.

How do you unlock the keyboard on a laptop?

To unlock the keyboard, you have to hold down the right SHIFT key for 8 seconds again to turn off Filter Keys, or disable Filter Keys from the Control Panel. If your keyboard doesn’t type the correct characters, it’s possible that you’ve turned on NumLock or you’re using a incorrect keyboard layout.

What do I do if my keyboard wont type?

Fixes for my keyboard won’t type:

1. Restart your computer.
2. Adjust your keyboard settings.
3. Uninstall your keyboard driver.
4. Update your keyboard driver.
5. Try this fix if you’re using a USB keyboard.
6. Try this fix if you’re using a wireless keyboard.

In this article, we supply you with some ways to fix Microsoft Excel not responding issue, and they can be applied for Excel for Office 365, Excel 2019/2016/2013/2010/2007. Meantime, a MiniTool software is introduced to rescue your lost Excel files.

Symptoms of Microsoft Excel Not Responding Issue

When you launch or use Microsoft Excel on your computer, you may encounter Microsoft Excel not responding, hangs, freezes, or stops working issue. At the same time, you may receive one of the following error messages:

Microsoft Excel is not responding:

Microsoft Excel has stopped working:

If Excel freezes, hangs or stops responding leads to the loss of Excel files, we think you’d better use a professional data recovery software to rescue the lost Excel files before fixing this issue. MiniTool Power Data Recovery is worth recommending.

MiniTool Power Data Recovery is a free data recovery tool which can retrieve your lost and deleted data from multiple data storage devices. Excel file is the supported data type.

With the trial edition of this software, you can confirm if this software can find the Excel files you want to restore. Press the download button to get this software.

Free Download

1. Open the software.

2. Select the target drive to scan.

3. This software will begin to scan the selected drive. When the process ends, you can see the scan results.

4. Since you only want to recover the Excel files, you can switch to Type and select xls or xlsx. Then, you can see all the detected Excel files. Go to check whether you can find your needed files. If you are not sure, you can preview them.

5. You can’t use the trial edition to recover files. If you click the Save button, you will see the following interface. But you can get a license key from the MiniTool official site and register it to upgrade to a full edition. After that, you can feel free to recover your files without limits.

After these steps, you can use the recovered Excel files at once.

Then, it’s time to fix the Excel hangs, freezes, or stops responding issue.

Microsoft Excel not responding can be caused by many reasons. But usually, you don’t know the exact reason for it. In the following content, we will provide you with some solutions which are proved to be effective. You can try them in order to find a suitable method to help you out.

If you have used one of these methods but it doesn’t work, you can directly go to the next way.

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Method 1: Open Excel in Safe Mode

Starting Microsoft Excel in Safe Mode allows you to launch the application without encountering certain startup programs.

How to open Excel in safe mode? There are two ways to do this work on Windows PC. You can select one according to your own willing:

Press and Hold the Ctrl Key to Open Excel in Safe Mode

1. Find the shortcut icon of Microsoft Excel.
2. Press and hold the Ctrl Then, double-click on the shortcut to continue.
3. Press the Yes button when a window pops up saying Excel has detected that you are holding down the CTRL key. Do you want to start Excel in safe mode?

Use the /safe Option to Open Excel in Safe Mode

1. Right-click the Start button in Windows and select Run from the popup menu. Alternatively, you can also press the Windows key and the R key on your keyboard at the same time to open Run.

2. In the Run box, type in the following command:

excel /safe

3. Click OK.

After running Microsoft Excel into safe mode, it will bypass functionality and settings like alternative startup location, changed toolbars, the xlstart folder, and Excel add-ins. But, COM add-ins are excluded.

Is the Microsoft Excel not responding issue disappears, you can refer to this post to know what to do next: How to troubleshoot startup problems in Excel.

If the Microsoft Excel hangs, freezes, crashes or stops working issue still persists, you need to try the next solution.

Method 2: Install the Latest Updates

If the Excel-related files are out-dated or there are some vulnerabilities on your Windows, the Microsoft Excel crashing issue may occur. Thus, you need to install any important recommendation and optimal updates to correct these problems.

Thus, you can set to automatically download the Windows Update and install the recommended updates. To install the latest Office updates, you can refer to this Microsoft post: Install Office updates.

If the Excel stops responding issue still exists, please move to the next solution.

Method 3: Make Sure Excel Is Not in Use by another Process

If the Excel file you open is used by another process, the Excel not responding error message will be displayed in the status bar at the bottom of the Excel window. To get rid of this error, you need to finish the task before taking other actions to the Excel file.

If Excel is not in use by another process but Excel stops responding, go to the next solution.

Method 4: Investigate Possible Issues with Add-Ins

Usually, add-ins can enhance your experience. However, they can also interfere or conflict with Microsoft Excel. So, you can start Excel without add-ins to see whether the issue goes away.

You can follow these steps:

1. Use the second way mentioned in method 1 to open the Excel file in safe mode.
2. If the Excel not responding issue is resolved, you need to go to File > Options > Add-ins.
3. Choose COM Add-ins and click Go.
4. Clear all the checkboxes in the list and then press OK.
5. Close and restart Microsoft Excel.

If the Excel not responding/crashing issue disappears when you restart Excel, you need to enable the add-ins one at a time until does. With this test, you can find out which add-in causes Microsoft Excel freezes, hangs, or stops working issue. Make sure that you restart Excel every time you enable an add-in.

However, if this issue still exists, you need to move to the next solution.

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Method 5: Check Excel File Details and Contents

Every Excel file can exist on the computer for a long time. During that period, these files can be updated from version to version and transferred from one user to another user.

Most often, when you inherit an Excel file from another person, you don’t know what is included in it. The following conditions can lead to Excel hangs, freezes or stops responding issue:

• Formulas referencing entire columns.
• Array formulas referencing an uneven number of elements in the arguments.
• Hundreds, or perhaps thousands of hidden or 0 height and width objects.
• Excessive styles caused by frequent copying and pasting between workbook.
• Excessive, and invalid defined names.

If Excel freezes or hangs still occurs after investigating excel file details and contents, go to try method 6.

Method 6: Check If Your File Is Being Generated by a Third Party

Sometimes, you may choose to use a third-party application to generate the Excel file. Here comes the question. The Excel file may be generated incorrectly. That is, some features of the Excel file may not work properly when you try to open it. Then, Excel crashing issue may happen.

In this situation, you need to test the features in a new file without using the third-party application. If these features work normally, you need to contact the third party for solutions.

However, if this method can’t help you out, try the next solution.

Method 7: Perform a Clean Boot

When launching your computer, many programs, processes, or services will start automatically, and then run in the background. It is quite possible that these applications and services interfere with other software on your computer.

In this situation, you can perform a Clean Boot, which is also known as a selective startup, to check whether there are conflicting applications or services.

You can refer to this post to do this work: How to perform a clean boot in Windows. This post also shows you what to do if there are conflicting applications or services.

However, if this method can’t help you out, continue to use the next one.

Method 8: Repair your Office programs

Some users reflect that repairing the Office programs is useful to get rid of Excel hangs, crashes, freezes, or stops responding.

Here is a detailed guide: Repair an Office application.

If repairing your Office programs does not resolve your issue, continue on to the next item on the list.

Method 9: Check the Antivirus Software

If your antivirus software on your PC is not up-to-date or conflicted with Excel, Microsoft Excel may not work normally, Excel not responding is a kind of performance.

Here are two things you need to do:

Check Whether the Antivirus Software Is Up-to-Date:

To keep up with new viruses that are created and guarantee the anti-virus effect, antivirus software vendors always provide periodical updates that you can download from its official site or other authorized website Internet.

Just download and install the latest updates on your computer to have a try.

Check Whether the Antivirus Software Conflicts with Excel:

If there is integration with Excel in your antivirus software, perhaps Excel stops responding, hangs, crashes, or freezes. In this situation, you can choose to disable all Excel integration in the antivirus program or disable the antivirus software add-ins that are installed in Microsoft Excel.

Besides, you may need to contact the vendor of your antivirus software to consult the way to exclude any integration with Excel or to exclude the scanning in Excel by configuring the antivirus software.

Other Situations and Measures (Advanced Troubleshooting)

If the above solutions don’t work, the Excel not responding issue could be either environmental or file specific.

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Environmental Factors

Environmental factors are the important elements when you are troubleshooting Excel crashing issue. Here are some necessary actions you need to take:

• Follow the basic troubleshooting steps show on the error message interface.
• Test the Excel files in the cleanest possible environment.

Where the Excel File Is Saved

You can move the Excel file locally to check whether there is something wrong with the Excel file itself or the location it is stored. You should save the Excel file locally in the following scenarios:

• Redirected My Documents folder to server location
• Offline the Excel files
• Opening the Excel files from a Webfolder or SharePoint
• Remote Desktop/Citrix
• Network appliances
• Virtualized environment

Memory

When you add many formatting and shapes to the Excel file, it will become larger. If your system has not enough RAM to run Excel, Excel not responding may occur. So, you can go to see whether your Windows meets the system requirements of Microsoft Office suites.

Printers and Video Drivers

When you launch your Excel file, it will examine the default printer and video drivers that are used to display the Excel workbooks. Excel is printer-intensive. When the Excel file is saved in Page Break Preview view, the application will run slower.

You can confirm whether it is a printer driver problem or a video driver problem by using different printers.

However, when all these measures are unavailable, it means you can’t solve Excel stops responding by yourself. Then, you can ask Microsoft Support for help.

Recover Unsaved Excel File Windows

In many cases, Excel not responding or Microsoft Excel has stopped working happens when you are still editing the Excel file or Excel not responding when saving. Thus, “excel not responding how to save” and «excel not responding how to recover» become the excel file recovery issues you are facing.

Before the Excel not responding issue is solved, you are unable to open the Excel file let alone recover unsaved Excel file. However, if you are able to open the Excel file normally after trying the methods mentioned in this post, you can consider recovering unsaved Excel files then.

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There are two possible ways:

Automatically Document Recovery

If the Excel file is forced closed unexpectedly, when you open it next time, there will be a Document Recovery pane on the left side with the automatically saved documents. You can choose your needed one according to the date and creation time of the file to recover it.

AutoRecover Option

AutoSave is a new feature in Excel, Word, and PowerPoint for Office 365 subscribers that can save your file automatically every few seconds when you are editing the file.

If this feature is enabled in your Excel, you can use it to recover unsaved Excel file. You can visit this guide to get the detailed steps to deal with the Excel not responding when saving issue: Recover an earlier version of an Office file.

Bottom Line

There are many ways to solve the Excel not responding issue. You can try them one by one to find out a suitable solution. And if you want to recover deleted files on Windows, you can try MiniTool’s data recovery software.

Should you have any questions when dealing with Excel hangs, freezes, crashes, or stops working issue, you can contact us via [email protected]. You can also let us know in the comment. Any useful opinions and suggestions are also appreciated here.

Excel Not Responding FAQ

If you frequently work on excel, you must have an idea that sometimes the notifications pop up that it isn’t working, freezing, or not responding. It is most frustrating, mainly when working on an important document.

Like many other programs, excel also has a few issues that need to be fixed, specifically while opening or working on a document. When a “not responding” problem happens, you may want to wait for its response, but it can be a disaster if it doesn’t.

However, we are here to rescue you again. You can fix this issue with the help of a few solutions. Let’s discuss the answers in detail.

Solutions to Fix The Error

Follow the below instructions to fix the Excel not responding or hanging error.

1. Open Excel In A Safe Mode

If you’re working on an excel document and it frequently stops working or does not respond, you may try to open it in a safe mode. It is a common way to fix not responding errors.

When you open excel in a safe mode, Excel starts with only essential services. To open Excel in a safe mode, follow the instructions that are given below:

• Press the Window + R button simultaneously to open the run dialogue box.
• Now in the Run Window, type excel.exe/ safe and tap on the enter button.
• It will open the Microsoft Excel program in a safe mode.
• After opening Excel into a safe mode, try to open the Excel file again that wasn’t responding. If the file opens, save the data to another excel file for future use.

2. Upgrade To The Latest Version

These issues can arise when you use outdated Windows and Office Updates versions. Be sure to download the latest version of the Window and office update version on your computer or PC.

Follow the steps that are mentioned here:

• Head to the Control Panel and then click on System and Security.
• Now change the settings and set it to the Automatic Mode by Start Maintenance option.

3. Macros Recompilation

If you are using complex Macros, it can also be the reason for not responding, hanging, or freezing issues.

You can fix this error by following the mentioned instructions:

• Open the MS Excel and then Head to the Developer -> Visual Basic.
• Go to the Tools -> Options. After you have found the Options window, Tap on the General tab and erase the “Compile On Demand.”
• With the Project Navigation pane, you must right-click on the Module and select ‘Insert’ to insert a new module.
• The last step is to save the Excel file and close the MS Office Application.

After following the listed instructions, when you try to use Macros next time, there are high chances that you won’t face the issue again.

What If Microsoft Excel Is Not Responding To Errors?

1. Disable Add-Ins

Another fix for the Excel not responding is disabling Add-ins. It helps avoid issues including freezing, hanging, and getting stuck in Excel.

Open the Excel into Safe Mode. For doing this, follow the solution that we have mentioned earlier.

After opening Excel into the safe mode, you now need to follow the instructions mentioned below.

• Tap on the File option at the top left corner and hit the Excel options button.
• Now click on the Add-ins option seen on the side menu. Now choose Excel Add-ins and tap on the Go button to open the Add-Ins selection window.
• Disable All the Add-ins present on your system. For doing this, unmark the box present along with the active Add-Ins.
• Lastly, save the changes by clicking on Ok.
• Restart Microsoft Excel and check whether the issue is still there or not.

2. Change the Default Printer

You might wonder how a default printer method is relevant to the Excel not responding error? It is related to this issue because whenever we open an Excel Spreadsheet, it internally communicates with the attached printers to check for compatible margins.

That’s why it is suggested to change the default printer to fix Excel not responding errors.

To disable the default printer, follow the following step:

• Open the control panel and then tap on the printer and devices.
• To set printed to default, right-click on the Microsoft XPS Document Writer.
• Now try to open the Excel file to verify the issue.

3. Fix Microsoft Office

Fix Microsoft Office is a standard solution for numerous issues. This solution will help you fix Microsoft Not Responding errors on your Windows by resolving the problems in damaged or inaccessible program files.

Follow the instructions mentioned below:

• Head to your system’s Control Panel by navigating the start button > Windows System. Tap on the Control panel after it.
• From the Control Panel Windows, Click on the program and features.
• At the next Window, tap right on the Microsoft Office and click on the Repair option.

4. Uninstall and Reinstall Microsoft Excel

Another solution on our list is to uninstall and reinstall Microsoft Excel. In this way, it’ll be a fresh start for Microsoft Excel. Many users must find this solution helpful in fixing the Excel not responding or the issue of the stop working.

To do this, you have to follow the given steps:

• Head to the Control Panel > programs > programs and Features > Now search for Microsoft Excel; after finding it, click on Uninstall.
• After uninstalling it, now reinstall it for a fresh start. It’ll help fix the problem.

5. Make Sure Excel Isn’t In Use By Another Process

If Excel is in use of another process, then it may not respond. You’ll see this information in the status bar at the bottom of the Window. Let the one task process first, then start a new one to avoid any inconvenience.

Also Check: How To Fix Windows 10 Corrupted Files

Conclusion

When you’re working on Excel and suddenly get interrupted by issues including freezing, hanging, or not responding to errors, it can be quite a frustrating situation. However, no need to worry about it because we have listed all the possible solutions to fix Excel not responding errors. Read this article thoroughly, and you’ll find a solution according to the problem you’re facing.