Why is word not working

Repair and save your document

Microsoft Word not responding usually appears either as an error message or as a complete freeze of the Word graphical user interface. When you experience this glitch, either close the program or wait for the program to respond.

These suggestions apply to Microsoft Word for Office 365, Word 2019, Word 2016, Word 2010, and Word for Mac.

Cause of Microsoft Word Not Responding Messages

You’ll most often encounter a «Microsoft Word is not responding» message for one of several reasons:

• A failure to open, save, or access a document hosted on a remote server, often arising from a server timeout.
• A damaged program file.
• An incompatible add-in.

How to Fix Microsoft Word Not Responding

Sometimes the answer is as simple as restarting the computer. If this approach doesn’t resolve the problem, disabling add-ins and possibly repairing the program are the best courses of action.

1. Start Word in Safe Mode. Loading the application without templates and add-ins allows you to see if the program works as it should or if it is corrupted.

2. Disable add-ins. If «Word not responding» is not an error in Safe Mode, an incompatible add-in is a likely culprit.

   1. Select File > Options > Add-ins to open Word Options.
   2. Choose the Go button under Manage near the bottom of the window to open the COM Add-ins dialog box.
   3. Clear the check boxes next to each add-in to disable all add-ins.
   4. Select OK to apply the changes and close the dialog box.

   If the «Word not responding» error message no longer appears, enable each add-in one at a time, and restart Word after each one to determine which one caused the problem.

3. Repair the document. If the error appears when you open or save a specific Word file, that document might be corrupted. Use a tool within Word to fix it.

4. Repair Word. In Windows 10, open the Settings app and select Apps & Features. Select Microsoft Office from the app list, select Modify, then follow the options to repair Office programs.

5. Uninstall and reinstall Word. You’ll need your Microsoft ID and Product Key. Remove it through Windows Settings or download the MS Office Uninstall Support Tool to remove it completely. On a Mac, drag it into the trash and reinstall it.

   Uninstalling Office from your computer only removes the Office applications you installed. Files, documents, and workbooks are not removed.

FAQ

• Why is spell check not working in Word?

  If spell check isn’t working in Word, make sure spell check is turned on, check the proofing language, and check for proofing exceptions. If you still have problems, try opening Word in Safe Mode or disabling add-ons one at a time.

• How do I fix it when a Word file won’t open?

  If a Word file won’t open, check the file association. Right-click the file, select Open With, and choose Microsoft Word. To repair a damaged file in Word, go to File > Open > Browse, and highlight the file you want. Select the Open drop-down arrow, then choose Open and Repair.

• How do I fix Word not responding without losing data?

  After closing Word, reopen the program and try to recover the unsaved document. Go to File > Manage Documents > Recover Unsaved Documents, or go to File > Open > Browse and search for a backup of the file. You can also go to Windows Explorer and look for any recovered or temp files.

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In this post, we will talk about the potential solutions to fix some common Microsoft Word crashing issues. Some users are complaining that they are experiencing issues with Microsoft Word. According to them, Microsoft Word crashes while doing several tasks, like saving a document, opening a document, copying and pasting the data, etc. If you experience such types of issues with Microsoft Word, this post may help you fix them.

What do I do if Microsoft Word keeps crashing?

Microsoft Word Addins are usually the culprit. You may need to identify and remove Add-ins from Microsoft Office programs. You can fix it by troubleshooting Word in Safe Mode, updating Word to the latest version, repairing Office, etc. In this article, we have provided the solutions to some common Microsoft Word crashing problems.

Here, we will see the solutions to the following Microsoft Word crashing issues:

• Word crashes while saving a document.
• Word crashes when opening.
• Word crashes when copying and pasting.
• Word crashes when printing.
• Word crashes when updating Table of Contents.

Apart from identifying and removing offending Word addins as mentioned above, we discuss below troubleshooting suggestions for each of these scenarios.

Microsoft Word crashes while saving a document

If Microsoft Word keeps crashing or freezing frequently or randomly on Windows 11/10 then these solutions are sure to help you fix the issue. According to some users, Microsoft Word crashes every time they attempt to save a document on their computers. If such a thing happens to you, you can try the following solutions:

1. Update Microsoft Office.
2. Save your Word document to another location.
3. Run Word as an administrator.
4. Launch Microsoft Office in Safe Mode.
5. Repair Office.

Below, we have explained each of these troubleshooting methods in detail.

1] Update Microsoft Office

The problems like crashing issues may occur if you are using the outdated version of Microsoft Office. Hence, before you start troubleshooting methods, it will be better to check if there is any update pending for Microsoft Office. If yes, update Microsoft Office to the latest version.

After updating Office, check if you can save your document or not.

2] Save your Word document to another location

By default, the save location of Microsoft Office applications, like Word, Excel, etc., is the Documents folder. You might be experiencing this problem due to permission issues with Microsoft Word. To check this, right-click in the empty space on your Desktop and go to “File > Microsoft Word Document.” After that, open that Word document and go to “File > Save As.” Check, does it crash this time too?

• If Word crashes, there could be permission issues with Microsoft Word. You can fix the permission issues by running Word as an administrator.
• If Word does not crash, the problem might be associated with the Microsoft Office application. To fix this, try the next solutions.

3] Run Word as an administrator

As explained earlier, the problem might be occurring because of permission issues with Microsoft Word. Hence, we suggest you run Microsoft Word as an administrator and see what happens. To run Microsoft Word as an administrator, follow the instructions below:

1. Click on the Windows Search and type Word.
2. Now, right-click on the Word application and select Run as administrator.
3. Click Yes in the UAC prompt.

If this fixes the issue, you can set the Microsoft Word application to always run as administrator.

4] Launch Microsoft Word in Safe Mode

There might be some Add-ins in Word causing the problem. You can check this by launching Microsoft Word in Safe Mode. When you launch Word on the Safe Mode, it will run with the Add-ins disabled. After launching the Word in Safe Mode, save your document. If Word does not crash this time, the culprit is one or more Add-ins.

Now, exit the Word from Safe Mode and launch it again in the normal mode. Disable your Add-ins one by one and save your document after you disable each Add-in. This will let you know which Add-in is causing the problem. Once you identify it, consider removing it.

The following steps will show you how to disable Add-ins in Microsoft Word:

1. Launch Microsoft Word.
2. Go to “File > Options.”
3. In the Word Options window, select the Add-ins category from the left side.
4. At the bottom of the window, select COM Add-ins in the Manage drop-down menu and then click on the Go button.
5. In the COM Add-ins window, simply uncheck the Add-ins (one at a time) and click OK.

5] Repair Office

If none of the above solutions fixed your issue, first, repair the Microsoft Office application and see if it helps. If the issue still persists, you can try reinstalling the Microsoft Office application.

Microsoft Word crashes when opening

If Microsoft Word crashes every time you open it or open a document, the following solutions may help you fix it:

1. Update Microsoft Office.
2. Turn off the Protected View.
3. Launch Microsoft Word in Safe Mode.
4. Unblock Word document via Properties.
5. Repair Office.
6. Troubleshoot in the Clean Boot State.

Let’s have a detailed look at these troubleshooting methods that are sure to help you if your Word keeps crashing while saving a document, opening, copying & pasting, printing or updating Table of Contents.

1] Update Microsoft Office

First, check if you are using the updated version of Microsoft Office or not. If your Office application is outdated, consider updating it to the latest version. If the crashing issue was occurring due to some bug, updating the Office application will fix it.

Related: Microsoft Word will not open and run properly.

2] Turn off the Protected View

Turn off the Protected View and see if it brings any changes. The steps for the same are listed below:

1. Launch Microsoft Word.
2. Go to “File > Options.”
3. Select the Trust Center category from the left side.
4. Click on the Trust Center Settings button on the right side.
5. Now, select the Protected View category and deselect all the checkboxes on the right side.
6. Click OK to save the settings.

Now, check if the issue is fixed or not.

3] Launch Word in Safe Mode

Sometimes, some Add-ins cause several issues with Microsoft Office applications. This might be the case with you. You can check this by launching the Word in Safe Mode. Word disables some Add-ins in Safe Mode. Therefore, if Word launches in Safe Mode successfully, it means that one of the disabled Add-Ins is the culprit.

To launch Word in Safe Mode, simply type winword /safe in the Run command box and click OK. After launching it in Safe Mode, go to “File > Options > Add-Ins.” Now, select COM Add-Ins in the Manage drop-down menu and click on the Go button. Now, see which Add-Ins are disabled.

Because Word is crashing when you open it, you have to remove the disabled Add-ins in Safe Mode. Select one of the disabled Add-In and click Remove. Now, exit the Safe Mode and launch Word in the normal mode. If Word crashes this time too, launch it again in Safe Mode and remove another Add-In. If the Word launches in the normal mode, it means that you have removed the faulty Add-in. Now, you can install the removed Add-Ins again except the faulty one.

4] Unblock Word document via Properties

Sometimes, Word crashes when opening a document directly from the email. If this is the case with you, you can try this solution. First, save the Word file from the email on your computer. Now, right-click on it and select Properties and enable the Unblock checkbox.

Now, check if the issue persists.

5] Repair Office

Repairing Microsoft Office can also fix the problems. You can repair Microsoft Office from the Control Panel.

1. Open Control Panel and then click on the Uninstall a Program option.
2. Select your Microsoft Office application.
3. Right-click on Office and select Change.
4. Select Repair and click Next. After that, select Online Repair. Follow the on-screen instructions.

6] Troubleshoot in Clean Boot State

There might be some program(s) on your system that is/are conflicting with the Microsoft Word application and causing it to crash. If none of the above solutions worked, you should troubleshoot your computer in a Clean Boot State. If you find such a program, consider uninstalling it.

Microsoft Word crashes when copying and pasting

Try the following solutions to fix the crashing issue with Microsoft Word while copying and pasting the data.

1. Turn off the Clipboard history.
2. Uncheck everything in the Office Clipboard Options menu.
3. Launch Microsoft Word in Safe Mode.
4. Repair Microsoft Office.

Let’s see these solutions in detail.

1] Turn off the Clipboard history

Some users have stated that the issue was fixed after turning off the Clipboard history. You should also try this and see if it brings any changes.

2] Uncheck everything in the Office Clipboard Options menu

Launch Microsoft Word and follow the steps listed below:

1. Open your document in Microsoft Word.
2. Open Microsoft Office Clipboard.
3. Now, click on the Options menu at the bottom and deselect all the options.

Check if the issue is fixed or not.

3] Launch Microsoft Word in Safe Mode

Some users have reported that the problem was due to some Add-Ins like ABBY’s Fine Reader, Adobe PDF Maker, etc. If Microsoft Word is crashing on your system due to an Add-In, troubleshooting Microsoft Word in Safe Mode can help you identify that Add-in. If you find any Add-In the culprit of the problem, consider removing it. We have explained the process of troubleshooting Word in Safe Mode above in this article.

4] Repair Office

You might be experiencing crashing issues with the Word application due to some corruption in Microsoft Office. In such a case, repairing Office can fix the issue.

Related: Fix WINWORD.EXE errors in Office Word application.

Microsoft Word crashes when printing

If your Microsoft Word application crashes while printing a document, you can try the following solutions:

1. Try Printing to PDF, XPS, or OneNote.
2. Delete the contents of the Printers folder in the C directory.
3. Identify the culprit printer.
4. Update, roll back, and reinstall the printer driver.
5. Run SFC and DISM scans.
6. Troubleshoot Word in Safe Mode.
7. Repair Office.

Let’s talk about these solutions in detail.

1] Try Printing to PDF, XPS, or OneNote

Launch Microsoft Word and open your document in it. Now, go to “File > Print.” After that, click on the Printer drop-down menu and select the following options one by one and see if Word crashes while you print or not.

1. Microsoft Print to PDF.
2. Microsoft XPS Document Writer.
3. OneNote for Windows 10.

If Word does not crash, you can use these modes to print your Word documents. If Word still crashes, try the next solutions.

2] Delete the contents of the Printers folder in the C directory

Clear the contents of the Printer folder in the C directory and see if it solves your issue. To delete the contents of this folder, first, you have to stop the Print Spooler service.

The steps to stop the Print Spooler service are as follows:

1. Launch the Run command box by pressing the Win + R keys.
2. Type services.msc and click OK. This will launch the Services app.
3. In the Services app, scroll down and find the Print Spooler service.
4. Once you find it, right-click on it and select Stop.

Now, after stopping the Print Spooler service, open the file explorer and enter the following path, and hit Enter.

C:WINDOWSSystem32spool

There, you will find the Printers folder. Open it. If you receive the Permissions dialog box, click Continue. Delete all the contents inside the Printers folder. After that, launch the Services app again and start the Print Spooler service. For this, right-click on the Print Spooler service and select Start.

3] Identify the culprit printer

If you have installed more than one printer on your system, you can check if there is any culprit printer causing the problem. For this, uninstall all the printers and install them again one by one. After installing each printer, print your Word document and see if Microsoft Word crashes.

4] Update, roll back, and reinstall your printer driver

The crashing issue might be occurring due to the outdated or corrupted printer driver. You should try updating, rolling back, and reinstalling the printer driver.

5] Run SFC and DISM scans

One of the causes of this issue is the corrupted Windows System Image. Run SFC scan and DISM scan and see if it helps you fix the issue.

6] Troubleshoot Word in Safe Mode

If there is an Add-In causing the problem, troubleshooting Word in Safe Mode will help you identify it. Once you find it, remove it from Word. We have already explained the process to troubleshoot Word in Safe Mode above in this article.

7] Repair Office

If the problem still continues, your Microsoft Office application might be corrupted. You can solve this issue by repairing it.

Microsoft Word crashes when updating Table of Contents

The following solutions may help you fix this issue:

1. Troubleshot Word in Safe Mode.
2. Repair Microsoft Word.

1] Troubleshoot Word in Safe Mode

Safe Mode launches the Office applications with Add-Ins disabled mode. This mode is helpful in identifying the culprit Add-In. We have explained how to troubleshoot Word in Safe Mode above in this article.

2] Repair Office

Users experience several issues with Microsoft Office if it Is corrupted. This might be the case with you. You should run a repair for your Microsoft Office application and see if it helps.

Why is Microsoft Word not working on Windows 11?

There could be several reasons why Microsoft Word is not working on Windows 11. From malware/adware to corrupt internal files, anything could be responsible for this error. No matter whether you get this problem on Windows 11, Windows 10, or any other version of Windows, you can go through the above-mentioned solutions.

Hope this article helped you solve your problem.

If Microsoft Word won’t open, you can try updating your printer’s driver. A new window will now open. Select the option “Automatically check for updated driver software” and wait until the process is complete. Finally, verify that Word can start after the driver is updated.

Why is my Microsoft Word not opening?

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.

How do I force Microsoft Word to open?

Press the Windows key and “R” on the keyboard at the same time to bring up the Run dialogue. Type “WinWord.exe” without quotation marks into the box.

How do I fix word not opening in Windows 10?

Run a Quick Repair to fix the file association problem

1. Click the Start button.
2. Type and choose “Control Panel”
3. Choose Programs > Programs and Features.
4. Next, select the Office product you want to repair and then choose Change.
5. Choose the Quick Repair option and then choose Repair.

How do I fix word not responding?

Contents

1. Restart and install updates.
2. Start Word in Safe Mode.
3. Automatic Office Repair.
4. Disable Word add-ins.
5. Delete Normal.dotm.
6. Change the Windows default printer.
7. Problems with antivirus software.

Why is my Microsoft Word locked and won’t let me type?

Checking Num Lock
If text is not appearing on your screen, there is a good chance that Number Lick has been turned on by mistake. To check this, locate your “Num Lock” key, which often is the same button as “F11” on your keyboard. Press the key and then try typing. Text should appear on your screen.

How do I reinstall Microsoft Word?

Talk to your IT department for installation help.

1. Visit setup.office.com and sign in with your Microsoft account or create a new account.
2. Enter your product key (or activation code).
3. Select Install Office.
4. If the User Account Control asks whether you want to allow the app to make changes to your device, select Yes.

Why is Word so unresponsive?

What is Causing Microsoft Word to Slow Down?Sometimes a Word document or template or Word’s own Normal template can become corrupted. Add-ins and start-up templates can also sometimes conflict with Word’s performance.

How do I unlock a locked Word document?

Resolution

1. Save all your work, and then quit all programs.
2. Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE to open the Windows Security dialog box.
3. Click Task Manager, and then click the Processes tab.
4. Click Winword.exe, and then click End Process.
5. In the Task Manager Warning dialog box, click Yes.

How do I unfreeze Microsoft Word without losing work?

Press CTRL+SHIFT+ESC.

Why is my Microsoft Word not working on Mac?

The first thing that you need to fix Word not responding on Mac is either disable or remove the add-ins from your Mac.Open Word application and navigate to Preferences. Select the Ribbon and open Developer option from the tab. Now click on the Add-Ins option and choose the add-in that you want to disable.

How do I activate Word?

Make sure you’re connected to the Internet so that Windows can activate and detect your Office purchase.

1. Go to Start > Word 2016.
2. Select Activate. Activate should be the only option that’s shown.
3. Follow the prompts to complete the activation process.

Will I lose my work if I force quit Word?

If you force quit the Microsoft Word program, you may lose any unsaved changes to your document.

Will Word save if force quit?

If the document was saved at least once and AutoRecover was enabled in Word > Preferences, you can force-quit Word, as it will detect the AutoRecover files next time around and offer you to recover the file.