Word very slow to start

One common problem faced on many computers is the slow launching or termination of MS Word.  This problem is usually due to a corrupted or problematic «Normal.dot» template. The «Normal.dot» template is the location where word saves all the default settings (e.g. font type, font size etc.) and it is used with every word file –blank or not- you open.

This tutorial fixes the following problem(s) of Word: Word is to slow to start, load documents or close.

To solve these problems find the word templates location folder and delete the «Normal.dot» (or «Normal.dotm» if you have Word 2007/2010) file. To do this follow these steps:

1. With your MS Word application closed, go to Start > Run

2. At the «Run command box» copy and paste one of the following commands according to your operating system version and then press OK

a. For Windows XP:

• %USERPROFILE%Application DataMicrosoftTemplates

b. For Windows Vista / Windows 7 /Windows 8 & Windows 10:

• %appdata%MicrosoftTemplates

2. Locate the file called «Normal.dot» if you have Word 2003, or the «Normal.dotm» file if you have Word 2007, 2010, 2013 or a later version of MS Office and delete it. Don’t worry about the deletion. Next time you open MS Word, a new, clean Normal Template (Normal.dot, Normal.dotm), will be created.

Now open MS Word and enjoy writing! *

* Additional help: If after performing the above, the Word is still slow when launching or closing then restore it to its default settings by following the steps below:

a. Close Word.
b. Open the Registry Editor. (To do that, at «Run» command box, type REGEDIT and press Enter.)
c. At Registry Editor, navigate to the following registry location according the installed Word (Office) version:

If this article was useful for you, please consider supporting us by making a donation. Even $1 can a make a huge difference for us in our effort to continue to help others while keeping this site free:

If you want to stay constantly protected from malware threats, existing and future ones, we recommend that you install Malwarebytes Anti-Malware PRO by clicking below (we
do earn a commision from sales generated from this link, but at no additional cost to you. We have experience with this software and we recommend it because it is helpful and useful):

Full household PC Protection — Protect up to 3 PCs with NEW Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Premium!

Microsoft Word is one of the popular text processing applications available. Though there are many alternate apps, Word is an ultimate document app due to universal use. However, slow performance of Microsoft Word is quite common on many computers due to various reasons. This may result in reduced productivity for business professionals and normal computer users. In this article let us explain how to fix slow Word when opening, typing and saving documents to speedup productivity.

Related: How to fix slow Microsoft Excel and speedup your productivity.

Fix Slow Microsoft Office Problems

Here are the fixes to solve the performance problem with Microsoft Word.

1. Deleting default template file
2. Disable graphics acceleration in Word settings
3. Use registry editor to disable graphics acceleration
4. Install updates
5. Update your OS
6. Reinstall Microsoft Office
7. Delete temporary files
8. Optimize the document
9. Open Word in safe mode
10. Check locked files
11. Disable add-ins

Method #1: Delete Normal.dot File

Microsoft Word uses template files to create documents. Normal.dot is the global template file that Word uses for creating a blank document file. This essentially means, the template file is always in use when Word is in use. Word also stores all style related settings, such as font size and font type in this template. So, problematic or corrupted ‘Normal.dot’ template can cause slow performance when opening or closing your documents.

An effective solution is to delete the Nomal.dot or Normal.dotm template file. You don’t need to worry about deleting this file as Word will recreate a fresh Normal.dot file when you open the application. However, it is a bit tricky task, since Normal.dot or Normal.dotm file is a hidden file. Therefore, you need to first enable the option in Windows to show hidden files. Then save all your open documents and close Microsoft Word.

The file location may be different depending upon your Windows version. Generally you can find the Normal.dot (Word 2007) or Normal.dotm (Word 2007/10) or Normal.dotx (Word 2013 and above) file in the following location:

C:UsersUsernameappdataMicrosoftTemplates

In Windows 10, you can look for the file in the below path:

C:UsersYour User NameAppDataRoamingMicrosoftTemplates

If you use Office on Mac, go to Finder and press “Command + Shift + G” to open “Go to folder” box. Type the following location and press enter key.

~/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office/User Templates/

After locating the template file in your PC or Mac, simply delete it. Now, open Microsoft Word to create a new Normal.dot/dotm/dotx file. Check whether this helps to solve the slow processing issues in Microsoft Word.

Related: How to quickly insert dividers in Microsoft Word?

Method #2: Disable Hardware Graphics Acceleration

In some cases, when you type on a Word document, it will lag for few seconds or longer from the moment you press the key. This will badly affect your productivity by causing delay and diverting your concentration when doing important work. Newer Office versions use hardware graphics acceleration to speed up the performance. However, slow computers often have limited hardware resources, which make Word less responsive. Follow these steps to disable hardware acceleration in Word:

• Open Microsoft Word and create a blank document.
• Click “File” menu and choose “Options” in the left pane to go to backstage view.
• On the “Word Options” screen, choose “Advanced” in the left pane.
• Look for “Disable hardware graphics acceleration” option at the right pane under the “Display” section and enable it.
• Click the OK button to apply your changes.

Restart Microsoft Word and verify whether the problem has been resolved.

Method #3: Disable Hardware Acceleration in Registry Editor

If Microsoft Word still performs slowly, it may be a good idea to perform changes in the registry. Note that modifying registry is not recommended and you may not have access in the administered computers. If you have access to registry editor then backup your data and follow the below steps:

• Press “Win + R” keys to open Run prompt. Type the command “regedit” and hit enter. Alternatively, use Windows search box and type in “regedit” to open Registry Editor.
• Navigate to the entry HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice16.0common.
• Note that 16.0 is the version of Microsoft Office 2016, your version could be different.
• Right click on the right pane select “New > Key” to create a new key under the “common” folder.

• Windows will create a key with the name as “New Key #1” with an option to edit. Type in “Graphics” for the name of the key.
• Click the newly created “Graphics” key and right click on the right pane. Select “New > DWORD (32-bit) Value” option.

• Type in “DisableHardwareAcceleration” as the name of the new DWORD value.
• Double click on the new DWORD and change its value from 0 to 1.

Close the registry editor and restart your computer. Check Word works smoother now.

Related: Fix slow Microsoft PowerPoint presentations.

Method #4: Install Latest Updates

If Microsoft Word seems to react poorly to any command for processing a task, you may need to look for updating to the latest service pack. The latest service pack may provide you with bug fixes and performance optimization. Microsoft releases service pack regularly, generally they are installed automatically if you have auto update enabled. Otherwise you need to check and update them manually. Often, by installing a new service pack, you can regain lost performance.

Note that Apple stopped supporting 32-bit applications from macOS Catalina. Hence the 32-bit Mac Word 2011 or 2016 apps will no more work on your Mac. Ensure to purchase Office 365 subscription to work with 64-bit compatible Office apps on your Mac.

Method #5: Update Your OS

Also ensure your Windows OS is getting automatic security updates to make sure that rest of the system is working properly. Microsoft updates Windows 10 automatically, however follow the below steps to check the status and manually update:

• Press “Win + I” keys to open Windows Settings app.
• Click on “Update & Security” section.
• Click on the “Check for updates” button to update your Windows 10 to the latest version.

If you have Mac, you can install the latest updates by following the below instructions:

• Go to “Apple menu” by clicking the Apple icon on top left corner of your Mac.
• Select “System Preferences…” and click on the “Software Update” option.
• Check any update is available and install the latest version.

Related: How to change embedded document name in Word?

Method #6: Reinstall Microsoft Office

If you use Microsoft Office regularly for creating complex documents, spreadsheets and presentations, there’s a possibility that it will become faulty or corrupted. You may remedy it easily by reinstalling Office package. Prepare your Microsoft Office DVD and product key to complete the re-installation process. Follow these steps to uninstall and re-install Office in Windows 10:

• Go to “Control Panel” and choose “Uninstall a program” under “Programs” section.
• Find Microsoft Office and click the “Change” button. Follow steps on the screen to remove the program.
• Use the installation disk or download from the Windows Store for re-installing again.

Note that Word 2000, 2002 and 2003 can be restored to original settings by choosing ‘”Detect and Repair” in the “Help” menu.

On Mac, you can simply drag the application file to trash bin and reinstall from the App Store.

Method #7: Delete “~.dot” or “~.doc” Files

When you open a document, Word will have a temporary file in the same folder indicated by the ~ (tilde) sign at the beginning. Generally, Word will delete them automatically when you save and close your document. however, if you accumulate lot of these temporary files, Word would become slow and sluggish. For example, if you zip the content when the document is open then the compressed folder will include the temporary file in addition to the original file. Follow these steps to cleanup the temporary files:

• Go to Windows Search box and type in ~*.dot.
• Hit enter and wait until you get all the files on your computer. Select all of them, right click and choose “Delete”.
• Repeat the process by typing in ~*.doc in the search box. Also select all of them, right click and choose “Delete”.
• You can also empty your Recycle Bin to save storage space on your PC.

Open Microsoft Word and make sure that the problem has been resolved

Method #8: Optimize Document Files

Often, less optimized document files cause slow performance. Check whether your document has plenty of embedded macros and remove any of them if possible. Many people also put high quality pictures with large resolution inside documents. You need to optimize the pictures by changing the dimension that matches the size of the page. You may also use Adobe Photoshop or Snagit to save these images in optimized format to reduce the file sizes without sacrificing the quality too much.

Method #9: Open Word in Safe Mode

One of the reasons for slow Word app is the corrupted documents. When you try to open corrupted document, Word will show a message like “Microsoft Word is not responding” indicating the problem. You can choose “Restart the program” option to cancel the current operation and try to reopen the file again.

If that does not help, then press “Win + R” keys and open Run Command box. Type “winword /safe” to open Word in safe mode. This will help you to speedup the document as Word will disable extensions and other unnecessary stuffs in safe mode. Sometimes, Word will also suggest to open a document in safe mode. Choose “Yes” to check whether the safe mode can help in improving the performance at least when processing that document.

Related: Fix slow Microsoft Outlook emails.

Method #10: Check File Lock

Some times people share the locked file in chat, emails or SharePoint. When you try to open locked file, Word will show you the “File in Use” warning and ask you to choose the action.

You may notice, slow response time in Word when you open and read locked documents. We recommend you to open the locked file in “Read Only” mode to open it faster. Otherwise, you can request the owner to share the file without edit lock.

Method #11: Disable Add-ins

If you use add-ins to enhance the functionalities then ensure to disable them when you have problem with Word.

• Go to “File > Options” menu in Word.
• Choose “Add-ins” to view all installed on your Word installation. you can click each add-in to check the function it does.
• Select the add-ins type from the “Manage” drop-down and click on “Go…” button.
• Uncheck the add-ins to disable them.

Check whether this helps to resolve your problems. You can enable the add-ins back any time when needed.

Conclusion

Microsoft Word is almost an essential utility in office workers and many user’s daily life. So when you experience slow response, typing delay or any other problem, it is a good idea to check all the above steps. This will ensure to fix the problems and focus on creating documents with improved productivity.

Did you experience Microsoft Office Excel or Word documents opening very slowly or may appear to stop responding (hang) when you open a file from a network location? This issue ” Word, Excel or PowerPoint application is loading slower ” mostly caused due to some installed add-ins that load with Word/Excel/PowerPoint.

Again if the Word/Excel sheet freezes while loading from a network shared location, then there is chances some problem with the network location that lost the connection during the time that your Office program is opening the file. That cause you need to check Network connectivity and perform these Network Troubleshooting steps.

If you are experiencing “Microsoft Word, Excel or PowerPoint ” slow loading problem,  Word/Excel document files take a relatively long time to open, freezes when I try to exit here some solutions you may apply.

Note: If you notice Not only Ms office application other apps not responding on your System, Even Computer freezes Try these tips to Speedup Windows 10 PC performance.

Disable installed add-ins

As discussed Installed Add-ins are the most common reason for Word, Excel or PowerPoint application slow loading. If you have installed tens of add-ins from the Office Store, disabling unwanted add-ins, especially add-ins that load with Office applications, can significantly improve the load time of your Word, Excel and PowerPoint applications. lets Disable Installed Add-ins that may fix the problem for you.

Note: As we are facing a problem opening Word document, we need to start Word/Excel in safe mode to Disable Add-ins.

• Find the shortcut icon for your Office application.
• Press and hold the CTRL key and double-click the application shortcut.
• Click Yes when a window appears asking if you want to start the application in Safe Mode.
• Now from File menu, click Options. then Add-Ins.
• In the Manage list, click COM Add-Ins, and then click Go.

• Here If an add-in is listed in the COM Add-Ins dialog box, clear the add-in check box.
• And If more than one add-in is listed, clear only one add-in check box at a time. This procedure helps determine which add-in is causing the problem.
• Click OK to close the COM Add-Ins dialog box.
• On the File menu, click Exit.
• Now open Word document check this helps.

Note: To enable the add-in again, check the box next to it and then click on the OK button. You might need to restart the Word/Excel/PowerPoint to enable or disable the add-in.

Note: If Excel does not open when double-clicking an Excel file, Then open excel (or in safe mode)

1. File → Options
2. Go to Advanced → General
3. Make sure that Ignore other applications that use Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) is not checked.

Repair MS Office application suite

This is another producer to determine the problem if MS office itself gets corrupted, missing files that cause other applications not to start properly even stuck opening. If Office application such as Word or Excel isn’t working correctly, Here how to repair MS office application.

1. On start, menu search Type control panel and select the desired option.
2. From Small icon view Open programs and features.
3. Right-click on installed office Application select change.
4. On the next screen select the radio button “Repair” and Continue to start the repair process.
5. This will take a long, to complete the process, After that restart windows and check Office applications working properly.

Check with Different User profile

Sometimes corrupted, user account profile causes Office applications not to start correctly, log in to the different user account and check this helps. If you don’t have another user on your PC, Here how to create a user account on windows 10.

• Open the command prompt as administrator.
• Type command net user [user name] /add
• To add the user on local group administrator use the command “net localgroud administrator [user name] /add“

• Log off from the current user account and login with the newly created user account.
• Open Word/excel document and check this helps.

Again for some users changing the Default printer from Control PanelHardware and SoundDevices and Printers help to resolve the issue.

For some other users Change the Print spooler service “manual” helps to fix the problem.

Did these solutions help to “Make Microsoft Office Word/Excel Load Faster“? let us know on the comments below, Also read

• MS Outlook not responding, Freezes frequently? Here 7 Working Solutions to Fix Outlook problems!
• Microsoft Office 2019 released for Windows and Mac! Here what new (Features)
• How To upgrade and Install Microsoft office professional plus 2016
• Microsoft Outlook Stuck on Loading Profile? Here how to fix it
• New Features And improvements of Microsoft office 2016 Professional Plus

First, does your computer have enough memory? (Check That Your Computer Has Enough Memory later in this tutorial.) If not, that may be your problem; if so, continue with this fix.

If Word is running at the moment, make sure you’re not loading an absurd number of global templates and add-ins. Choose Tools » Templates and Add-Ins to display the Templates and Add-ins dialog box (see Figure 1-5).

In the «Global templates and add-ins» area, uncheck the boxes for any global templates or add-ins you want to unload. Alternatively, select a global template or add-in and click the Remove button to remove it from the list. Make sure you click each template or add-in in turn and look at the «Full path» readout at the bottom of the Templates tab.

If the template or add-in is in your Word Startup folder, you must remove it manually so that Word doesn’t load it automatically when you restart the program.

Choose Start » Run, type %userprofile%Application DataMicrosoftWordStartup, and press Enter to open a Windows Explorer window to your Word Startup folder. Move each template or add-in that you don’t want Word to load automatically to another folder.

Word’s Two Types of Add-Ins

Word uses two main types of add-ins: global templates, which are templates either stored in the Word Startup folder (which makes Word load them automatically) or manually loaded using the Templates and Add-ins dialog box, and COM add-ins, which are either dynamic link library files (DLLs) or ActiveX executable (EXE) files.

Figure 1-5. Loading too many global templates and add-ins can make Word take much longer to start.

Next, check which COM add-ins are installed (if any). You’ll need to add the COM Add-Ins command to a menu first:

1. Choose Tools » Customize to open the Customize dialog box, then click the Commands tab.

2. Click Tools in the Categories listbox.

3. Click the COM Add-Ins command in the righthand listbox and drag it to the menu in which you want it to appear (e.g., Tools).

(The next time you exit Word, save your Normal template if Word prompts you to do so.)

Now select the COM Add-Ins command from the menu in which you placed it. Use the control in the COM Add-Ins dialog box (see Figure 1-6) to unload any add-ins that you don’t want to load or to remove any that you no longer need at all.

Figure 1-6. COM add-ins also take up memory and can slow down Word. Unload or remove any add-ins that you don’t need.

If your global templates and add-ins aren’t the culprit, your Normal.dot file might be corrupt. Try launching Word without Normal.dot or other add-ins: select Start » Run, type winword /a, and press Enter.

If Word still starts slowly, you may need to re-register it. Choose Start » Run again, type winword /r, press Enter, and wait while the Windows Installer configures Office. When it finishes, start Word normally.

by updated Sep 03, 2017

Word 2007 — and now Word 2010 — on my Vista laptop has often been very slow to load a document and to respond to a document command (like Save). I’ve been blaming Vista…

But when I started to edit a 300+ page Word 2010 document on my Vista laptop, the unresponsiveness was going to be a huge productivity drain. So off to Google to see if there was an answer to this problem. And there is! And it’s not related to Vista at all, but to how a Word document interacts with the default printer. If the default printer is a networked printer, then there can be response issues.

In my case, the default printer is not only a networked printer, but when I opened this 300+ page document, the printer was turned off (it was a Sunday and I don’t use the printer all the time, especially on weekends).

After following the advice of people in this forum thread, I changed my default printer on the Vista laptop to Adobe PDF (Microsoft EPS works well too, I believe). And guess what? The document responded beautifully! No more achingly long Not responding messages in the Word 2010 title bar; no more watching the ‘spinning wheel of death’ (as I like to call it) while waiting and waiting for the Word document to respond because it was trying to talk to my network printer.

Brilliant.

But I have to question WHY Microsoft still ties things like Word documents so closely to the default printer. Most of us have many ‘printers’ listed these days — many of which aren’t even printers, but instead are printer drivers. If a network printer is set as the default and it can’t find it, then why don’t we get a message to tell us to change to another printer driver so we can work in a fully responsive document?

[Link last checked April 2011]

HELP! Every time I open Word takes several seconds, and when opening documents again it takes its time. It even has changed to (not responding) status while opening a two pages document. It also takes too long when switching through opened documents.

I have all the updates, SP1 and everything that is available.

The computer I have is brand new, AMD Turion processor with 2 GB in RAM.

I had this problem first with Windows XP and Word 2007. I restored all the system with the factory settings and installed Windows vista and the problem is still there.

One more thing, I have 40 other computers with XP and Office 2007 and they show the same problem.

I have one more computer with XP and both Office 2003 and 2007 and it does not show the problem.

The problem is only in word, everything else seems right.

If anyone knows what is going on, I will appreciate your help.

When you open Office 2019 apps like Excel, Word, Power Point, Publisher, Skype for Business etc, you may find that it takes some time to open. This is possible even if you have high end CPU like 8th generation i7 processor and 16GB of RAM.

You may think that the problem is with Windows 10 OS. Tweak the Windows Settings to make your Office 2019 apps start up faster. But, this is not the cause.

The main concern is the privacy data collected by Microsoft. It is done using the options present in Office 2019. Microsoft collects this data to provide you with design improvements and online help.

But if you are like me, who is more intended on performance than styling, I can provide a few tweaks to resolve your Office 2019 slow startup issues.

Method #1

Click on File in Excel, Word, Power Point in Office 2019.

Then several options are visible.

Account > (Account Privacy) Manage Settings

Here some options are available which are of privacy concern and useful for quick start up of Office 2019 apps.

Tip #1 :Optional diagnostic data

This is the additional usage and diagnostic data sent to Microsoft servers. It says that, this data will not collect information related to your name, file contents or apps unrelated to Office.

This data will be used to improve the experience of Office 2019 programs like Excel, Word, Publisher, Note etc. But it’s not sure what other data does Microsoft collect using this information.

Since it sends additional diagnostic and usage data, it will connect to the Internet. This will increase the start up time to open Excel, Word and other Office 2019 applications.

Also, there are privacy concerns as we do not know what “other” data does the tech giant collect using this option.

So for better speed you can turn off the option that says

“Send additional diagnostic and usage data to Microsoft”.

In future, if you think you want better improvements over performance, you can check or enable it again.

Your Excel or Word app may try to connect to Microsoft servers, when this option is enabled. This will slow the time to open the app. Also, if you have bad hardware configuration like less RAM and CPU power, then also Office 2019 apps like Word or Excel can be slow to open.

If you find that Excel 2019 is slow to open, you can clean up your junk files, registry entries, scan for virus, disable add-ins causing problem, disable macros, reduce the size of the file etc.

Tip #2 :Connected experiences

This option will analyze your Office document content to provide you with design recommendations, editing suggestions, data insights and similar features.

But we are not sure whether Microsoft will collect any personal information stored in Excel, Word, Publisher documents as part of the Experience analysis.

You can disable the option that says

Let Office analyze your content to provide you with improvements.

When you switch off this option, there is a warning message that says

By turning this off, some features will no longer be available to you. For example, PowerPoint Designer, Dictation, Editor, Ideas and more.

As mentioned earlier, some amount of time is spent analyzing your documents using this option. This slows down the normal operations. By turning it off, you can speed up Office apps start up and working.

Tip #3 : Experiences that download online content

This option allows you to download online content including templates, images, 3D models, videos and reference materials to enhance your document design.

In this regard also, Office connects to the Internet to gather online material which could slow up normal Office app operations.

You can disable the option that says

Let Office download online content

You get a warning message that says

By turning this off, some features will no longer be available to you. For example, Online Template Search, Insert Online Pictures, Office Help, and more.

Tip #4 : All connected experiences

The following option can be turned off

Enable connected experiences

Experiences analyze your content, download online content, and other connected experiences such as co-authoring and online file storage. Outlook email services, downloading updates and check for license will still work.

But you get a warning message that says

Outlook email services, and some essential connected experiences, will continue to work. But other connected experiences will no longer be available to you – including roaming privacy settings.

Don’t Disable it: Required diagnostic data

This is a mandatory option to be checked and cannot be turned off. This help to keep Office 2019 secure, up-to-date and perform working operations without any trouble.

It will collect data like what OS you are using and Office updates are installed or not.

Without this basic Office 2019 information, apps will not run.

So don’t try any hacks to disable this option.

Method #2

Options

Disable the following options for better performance and quick start up of Office 2019 apps.

General

• Enable Live Preview
• Enable LinkedIn features in my Office applications
• Show the Start screen when this application starts

Ease of Access

• Provide feedback with animation
• Show the Start screen when this application starts

Customize Ribbon

• Add-ins
• Help

Method #3

Add-ins

Make sure there are no active application add-ins. If there are any Excel, COM, XML Expansion packs etc activated, disable them. You can turn them on again when you need any particular add-in.

For example the following add-ins are de-activated by default.

• Analysis ToolPak
• Analysis ToolPak-VBA
• Date(XML)
• Euro Currency Tools
• Inquire
• Microsoft Actions Pane 3 ,  Power Map for Excel,  Power Pivot for Excel
• Solver Add-in

Some of these are helpful as data analyzer tools for statistical and engineering analysis. 3D Data Visualization is possible with Power Map add-in.

So enabling all of them will slow your Office 2019 apps progress. When you require any particular functionality, you can just check that add-in and unchecked when not required.