Word won t open

Our solutions work for Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Office 365

by Milan Stanojevic

Milan has been enthusiastic about technology ever since his childhood days, and this led him to take interest in all PC-related technologies. He’s a PC enthusiast and he… read more

Updated on October 31, 2022

Windows 10 users have reported an issue regarding Microsoft Office versions 2010 and 2013, where products like Word, Excel, or PowerPoint will not open and return no error or prompt.

In the reports submitted by Windows 10 users, Microsoft’s Office suite worked fine for a period of time, and for no apparent reason, the shortcuts of the different Office components stopped launching the program.

Microsoft Office didn’t return any error or give any prompt when this issue presented itself. But, by following the steps below, let’s hope that you will be able to solve your problems.

Why is my Office 365 not opening?

Sometimes the applications might encounter bugs, and this can result in We’re getting things ready Office error while trying to run certain apps.

Few users reported that MS Office shortcuts are missing from the Start Menu thus making them unable to run any of these apps.

Issues with your Microsoft account can also lead to various problems, one of them being There are problems with your account Office error.

How do I fix Microsoft Office not opening?

In this article

• Why is my Office 365 not opening?
• How do I fix Microsoft Office not opening?
• 1. Use Task Manager
• 2. Go to the source
• 3. Use Safe Mode
• 4. Use a Microsoft Office alternative
• 5. Repair or Reinstall
• 6. Install Windows updates
• 7. Uninstall Windows updates
• 8. Disable Add-Ins
• 9. Make sure Office is activated
• 10. Remove Word Registry Keys
• 11. Remove old printer drivers

1. Use Task Manager

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

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

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

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

2. Go to the source

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

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

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

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

3. Use Safe Mode

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

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

For example, if you wish to open Microsoft Excel in Safe Mode, type in excel /safe.

5. Repair or Reinstall

1. Press the Windows key and type apps in the search box, then click the Apps & features result.

2. Here, type office inside the search bar, then click the Microsoft Office result.

3. Click on Advanced options.

4. Scroll down, then click the Repair button. By using this option, your app’s data won’t be deleted, but the app’s files will be checked for any damage or corruption.

5. Alternatively, you can use the Reset button in case repairing the app didn’t work. In this case, your app data will be lost as well.

The built-in Reset option for Microsoft Office will uninstall and reinstall the application, thus fixing the Microsoft Office not opening issue.

You can choose to fully reset the app or merely repair it, thus preserving your app data for later use. Choose the appropriate option according to your needs.

6. Install Windows updates

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

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

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

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

If you’re having issues opening the Setting app, take a look at this article to solve the issue.

7. Uninstall Windows updates

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

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

8. Disable Add-Ins

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

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

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

Read more about this topic

• FIX: Microsoft Publisher won’t open on Windows 10
• The file couldn’t open in Protected View [Excel, Word]
• Outlook keeps asking for your password? Here’s the fix

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

9. Make sure Office is activated

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

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

10. Remove Word Registry Keys

1. Go to Search, type regedit, and open Registry Editor.
2. Navigate to one of the following paths:
   • Word 2002: HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice10.0WordData
   • Microsoft Word 2003: HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice11.0WordData
   • Word 2007: HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice12.0WordData
   • Word 2010: HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice14.0WordData
   • Microsoft Word 2013: HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice15.0Word
   • Word 2016: HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice16.0Word
3. Now, just click on the Data key, and delete it.
4. Restart your computer.

If you specifically have problems with opening Word, we’ll try to delete some registry keys. Hopefully, the program will work after that.

11. Remove old printer drivers

And finally, some users have also reported that having old printer drivers installed on your Windows 10 PC prevents Microsoft Office from working. You have to remove your old printer drivers and install up-to-date ones.

Alternatively, you can use dedicated uninstaller software to automatically remove old printer drivers from your PC.

Third-party uninstaller software can scan your PC for any leftover files related to your specific app and permanently remove them.

After you finish removing your old drivers, check to see if the problem persists.

That’s about it. We certainly hope at least one of these solutions helped you resolve the problem with Microsoft Office.

Keep in mind that this problem mainly occurs with Microsoft Word. However, we’ve detailed solutions that apply to all Office programs, nevertheless:

• Microsoft Word not opening
  • There are times when trying to open any Word document leads to the same result: you just cannot get passed the opening blue box.
• Word documents not opening
  • Users often complain that double-clicking a Word document (.doc or .docx) is useless. They cannot open a Word file or the file icon is blank.
• Microsoft Office won’t open on Windows 10
  • Even more, you may face the unfortunate situation of having Office completely unable to open. Apply the above solutions and confirm the one that’s successful in your case.

If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, just let us know in the comments down below.

What to Do When Microsoft Word Files Won’t Open

How to recover your files and keep working

Updated on September 17, 2020

Occasionally, Windows files get damaged or corrupted. This makes it difficult to open these files in Microsoft Word. If this happens to you, the below guide can help you recover the files and continue working.

Instructions in this article apply to Word for Microsoft 365, Word 2019, Word 2016, Word 2013, Word 2010, and Word 2007.

How to Repair Microsoft Word File Associations

Windows file associations can change inadvertently. Follow these steps to fix the issue:

1. Open Windows File Explorer, navigate to the folder that contains the file, then right-click the file.

2. Select Open With.

3. Select Microsoft Word from the list of options. The next time you select the file, it will open correctly.

How to Open a Damaged Word File

If your file is damaged, use the Open and Repair feature to recover it.

1. Open Word, select File > Open > Browse, then navigate to the file location. Don’t open the file from the Recent section.

   In Office 2013, select the location, then select Browse. In Office 2010, you don’t need to select Browse.

2. Select the file you want, select the Open drop-down arrow, then choose Open and Repair.

How to Avoid File Corruption

Files typically become corrupted when a computer crashes or loses power. If this happens, open a previous version of the file if you’ve turned on the AutoRecover feature in the Word preferences.

File corruption also occurs when the file is stored on a USB device that’s disconnected while it’s open in Windows. If the device’s activity light is flashing, wait a few seconds after it quits blinking before removing it. If it doesn’t stop, go to the Windows taskbar and select the Safely Remove Hardware icon.

Additionally, in Microsoft 365, store files on OneDrive and use the AutoSave feature as an extra layer of protection.

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Read time 8 minutes

Imagine! You have put all your efforts and time into writing a great speech for an important event or a major meeting with the clients. But just a few minutes before the event, Microsoft Word shows you an error saying, “Word file won’t open.” Yes! This imaginary situation could easily become a reality for anyone, even you.

Microsoft Word continues to be the most used and reliable text processor developed by Microsoft way back in 1983 and includes various additional features like spell checkers, templates, layouts, and image formats. But it can also show an error ‘Word file won’t open.’ This error usually occurs when the user tries to open a Word document (initially created in an older version of the Word application) in the latest version. However, it could also take place due to corruption in the Word document.

Check the ‘Trust Center’ settings-

The Trust Centre settings of the Microsoft programs allow you to customize the privacy and security settings. With these settings, you can share the Word document with other users and even restrict some information. Disable the protected view settings; it can also resolve and open corrupt word DOC and DOCX files to fix the issue where the Word file would not open.

Change “Component Security” Settings

Sometimes Windows security levels prohibit users from opening the Word file. In such a situation, the user needs to set the “Component Security” settings to the default option.
Step 1- Go to the search box and type “dcomcnfg” and press the Enter key.
A new window will appear.
Step 2- Now select “Component Services” from the left pane.
Step 3- In the middle pane, go to the “Computers” and double-click over it to expand.
Step 4- Now go to the “My Computer” icon. Right-click over it and select “Properties.”
Step 5- Lastly, navigate to the “Default Properties” tab.
Step 6- Now, in the “Default Distributed Com Communication Properties,” set the “Default Authentication Level” to the Default option from the dropdown menu.
Step 7- Also set the “Impersonation level” from the to “Identify” from the Default impersonation level
Step 8- Finally, click the “Ok” button.

Utilize the ‘Open and Repair’ feature-

There is a chance that the Word file is damaged which is preventing it from opening in its usual way. But the ‘Open and Repair’ command in Word might be able to repair and recover the Word file. This feature can also Solved – A File Error has occurred in MS Word.

Convert Word file to a new format-

One of the reasons behind the issue ‘Word file won’t open’ could be the format of the document. The format could not be well compatible with a few elements of the Word file. In this case, converting the Word file to a different format could open prospects for the latest and additional features.

Change the Word file into a new format using this procedure-

Insert the document into a new one-

Any file can be inserted into a new Word document. The file that won’t open can be easily inserted into a new document, and it becomes part of it which can resolve the not opening issue. However, inserting a document leads to increasing the file size of the new Word document.
To insert the file, follow these steps-

Repair Word files using a professional approach-

If none of the methods help you to fix the ‘Word file won’t open issue, it can be concluded that the document has been severely corrupted. Repairing a corrupted file without losing any information is a critical task that needs a professional tool. Kernel for Word Repair is one such tool that can flawlessly complete the task in a jiffy. It has the ability to recover any Word file without any limitation of file size, number of files, and degree of corruption.

Follow these easy steps to repair the Word file-

Conclusion

Microsoft Word can work perfectly but suddenly display an error saying, “Word file won’t open.” However, certainly, there are methods to resolve this issue since it is a commonly used application for any type of work. There exist some ways within the Word application to fix the Word file won’t open error, including changing the Trust Center Settings, using the Open and Repair command and inserting the Word file into a new document. It can also be resolved by converting it into a new Word document format. But there is a high possibility that the Word file has gone completely corrupt. In such a situation, using a premium tool like this tool is recommended.