You just started working on your project and suddenly Microsoft Office stops working. Disheartening, isn’t it? For some reason or the other, your system is unable to support the current version of MS Office. Since MS Office Suite is an all-encompassing software for all your needs, you need it to work. While MS Word is an extremely useful word processing software, MS Excel dominates the spreadsheet program domain. PowerPoint is used for educational & business purposes alike. Hence, it would be worrisome if MS Office won’t open on your desktop/laptop. Today, we will help you fix Microsoft Office not opening on Windows 10 issue.
How to Fix Microsoft Office Not Opening on Windows 10 Issue
Let us first understand why MS Office won’t open on your system.
- Outdated Version of MS Office –With regular updates in Windows 10, it is imperative that you use the updated version of MS Office too because an outdated application is bound to malfunction with a new-gen operating system.
- Incorrect System Settings – If the system settings are not optimum for opening or closing MS Office, then the program is meant to face issues.
- Unnecessary Add-ins – You may be having multiple Add-ins on your interface. Often, these Add-ins can cause the MS Office to slow down, crash, or not open at all.
- Incompatible Windows Update – If your Windows operating system is incompatible or outdated with relevance to the application, then you may face this issue.
Method 1: Open MS Office From Installation Location
It’s possible that the Desktop shortcut of MS Office is not functioning properly. Owing to this Microsoft Office won’t open. Hence, to bypass it, you can try to open the application from its source file, as explained below:
Note: MS Word is used as an example here.
1. Right-click on app Shortcut and select Properties, as shown.
2. Switch to the Details tab in the Properties window.
3. Locate the source of the application through the Folder Path.
4. Now, navigate to the source location and Run the application from there.
Method 2: Run MS Office Apps in Safe Mode
If Microsoft Office not opening in normal mode, then you can try to open it in Safe mode. It is a toned-down version of the application, that may help resolve this issue. To run MS Office in safe mode, follow the given steps:
1. Press Window + R keys simultaneously to launch the Run dialog box.
2. Type the name of the application and add /safe. Then, click on OK.
Note: There should be space between app name & /safe.
For example: excel /safe
3. This will automatically open the desired app in Safe Mode.
Also Read: How to Start Outlook in Safe Mode
Method 3: Use Repair Wizard
The particular application of MS Office may be missing some components, or there could be problems in the Registry files thereby, causing Microsoft Office not opening issue on Windows 10. To fix the same, run the Repair Wizard, as follows:
1. Open Windows search bar, type and launch Control Panel, as illustrated below.
2. Set View by > Category and click on Uninstall a program option under Programs, as shown highlighted.
3. Right-click on the Microsoft Office program and select Change.
Note: Here we have shown Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2016 as an example.
4. Choose the Repair option and click on Continue.
5. Follow the on-screen Repair Wizard to complete the process.
Method 4: Restart MS Office Processes
Sometimes, the Microsoft Office services do not respond when the particular application you want to use is already running in the background. This is a common glitch that many people complained of. However, checking and restarting such tasks can prove to be helpful.
1. Launch Task Manager by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys simultaneously.
2. Now, right-click on the MS Office process, and select Go to details option, as shown.
Note: Microsoft Word is used as an example.
3. If you see WINWORD.EXE process running then, it means that the app is already open in the background. Here, click on End task as shown.
4. Relaunch the said program and continue working.
Also Read: 3 Ways To Kill A Process In Windows 10
Method 5: Update MS Office
With continuous updates of Windows, old versions of MS Office are becoming incompatible. Hence, revamping MS Office services can help to fix Microsoft Office not opening on Windows 10 problem.
1. Open the desired application, for example, MS Word.
2. Click on File on the top-left corner of the screen, as depicted.
3. From the given menu, select Account.
4. Here, click on Update Options next to Office Updates.
5. Now, click on Update Now, as depicted.
6. Follow the Update Wizard.
7. Do the same for other MS Office Suite apps too.
Method 6: Update Windows
Updating your operating system can also help to fix Microsoft Office won’t open issue.
1. Search Check for Updates in Windows search bar and click on Open.
2. Here, click on Check for Updates in the right panel, as shown.
3A. If there are new updates for your Windows Operating system, then download and install the same.
3B. If there is no update available, the following message will appear: You’re up to date
Also Read: How to Transfer Microsoft Office to a New Computer?
Method 7: Disable Add-ins
Add-ins are essentially small tools that we can add to our MS Office application. Each application will have different Add-ins. Sometimes, these add-ins overburden MS Office, leading to Microsoft Office not opening on Windows 10 issue. Thus, removing or temporarily disabling them should definitely help.
1. Open the desired application, in this case, MS Word and click on File.
2. Select Options, as shown.
3. Next, click on Add-ins. Select COM Add-ins in the Manage drop-down menu. Then click Go…
4. Here, untick all the Add-ins that you have installed, and click OK.
Note: If you do not use such add-ins, we suggest that you click on Remove button to remove it permanently.
5. Restart the application and check if it opens & works properly.
Method 8: Reinstall MS Office
If none of the above-mentioned methods worked for you, then try uninstalling MS Office and then, install it again.
Note: Implement this method only if you have the required MS Office Installation Disk or Product Code.
1. Navigate to Control Panel > Uninstall a program, using Steps 1-2 of Method 3.
2. Right-click on Microsoft Office program and select Uninstall.
Note: Here, we have shown Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2016 as an example.
3. Follow the instructions given by Uninstall Wizard.
4A. Click here to buy and install Microsoft Office 365 through the official website.
4B. Or, use MS Office Installation CD.
5. Follow the Installation Wizard to complete the process.
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We have grown used to working on MS Office so much so that it has become an integral part of our work culture. Even when one of the applications starts to malfunction, our whole work balance gets disturbed. Hence, we have brought the best solutions to help you fix Microsoft Office not opening on Windows 10 issue. If you have any feedback or queries, kindly provide the same in the comments section below.
