MS Word Stopped Working – Quick Fixes

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So MS Word Stopped working. How do we fix this? In this article, we will teach you how to fix MS Word using effective solutions. Read the complete article to learn how!

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Microsoft Word is used by billions (including myself) on a daily basis. In the past, I have encountered a few hiccups with Word but was easily able to fix them by trying out solutions provided online. Here, I have compiled the solutions that have worked for me and presented them in the form of this article.

Microsoft Word has stopped working

Why is my Microsoft Word not working?

There are many reasons that cause damage to your MS Word application and inhibit the working of the application. A few of the reasons that causes MS Word to hang or not to work are listed below-

  1. Damage to MS Office settings or installation – the damage to MS office could be the main cause for Word stopped working and unable to open the Word file.
  2. Problem with device driver – if your device drive is not updated or out of date, it might create a problem in the working of Word document.
  3. Third-party add-ins – Third party add-ins in the Word program may lead to the often freezing of the Word file and doesn’t allow you to work on the file.
  4. Software conflicts – Other software’s conflict with application and leads to the application crash. But you can easily repair the Word document after the software crash by clicking on the given link.
  5. Others: Virus or Malware intrusion, incorrect installation of Word program, abnormal termination of Word, etc. can stop your MS Word from working.

If you are now aware of why MS Word doesn’t respond or work, you can fix the issue by referring to the methods in the next section.

How to Fix the Error Microsoft Word Has Stopped Working?

To fix the error Microsoft Word stopped working, follow each of the below mentioned methods carefully and perform one after the other for best results.

Basic Checks to Fix MS Word Not Working:

  • Try to end the running Word application using the Task Manager. Firstly, Press Ctrl+T+Del keys to get Task Manager.  Then, go to the Process tab and find Microsoft Word >> select end its task option
  • Check whether your operating system and Office is up to date. If your Office version or Windows system is out of date, Microsoft Office may stop working and even crashes. Install the latest Windows Update or Office Update.

Method 1: Open Outlook in Safe Mode And Disable Add-ins

To boot your Windows into Safe mode and make your Word work again, follow the steps given below:

1: Use the Windows + R shortcut to open Run Command.

2: Type In winword /safe and click on OK. This will attempt to open Word without activating the add-ins.

open-outlook-in-safe-mode

3: If Word does open, it means that the add-ins cause your Word application to malfunction. Disabling them should do the trick.

4: To disable add-ins, Access the File Menu, click on Options, and access the Add-Ins Tab.

5: Next to Manage:, select COM Add-ins and click on Go.

6: Uncheck all the add-ins and click on Ok.

7: Verify the Results.

Method 2:  Repair Office installation

If the Word document doesn’t work in Safe mode, try repairing your Office installation.

1: Open Windows Settings, click on Apps and select Installed Apps.

repair-microsoft-office-suite

2: Locate Microsoft Office, click on the 3 dots next to it and choose Modify.

modify-microsoft-office

3: Select the Quick Repair option.

repair-microsoft-word-when-ms-word-stopped-working

 

Using the Quick Repair option will help you fix various Word errors and it doesn’t even  take much of your time. If by any means, you end up losing your Word documents on your PC, do not worry, you can easily get back your Word files using a temporary file.

Method 4: Replace the Normal.dot Global Template File

To fix the error MS Word has stopped working, you need to close all running MS Office programs on your PC. You can make use of the following repair method across any of the office applications such as Word, or Excel. Follow the steps below to start:

1: Press Windows + X >> select Command Prompt

Sign in if the program requires administrator permission.

2: Enter the command below and hit Enter:

ren %userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates\OldNormal.dotm Normal.dotm

3: Wait for the command to complete and exit Command Prompt.

After this, restart your Word application to check if you can use it to edit documents or create new files again.

By performing any of the above mentioned methods, you’ll be able to fix the error. After fixing the error, if any of your documents gets corrupted or damaged you can make use of the Word Document Repair tool, which easily fixes the issues on Word document and gets back your file without any harm. Click on the download button now and fix your Word document in 3 clicks.

You can make use of this tool to repair any versions of Word document. That includes the latest 2019 version and on any Windows platform (Windows 11/10 and older versions).

MS Word Stopped Working: Repair Corrupt Word Document

To fix the corruption or damage in Word document, Download and install the SFWare Repair Word Document Software and launch the application. Follow the below given instruction-

Step 1:  Select corrupted or damaged Word documents (DOC or DOCX) file using Browse option
MS Word Document Repair

Step 2: Next, click on the Repair button to start repairing process

Word document Repairing in process

Step 3: Once the repairing process completes, you can view and validate the repaired word files using Preview option

If you are satisfied with the results, provide the desired location and Save the file.

Conclusion

Microsoft Office Word stops working and this is one of the most common errors. It can be easily fixed using all the methods mentioned above to fix the error.

If you were able to fix the error using the methods mentioned in the article, do share your thoughts in the comment section below.

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