Summary
When Microsoft Office Word suddenly stops working or fails to open a document on Windows 10/8/7, don't worry. You can follow fixes on this page to resolve Microsoft Word has stopped working issue and use EaseUS file recovery software to bring the lost Word files back with ease.
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The solutions for Microsoft Office Word has stopped working and Word file recovery can also be applied to fix similar issues on other Office apps, such as Excel, PowerPoint, etc.
Jan 30, 2017 Mac Office: How to Use Microsoft Word - The Basics, Tricks and Tips 2018 - Duration: 15:41. How To Do Anything TV 54,965 views. Now, open the Microsoft folder (in Preferences), and drag com.microsoft.Word.prefs.plist to the desktop. Note If you have Service Pack 2 installed, open Application Support Microsoft instead of Preferences Microsoft. Do you see the error? Quit Word, and drag one of the files back to its default location and test again. Feb 25, 2020 Summary. When Microsoft Office Word suddenly stops working or fails to open a document on Windows 10/8/7, don't worry. You can follow fixes on this page to resolve Microsoft Word has stopped working issue and use EaseUS file recovery software to.
| Workable Solutions | Step-by-step Troubleshooting |
|---|---|
| Method 1. Restore with Software | Run EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard > Choose the Word file location > Scan all lost data..Full steps |
| Method 2. Restore Unsaved Word File | For Windows, check AutoRecover For Mac, check Temporary Folder Then restore unsaved Word..Full steps |
Microsoft Word Has Stopped Working 2016/2013/2010/2007
With the increasing fame of Microsoft Office, its applications like Word have gained worldwide users' favor. Microsoft has built a powerful support team to help users resolve all kinds of issues while using Office applications.
'Microsoft Office Word just stops working' is one of the top concerned questions among Word users.
Usually, when the 'stopped working' error shows up, you have two available options to undertake: checking online for a solution or closing and restarting the program for a try.
If you are facing this error in Microsoft Word 2016, 2013, 2010 or 2007, read on and check the provided solutions below to get rid of this issue with ease.
Part 1. Fix 'Microsoft Word Has Stopped Working' Error in Windows 10/8/7
To find the right solutions to remove this error on Windows PC, it's highly necessary to know the reasons that cause your Word malfunction. Here are the main reasons:
- Office edition isn't compatible with the current OS on your PC.
- Word is out of date.
- The device driver is out of date.
- Word Add-in issue.
- Word file issue.
Note: Once Word suddenly stops working, wait for the program to process firstly and try your best to save the editing document.
If you've waited for a very long period, nothing happens. Click 'Close the program' on the pop-up window in Word. Let's learn a few tips to get rid of the error immediately!
3 Quick Fixes
Applies to: Resolve Microsoft Word application gets stuck, showing blank or stuck on startup.
# 1. Use Task Manager to End Task of Running Microsoft Word
Word Not Responding On Mac
Step 1. Press Ctrl+T+Del keys to bring up Task Manager.
Step 2. In the Process tab, find Microsoft Word and select to end its task.
After this, you can restart to check if the Word work or not.
# 2. Boot Windows into Safe Mode
Step 1. Reboot PC, on the sign-in screen, hold the Shift key and click 'Power', select 'Restart'.
Step 2. You'll be presented with an options screen, select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart.
Step 3. Press F4 when the computer is booting up and then it will start in Safe Mode.
Step 4. Run Microsoft Office Word to check if it can work smoothly or not.
# 3. Check if Office Is Activated
Step 1. Open a new Word file, click 'File' > 'Account'.
Step 2. Check the Product Information at the right pane, see if your Word is activated or not.
If not, re-activate your Microsoft Office Word with a genuine serial key.
After this, you should be able to use Word to continue with your work again.
3 Fixes for Microsoft Office Word Keeps Crashing, Not Working
Applies to: Fix MS Office Word repeatedly crashes, won't start-up, isn't working issues.
If the Word keeps crashing when you try to open a document on your PC, relax. Here, you'll find 3 reliable methods that will help you fix this issue, making your Word work again.
Fix 1. Repair Office Installation
According to some experienced users, when Microsoft Office contains errors, it would prevent users from opening a Word or edit any files.
The application would directly shut down no matter you want to create a new document or continue editing a file. The direct solution towards this issue is to repair Office installation with below steps:
Step 1. In Windows 10, 8 or 7, open Control Panel, click 'Programs and Features' and click on 'Microsoft Office'.
Step 2. Locate and select your Microsoft Office, and click 'Change' in the top menu.
Step 3. On the window, click 'Repair' and then 'Continue'.
For Newer versions of Microsoft Office users, you can choose 'Online Repair'or 'Quick Repair' and click 'Repair'.
Step 4. Let the repair finish and restart your computer.
When the repair process finishes, open your Word application to check if the error appears again.
Fix 2. Install Latest Windows Update or Office Update
When your Office version or Windows system is out of date, Microsoft Office may stop working and even crashes. Here are the steps to install the latest updates of Windows or Microsoft Office:
# 1. Install Latest Windows Update
Step 1. Press Windows + I to open Windows Settings.
Step 2. Click 'Update & Security' and select 'Check for updates' under Windows Update.
Step 3. If a new Windows update window pops up, click 'Install Now' and follow the instructions to install the available update.
# 2. Install Microsoft Office Update
For Office 2013 and newer versions:
Step 1. Open an Office application - Excel or Word, click 'File'.
Step 2. Click 'Account' > 'Product Information' > 'Update Options' .
Step3. Click 'Enable Update' and then select 'Update Now'.
Note: If the Enable Update button is not available, it means that the automatic update feature is enabled.
For Office 2010 or older versions:
Step 1. Open an Office application - Excel or Word, click 'File' > 'Help'.
Step 2. Click 'Check for Updates' or 'Install Updates' option.
Follow the instructions to finish the process. After this, you can re-open a Word document or create a new Word file again.
Fix 3. Uninstall and Reinstall MS Office
Note: This fix may cause your activation key invalid after the reinstallation of MS Office. Make sure that your activation key can be used twice before taking the below steps.
Step 1. Keep your MS Office activation key and save it to another secure device.
Step 2. Open Control Panel, click 'Program and Features', then locate and select Microsoft Office.
Step 3. Click 'Uninstall' in the top menu.
Step 4. Re-install Microsoft Office on your PC and activate it with your serial key.
If your old key fails to activate the newly installed MS Office, please contact the Microsoft support team for help: https://support.microsoft.com/contactus.
5 Methods to Resolve 'Word Document Is Not Working' Issue
Applies to: Resolve Word is not working issues, such as Word file won't open, cannot access document content in Word, etc., on Windows 10/8/7.
Method 1. Insert Not Opening/Working Word Document into Another New File
Step 1. Run Microsoft Office Word, and create a blank new file.
Step 2. Click 'Insert' from the top ribbon menu, click 'Text'.
Step 3. Click 'Object' and select ' Text from File'.
Step 4. Select the target Word document which is unopenable or not working, and click 'Insert'.
Step 5. Check the document content and save it as a new file on your PC.
Method 2. Disable Add-ins in MS Word
Step 1. Press Windows + R keys and type: winword.exe /a and hit Enter to open MS Word without plugins.
Step 2. Click 'File' > 'Options' > 'Add-Ins'.
Step 3. Click 'Manage' at the bottom and select COM Add-ins, click 'Go' to uncheck the problematic ones and click 'OK' to confirm.
After this, restart Word to check if the issue has been resolved.
Method 3. Remove or Update Old Printer Drivers
Step 1. Open Device Manager, and locate your printer.
Step 2. Right-click on your printer drivers and select 'Uninstall' or 'Update drivers'.
Step 3. Uninstall or update old printer driver.
- For uninstalling driver - click 'OK' and restart PC.
- For updating driver - click 'Search automatically for updated driver software' and follow the instruction to finish the process, and restart PC. Or, you can download relative driver form your printer website and install it on your PC.
Method 4. Remove or Delete Word Registry Keys
Step 1. Bring up Registry Editor by typing: regedit in the search bar and hit Enter.
Step 2. Click 'Yes' to open Registry and follow the path to locate Word options key: HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice16.0WordOptions.
Step 3. Locate and right-click the key, and select 'Export'.
Step 4. Save the Options key as 'Wddata.reg' and save it on your Desktop.
Step 5. Go back to Registry Editor and locate the Options key, and delete it from the menu.
Step 6. Exit Registry Editor.
After this, restart your Word and check if the problem is resolved.
If the problem still exists, run the Wddata.reg on your Desktop to restore the deleted key.
Method 5. Replace the Normal.dot Global Template File
To do so, you need to close all running Office programs on your PC. Then, follow the steps below to start:
Step 1. Press Windows + X and select 'Command Prompt (Admin)'.
Sign in if the program requires administrator permission.
Step 2. Enter the command below and hit Enter:
Step 3. Wait for the command to finish 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.
Part 2. Recover Lost or Unsaved Files after Fixing Word Stopped Working Error
Another big issue that concerns users the most is the lost or unsaved Word file when Word application stopped working. Only after fixing the Word has stopped working error, can you have the opportunity to open the MS Word application and check out if your document is lost or closed without saving.
To fully resolve this issue, you'll have two solutions to bring your lost Word file back:
Solution 1. Restore Lost Word Document with File Recovery Software
Applies to: Restore Word document (saved on local PC drive) that was lost after MS Office has stopped working.
When the word document gets lost due to Office Word application stopped working or unexpected error, your best choice is to follow solutions listed in Part 1 to repair MS Office Word to work first.
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard will scan your local drive and restore the lost Word document in only 3 simple steps:
Microsoft Word Not Opening Mac
Step 1. Choose the Word file location.
Do you know where you lost Word files? Choose the hard disk drive or a specific folder and click the San button. If it's on a USB flash drive or SD card, take one more step to connect it to your computer.
Step 2. Scan all lost data.
The software will start immediately scanning all lost data on the selected drive, and you'll see more and more data showing up in the scan results. After the scan, use the quickest way to the wanted Word documents by choosing 'Documents' from the drop-down list in 'Filter'.
Step 3. Select Word files and recover.
You're allowed to preview a Word file if you have Microsoft Word application installed on your computer. Finally, select the desired documents and click 'Recover'.
Solution 2. Restore Unsaved Word File
As you know, Microsoft Office has an AutoSave feature that will automatically save a Word file when you're editing. And these temporarily saved files are located in an AutoRecover folder.
When you open the Word file and find out that the closed Word file is lost without saving, you can simply recover the lost unsaved Word document there.
- For a Windows user, check the link to recover unsaved Word documents.
- For a Mac user, check this link to see how to recover unsaved Word document on Mac.
Part 3. Tips to Back Up and Protect Word File
If you are looking for a reliable method to fix 'Word has stopped working' error, solutions included in the above two parts are capable to help you out.
If you prefer a more comprehensive plan to protect your precious Word documents, stay here. Two reliable Word backup tips are available here for you to try:
# 1. Enable Auto-Save Feature in Word
Applies to: Back up and save editing Word document.
Step 1. Open MS Word application and create a new file, click 'File' > 'Option'.
2016-12-7 After installed the Microsoft Office 2016 for mac, I tried to sign in. However, it showed an alert that ' No network connection' like the following screenshot. Actually, I am sure that my network. Download and install or reinstall Office 2016 or Office 2013. Office 2016 Office 2016 for Mac Office. Can I install Office 2016 for Mac and Office for Mac 2011 on the same computer? Such as Word, for the first time. If it doesn't and you see the Microsoft Office Activation Wizard, follow the prompts to activate Office. If you need help. Microsoft office 2016 for mac problems.
Step 2. Click 'Save' and check the below two boxes:
- 'Save AutoRecover information every * munites' (set a time for autosave - every 2 or 5 minutes will be good)
- 'Keep the last autosaved version if I close without saving'
Word Isn't Opening On Mac
Step 3. Click 'OK'to confirm.
# 2. Back Up Saved Word File with File Backup Software
Applies to: Back up saved Word file on your local drive.
Reliable file backup software like EaseUS Todo Backup can help you effectively back up important files including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. on a local drive with ease.
The back up will be a lifesaver to immediately bring your hard word back once you lose it due to unknown reasons.
Download and follow below 3 steps to safely back up your Word file with ease:
- Tip
- You'd better create the backup file on an external disk or on the cloud in case the local backup gets corrupted or destroyed.
Step 1: Launch EaseUS Todo Backup software and then choose 'File Backup', 'Disk/partition Backup' or 'System Backup' for different backup purpose.
Step 2: Choose the system, disk partition, files or apps that you want to back up. Then select a destination where you want to store the backup file.
Step 3: Click 'Proceed' to start the data backup process.
People Also Ask
1. How do I fix Microsoft Word has stopped working?
When MS word has stopped working, you can fix it by repairing Office installation.
Step 1. Open Control Panel, click “Programs and Features' and click on 'Microsoft Office'.
Step 2. Locate and select your Microsoft Office, and click 'Change' in the top menu.
Step 3. On the window, click 'Repair' and then 'Continue'. For Newer versions of Microsoft Office users, you can choose 'Online Repair' or 'Quick Repair' and click 'Repair'.
Step 4. Let the repair finish and restart your computer.
2. Why is my Microsoft Word not opening?
When there are a few corrupted documents, or you have an issue with a Word or 3rd party add-on, your Word maybe not opening.
3. How do you restart Microsoft Word?
Step 1. Go to the Tools Menu, then Customize, then click options.
Step 2. Choose the option for the Reset menu and toolbar usage data. This will put your toolbars back to the original settings. If you would like to reset your settings further, move on to the steps below.
4. Why has my office 365 stopped working?
When Microsoft Office 365, 2016 or 2013 stops working or not opening on your PC, you can also use the Office repair feature to get the problem fixed in Windows 10/8/7: right-click on Office 365, Office 2016 or Office 2013 > Select Change; click Online Repair > click on Repair button.
5. How do I fix Outlook has stopped working?
When you happen to encounter Outlook 2016 Not Responding in Windows 10, you can try to fix by using Outlook recovery software; start Outlook in Safe Mode; install Outlook updates; repair Office program, or repair Outlook data files.
I recently installed Microsoft Office on a Windows machine and everything worked fine for a few days, but all of a sudden when I open Word, I get the following error message:
It then gives me the option to check online for a solution or to close the program.
After this, I could not even open Word anymore! It would simply close down the program. How annoying! Anyway, after doing some research, I finally got the problem fixed.
Depending on your situation, the solution may be different. I will try to post all of them here and hopefully one will work for you.
Method 1 – Repair Office 2016/2013/2010/2007
To perform a repair of Office, go to Start, then Control Panel and click on Programs and Features. Click on the Microsoft Office and click Change.
Click Repair and then click Continue. For newer versions of Office, you might see Online Repair and Quick Repair. Let the repair finish, which could take a while, and then restart your computer.
If you continue to get the “Word has stopped working” message, then keep reading for more possible solutions!
Method 2 – Disable All Add-ins
Sometimes an add-in that gets installed automatically by another program (such as Adobe, etc.), might cause Word to crash. In this case, you can start Word in Safe Mode, which does not load any add-ins.
Simply click on Start and then Run or if you’re using Windows 7, just type the following command into the search box:
In Windows 10, press Windows Key + R. Now click on the Office button and click on Word Options. On newer versions of Office, click on File and then Options.
Click on Add-Ins and then disable all add-ins and try to load Word again normally.
Method 3 – Install Latest Updates
If that didn’t work for you either, then you should try to download and install the latest updates for your version of Office. Sometimes it’s a glitch that is fixed when you install the latest patches and fixes.
In Windows 7, you can go to Automatic Updates from the Control Panel and find the latest updates. You can also visit the Office download center and download service packs for Office, etc.:
Method 4 – Delete the Word Data Registry Key
There is a key in the registry that stores frequently used options in Word. If you delete the key, Word rebuilds it the next time you start Word by using the default settings.
You can delete the Word data key by going to the following location in the registry depending on your version of Word:
- Word 2002: HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoft Office10.0WordData
- Word 2003: HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoft Office11.0WordData
- Word 2007: HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoft Office12.0WordData
- Word 2010: HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice14.0WordData
- Word 2013: HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice15.0Word
- Word 2016: HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice16.0Word
Simply right click on the Data key and choose Delete. Now restart Word and see if the problem has gone away or not.
Method 5 – Remove Older Printer Drivers
Oddly enough, this ended up being the cause of my problem. I had an older print driver installed on my Windows machine and once I removed that driver, Word started working without any problems!
If you are running Windows 10, you might need to download the latest version that is compatible with that operating system.
You can delete individual printer drivers by going into the registry. Note that simply going to Printers and Faxes and deleting a printer there does not delete the printer driver.
Follow Step 3 in my previous post to remove the printer drivers:
Method 6 – Uninstall Recent Software
At this point, you have also think about any software or plugins that you may have installed on your computer. Annoyingly, this problem with Word can be caused by a program that is completely unrelated to Word!
Did you recently install some new hardware? A printer, scanner, label machine, web cam, tablet, etc.? Have you installed any software? If so, uninstall it and see if the problem goes away.
Method 7 – Completely Uninstall and Reinstall Office
If nothing has worked yet, there are not many options left! You can try to perform a full uninstall and then reinstall to see if the problem is fixed. Go to this link first and download the Fix It solution for your version of Office:
Once you run that, go ahead and restart the computer and reinstall your version of Office. If you have found a different solution to this problem, post a comment here and let us know!