Best Fixes For Microsoft Word Has Stopped Working On PC [MiniTool Tips]

Oops, the System Says Microsoft Word Has Stopped Working

You'll be happy to use the Microsoft Word program when everything works fine. However, the calm will be broken as soon as something went wrong and affect the using of Microsoft Word. Well, Microsoft Word has stopped working is a popular error that has bothered millions of Microsoft Office users.

Error Messages of Microsoft Word Not Working

When you’re trying to open a Microsoft Word document or when you're in the middle of using it, you may see a prompt window with one of the following error messages:

• Microsoft Word has stopped working. A problem caused the program to stop working correctly. Windows will close the program and notify you if a solution is available.
• Microsoft Word has stopped working. There’s a problem caused the program stopped work properly. Windows will close the program, and notify you when there’s a solution available.
• Microsoft Word has stopped working. A problem caused the program to stop working correctly. Please close the program. (Close the program/Debug the program.)
• Microsoft Word has stopped working. Windows is checking for a solution to the problem…
• Microsoft Word has stopped working. Windows can try to recover your information. Close the program.
• Microsoft Word has stopped working. Windows can try to recover your information and restart the program. Restart the program.
• Microsoft (Office) Word has stopped working. Windows can check online for a solution to the problem (and try to recover your information). Check online for a solution and close the program/Close the program/Debug the program.

The Word document not opening/working error could occur when you’re using Word 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, or 2007. Most people reported their Microsoft Word is not opening while they encounter the error message while there are still few people who said their Word is not responding when they’re working with it.

Microsoft Word Won't Open On Windows & Mac: How To Fix It?

In the next part, I’ll show several useful solutions to help them fix the Microsoft Word stopped working issue.

How to fix There is not enough memory or disk space error in Word & Excel?

Microsoft Word Has Stopped Working Windows 10, How to Fix

#Fix 1: End Microsoft Word & Restart

It’s reasonable that the Microsoft Word stops working on your PC when there is a conflict or improper change. In this case, you should try to force quit the Microsoft Word and restart it.

1. Open the Windows Task Manager by pressing Ctrl + Alt + Delete & selecting Task Manager.
2. Make sure the Processes tab is checked.
3. Find the Apps area and locate the Microsoft Word process.
4. Right click on Microsoft Word to bring up its context menu.
5. Choose End task from the menu and wait a second.

FYI: If you lose the Word content you want, please click here to learn different ways to recover unsaved Word documents (including using AutoSave feature).

#Fix 2: Recover Lost/Deleted Word Document

Please don’t worry if you have lost the Word file with the important information you need. Let MiniTool Power Data Recovery help you recover Word files in only 5 simple steps.

Step 1: download and install MiniTool Power Data Recovery. Download the professional recovery software from a reliable link and double click on the setup program to install it on your PC.

Free Download

Step 2: launch the file recovery software for Windows 10. Make sure the This PC icon is selected in the left panel and the Logical Drives tab is selected in the right panel (you should shift to the Devices tab if the drive used to keep your Word files doesn't exist now).

Step 3: you should select the drive that contains lost Word document to scan in the following ways.

• Navigate to the target drive from the partition list and click on the Scan button appeared on it.
• Locate the target drive and double click on it to start the scan directly.

Step 4: wait for the scan. It may last for a few minutes, several hours, or even longer based on the actual situation. Browse the found Word documents and check the ones you need.

The Filter, Find, and Preview feature will be able to help you find your needed files more easily, accelerating the process.

Step 5: click on the Save button located in the bottom right corner to bring up a directory selection window. Please choose another drive to store the recovered Word document for the sake of avoiding data overwriting and click on the OK button to confirm this operation.

Now, you just need to wait for the completion of the recovery. When you see a window popping ups in software and informing you that the selected files have been saved to the target place, you can go to take a look at the recovered documents.

• If you're satisfied with the recovery, please close the software.
• If you still have other files to recover, please choose them from the recovery result in step 4 or do a scan on another drive again and repeat step 4 and step 5.

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#Fix 3: Disable Problematic Word Add-ins

Many users would ask - why is my Microsoft Office not working. In fact, there are many reasons that can lead to Microsoft Office has stopped working. For instance, the corruption of add-ins is a popular cause of Microsoft Word not working. In that case, you should disable the add-in that went wrong.

1. Press Start + R on the keyboard to open the Run dialog box.
2. Type winword.exe /a into the textbox of Run window.
3. Click on the OK button below to open Word without loading the add-ins.
4. Click on the Yes button in the pop-up window which asks you whether you want to start Word in Safe Mode.
5. Click on the File tab (in the upper left corner) in the opening Word.
6. Select Options from the drop-down list.
7. Now, Word Options window will show up; please select Add-ins from the left sidebar.
8. Look through the Add-ins from the right pane and select the one that may cause your Word to crash.
9. Select Word Add-ins from the list after clicking on the arrow button behind Manage.
10. Click on the Go button at the bottom to manage the Add-in.
11. Uncheck one or more Add-ins that you suspect should be responsible for Microsoft Office not working.
12. Click on the OK button on your right.
13. Close Word and restart it.

#Fix 4: Repair Office 2016/2013/2010/2007

The Microsoft Office itself has provided you with the feature to repair the program when any problems occur.

1. Click on the Start button in the lower left corner, expand the Windows System folder, and choose Control Panel. (You can also open it through Windows search feature.)
2. Choose Programs if you view by Category and click Programs and Features next. (You can click on the Programs and Features option directly if you view by Small/Large icons.)
3. Browse the programs list and select Microsoft Office; then, click on the Change button. (You can also right click on Microsoft and choose Change from the context menu.)
4. Choose Yes in the User Account Control window appears on your screen.
5. Check Repair and click on the Continue button located at the bottom.
6. Office will start repairing the programs and features for you automatically. Just wait for the process to complete; it may take a while.
7. Restart your computer.

If you are using Office 2019/2016 or Office 365, you can also choose Online Repair (it will take a longer time than Quick Repair) to perform a complete repair.

#Fix 5: Check the Activation Status of Office

If your Microsoft Office Suite is not activated properly, you may also come across Microsoft Word stopped working issue. In that case, you need to re-activate it with a genuine serial key.

How to check the status in Office 2013 and newer versions:

1. Open any of the Word documents on your PC.
2. Click File from the menu bar and choose Account from the submenu.
3. Look at the Product Information section in the right pane.
4. Check the program's activation status under it.
5. If it says Product Activated, it means your Microsoft Office has been activated with a valid license; if not, please reactivate it properly.

How to check the status in Office 2010 and older versions:

1. Open an Office file (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.).
2. Click File at the upper left and choose Help.
3. Look for the Activate Product Key button in the right pane and click it.
4. If you can’t see this button, it means your Microsoft Office has been activated successfully.

#Fix 6: Install the Latest Updates

Since the old Windows version or Office version will lead to Word stops working and crashes, you should check for the latest updates for both.

Step 1: check for the latest Windows update in Windows 10.

1. Right click on the Start button in the lower left corner of the PC screen.
2. Choose Settings from the context menu.
3. Scroll to the bottom to select Update & Security.
4. Windows Update will be selected in the left sidebar by default. Now, click on the Check for updates button in the right pane.
5. Wait for the checking process and click on the Install Now button if any new update is found.
6. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the update process.

Step 2: check for the latest Microsoft Office update in Office 2013 and newer versions.

1. Open a Word document (or Excel, PowerPoint).
2. Find File from the menu bar and click on it.
3. Select Account from the submenu and look for Product Information on the right side.
4. Expand Update Options to choose Update Now.
5. Wait for the checking process and follow the instructions to complete the update.
6. The You're up to date window will pop up to tell you that the update is finished.

#Fix 7: Insert the Not Working Word Document into A New File

1. Right click on the blank area on desktop (make sure the Microsoft Office is installed properly on your PC).
2. Navigate to the New option in the context menu and choose Microsoft Word Document.
3. Give it a name and double click on the new document to open it.
4. Select Insert from the menu bar and find the Text section from the submenu.
5. Click on the arrow next to Object to see the drop-down options. (If you can’t find Object, please click the arrow next to Text to expand it.)
6. Choose Text from File and a dialog box will appear.
7. Select the problematic document and click on the Insert button at the bottom.
8. Check the information and click File in the menu bar.
9. Choose Save As and give it a name.
10. Click on the Save button to complete.

#Fix 8: Remove the Old Printer Driver

1. Right click on the Start button in the lower left corner.
2. Choose Device Manager from the Start menu.
3. Go to find your printer and right click on it.
4. Choose Uninstall device from the menu.
5. Click OK and restart your computer.

You can also update the old printer driver: repeat step 1 to step 3 -> choose Update driver -> select Search automatically for updated driver software -> follow updating instructions -> restart PC.

Besides, you can try to change the default printer to fix when Microsoft Word stopped working.

#Fix 9: Delete the Word Data Registry Key

1. Type regedit into the search box and press Enter to open Registry Editor.
2. Navigate to this path to locate Word options key if you’re using Word 2010: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\14.0\Word\Data.
3. Right click on the Data subkey to choose Delete.
4. Restart Microsoft Office Word.

Other Word options key paths:

• Word 2002: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft \Office\10.0\Word\Data
• Word 2003: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\ Office\11.0\Word\Data
• Word 2007: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\ Office\12.0\Word\Data
• Word 2013: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\15.0\Word
• Word 2016: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Word

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#Fix 10: Replace the Normal.dot Global Template File

1. Close all Office programs.
2. Type cmd into the search box.
3. Right click on Command Prompt to run it as administrator.
4. Type ren %userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates\OldNormal.dotm Normal.dotm and hit Enter.
5. Wait for the command to complete and close this tool.
6. Restart Microsoft Word.

Click to see how Command Prompt can help you recover lost data.

Other methods you may try when finding Microsoft Word not working:

• Boot Windows into Safe Mode.
• Create a new Windows profile.
• Set Word to Power Saving mode.
• Remove recently installed software.
• Check the graphics card driver.
• Disable hardware acceleration.
• Uninstall the Microsoft Office completely and reinstall it.

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Verdict

Most users said they have ever had the experience: 1. when they try to open a Word document, they failed; 2. when they are working on a Word document, it stops working suddenly. Both could lead to important data loss.

In view of this, I summarized the common error messages you may see when Microsoft Word has stopped working and provided over 10 useful ways to fix it. You should read them carefully if you’re one of the victims of Microsoft Word not opening/working issue.