Cannot open some Office files after upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 10

Anonymous
2015-08-06T07:01:10+00:00

Hi everyone,

This is Bryan from the Office team.  We are extremely sorry to learn that some of you are running into an issue with Office after upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 10 where some of your Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents are failing to open with various error messages, such as:

  • Word: “Word experienced an error trying to open the file”
  • Excel: “This file is corrupt and cannot be opened”
  • PowerPoint:
    • “The application was unable to start correctly"
    • “PowerPoint found a problem with <filename>"
    • “Sorry, PowerPoint can’t read <filename>"

[UPDATE - 8/25/2015]

On Monday, a fix went out to all Office 2013 Click-to-Run users that fixed the Protected View issue that was preventing some files from opening.  For those users, the Office applications would launch and even creating new documents worked fine; however, opening some files resulted in various error messages like above.  If you haven't already been prompted to install the August update, you can manually trigger by going into an Office application like Word, then select File > Account > Update Options > Update Now.

There are other known issues that could also cause similar error messages, but those are not related to the specific Protected View issue.  Teams are working hard to determine the root cause and resolve those issues.  For instance, if you are running Windows 10 and Office is running in Windows compatibility mode for a prior version, you likely will also experience issues.

We apologize for the inconvenience caused due to this issue!

Sincerely,

Bryan

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For home | Windows

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  1. Anonymous
    2015-08-30T10:44:33+00:00

    Hi everyone,

    This is Bryan from the Office team.  We are extremely sorry to learn that some of you are running into an issue with Office after upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 10 where some of your Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents are failing to open with various error messages, such as:

    • Word: “Word experienced an error trying to open the file”
    • Excel: “This file is corrupt and cannot be opened”
    • PowerPoint:
      • “The application was unable to start correctly"
      • “PowerPoint found a problem with <filename>"
      • “Sorry, PowerPoint can’t read <filename>"

    [UPDATE - 8/25/2015]

    On Monday, a fix went out to all Office 2013 Click-to-Run users that fixed the Protected View issue that was preventing some files from opening.  For those users, the Office applications would launch and even creating new documents worked fine; however, opening some files resulted in various error messages like above.  If you haven't already been prompted to install the August update, you can manually trigger by going into an Office application like Word, then select File > Account > Update Options > Update Now.

    There are other known issues that could also cause similar error messages, but those are not related to the specific Protected View issue.  Teams are working hard to determine the root cause and resolve those issues.  For instance, if you are running Windows 10 and Office is running in Windows compatibility mode for a prior version, you likely will also experience issues.

    We apologize for the inconvenience caused due to this issue!

    Sincerely,

    Bryan

       When I try to open Office applications with Outertech Linkman Pro, I get a message saying:

    We're sorry, but (Office Application) has run into an error that is preventing it from working correctly. (Office Application) will have to be closed as a result.

       Why does this happen with Linkman, but not when I use The shortcuts in my folder?

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  2. Anonymous
    2015-08-31T16:01:15+00:00

    Have you gone back to your original Windows os? It worked for me so I will wait until they fix it to upgrade again. Everyday I get a pop up message telling me to upgrade for free. I have a year from July 29 to upgrade free

    This will not work for me because I went into Programs  and it said to uninstall and then reinstall. But after I uninstalled my Office 2013 Pro Plus, I cannot reinstall. It will not take my code. I would really like someone from Microsoft to tell me how to reinstall. If they say I cannot, that means I will never have my Office 2013 again. That is not right! I just bought and installed it August 2014! Hey Microsoft.....Help!!!!!

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  3. Anonymous
    2015-08-31T16:04:39+00:00

    This will not help me as I uninstalled my Office and it will not allow me to reinstall. Would someone from Microsoft answer and tell me if there is any way to get the code to work.Am I just screwed. Why do I have to keep following these threads if you know the answer????

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  4. Anonymous
    2015-08-31T16:12:29+00:00

    I think you are screwed just like I am.

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  5. Anonymous
    2015-08-31T16:42:21+00:00

    What do you do when your subscription becomes expired

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