Word, Excel, and PPT will not open. Error message comes up

To resolve error 0xC0000142 when starting Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on Windows, follow these steps in order:

1. Update Office
2. In the Windows taskbar search box, type Task Scheduler and open it.
3. In the left pane, expand Task Scheduler Library > Microsoft > Office.
4. In the middle pane, locate Office Automatic Updates 2.0.
5. Right-click it and select Run to force an Office update.
6. When it completes, try opening Word/Excel/PowerPoint again.
7. Repair Office from Apps & Features / Control Panel

On Windows 10 or 11:

1. Right-click the Start button.
2. Select Installed apps (Windows 11) or Apps and Features (Windows 10).
3. Find the Microsoft Office/Microsoft 365 product, select it, then choose Modify (or the three dots (…) then Modify).
4. When asked how to repair:
   • For Click-to-Run installations: choose Online Repair > Repair (more thorough than Quick Repair).
   • For MSI-based installations: choose Repair > Continue.
5. Follow the on-screen instructions and then test Word/Excel/PowerPoint.

On Windows 7/8/8.1 (if applicable):

1. Open Control Panel.
2. Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.
3. Select the Office product and choose Change.
4. Then:
   • Click-to-Run: select Online Repair > Repair.
   • MSI-based: select Repair > Continue.
5. Complete the repair and test the apps.
6. Make sure Windows is fully updated
7. Install the latest Windows updates as described in Install Windows Update.
8. Restart the PC and try opening Office apps again.
9. If the problem persists, uninstall and reinstall Office
10. Use the Microsoft 365/Office uninstall troubleshooter:
    • Run the tool from the Uninstall button (aka.ms/SaRA-officeUninstallFromPC) as described in the article.
11. Follow the prompts and restart the computer when asked.
12. Reinstall Office using the steps for the correct version (Microsoft 365, Office 2024, 2021, 2019, or 2016) from the linked installation articles in the same document.
13. Open Word/Excel/PowerPoint and confirm they start correctly.

Note: The uninstall troubleshooter requires Windows 10 or later and cannot uninstall Office 2024; if it does not completely remove Office, use the manual uninstall steps referenced in the same article.

References:

• Error 0xC0000142 when you start an Office application
• word will not open "Would you like to repair now? - Microsoft Q&A
• How to fix my MS Word? - Microsoft Q&A
• How can I get office 365 to work? - Microsoft Q&A
• Microsoft Office apps for Mac quit unexpectedly - Microsoft Q&A
• My Microsoft365 Office Package no longer works with my iPad Pro - Microsoft Q&A