A family of Microsoft word processing software products for creating web, email, and print documents.
The built-in Repair Now prompt often does not fix this. Use a full Office repair instead.
- Restart the PC and try Word again.
- If Word still does not open, run an Office repair:
- Windows 11: Right-click Start > Installed apps
- Windows 10: Right-click Start > Apps and Features
- Select Microsoft 365 or Office > Modify
- In the repair window:
- For Click-to-run, select Online Repair > Repair
- For MSI-based installs, select Repair > Continue
Note: Online Repair is more thorough than Quick Repair, but it repairs the entire Office suite, not just Word.
If Word still fails after that, test whether the problem is caused by an add-in:
- Press Windows + R.
- Type
winword /safeand press Enter. - If Word opens in Safe Mode, go to File > Options > Add-Ins.
- In Manage, select the add-in type and choose Go.
- Clear one add-in, select OK, then restart Word normally.
- Repeat one add-in at a time until the faulty add-in is found.
Older add-ins known to cause problems include ABBYY FineReader and Dragon Naturally Speaking.
If Word does not open in Safe Mode, the issue is not related to add-ins. In that case, repair Office again if needed, and make sure Windows is fully updated:
- Windows 11: Start > search Settings > Windows Update > Check for updates
- Windows 10: Start > Settings > Update & security > Windows Update > Check online for updates from Microsoft Update
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