A family of Microsoft spreadsheet software with tools for analyzing, charting, and communicating data.
Try these steps in order:
- Update Office first
- Open any Office app.
- Go to File > Account > Update Options > Update Now.
- If Update Now is not visible, select Enable Updates first.
- Start Excel in Safe Mode
- Press Windows + R.
- Type
excel /safeand press Enter. - If Excel opens in Safe Mode, the issue is likely caused by an add-in.
- Disable add-ins if Safe Mode works
- In Excel Safe Mode, go to File > Options > Add-Ins.
- In the Manage list, select Excel Add-ins or COM Add-ins, then select Go.
- Clear one add-in at a time, select OK, and restart Excel normally.
- If Excel starts after disabling one add-in, that add-in is the cause.
- Run an Office repair
- Close all Office apps.
- In Windows 11: Start > Installed apps.
- In Windows 10: right-click Start > Apps and Features.
- Select Microsoft 365 or Office > Modify.
- For Click-to-Run installations, select Online Repair > Repair. This is more thorough than Quick Repair.
- Restart the PC after the repair finishes.
- If Excel still hangs or crashes
- Perform a selective startup (clean boot) to check whether another background program or service is conflicting with Excel.
- Also check whether antivirus software, printer drivers, or video drivers are contributing to the problem.
If Excel does not start even in Safe Mode, the problem is less likely to be an add-in and more likely to require Office repair.