How to Fix Microsoft Word Stopped Working on Windows 10?

Has Microsoft Word stopped working on Windows 10 on your PC?

Microsoft Word is the most widely used word processing software worldwide. It probably is the first program that pops up in your mind when it comes to creating, sharing, and editing documents. 

Like every other Microsoft Office 365 application, Word has evolved over the years, offering a plethora of helpful features useful to customers of all ages. However, does this mean Microsoft Word has no bugs and errors? Certainly not. 

There are many instances when Microsoft Word crashes unexpectedly, and somehow, it always happens when we need it the most.

In this guide, we will provide you with tips on how to fix this problem on your PC, so that you don’t lose your valuable documents due to a silly bug ever again.

Let’s get started.

1. Start Microsoft Word in Safe Mode. 

If Microsoft Word stopped working on Windows 10, then the first thing you should do is launch the program in Safe mode. 

It is common for programs like Microsoft Word to start acting up due to faulty add-ins and extensions. As Safe mode launches Windows with a minimal set of drivers, it will help you identify if an extension or add-in is causing the issue at hand.  

If it is, you can resolve the issue by simply disabling the problematic add-in. 

Here is what you need to do:

1. Close the Microsoft Word window on your PC to end its processes.
2. Open a Run dialogue box by pressing Windows + R keys simultaneously. 
3. Inside the text field of the dialogue box, type ‘winword /safe‘ and hit Enter. Doing so will launch Windows in Safe mode. 

4. Now check if Microsoft Word is working fine in Safe mode. If it is, proceed to disable the add-ins. 
5. In Microsoft Word, click on File and then select Options from the left panel. 

6. Locate Add-Ins and click on it. 
7. In the right pane, look at the bottom of the window for Manage option and expand the dropdown menu against it. 
8. Select COM Add-ins and hit Go. 

9. In the next window, uncheck all the add-ins, and once done, click OK to save the changes you just made. 
10. Now restart your PC and check if MS Word works fine after disabling the add-ins. If it is working fine, enable the add-ins back one by one by following the steps mentioned above to identify the culprit. 

If problematic add-ins were causing Microsoft Soft to stop working on Windows 10, disabling them will resolve the issue. 

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In case Microsoft Word fails to work even after disabling the COM Add-ins (and you are using Office 2010 or later), then try disabling the Office Compatibility Pack Add-in. 

Several users managed to resolve the issue by disabling this add-in, which is why we recommend giving it a shot. 

Here is how you can disable the Office Compatibility Pack Add-in on Windows:

1. Open Control Panel and click on Uninstall a program. 
2. Locate Compatibility Pack for the Office System in the list of programs available and right-click on it. 
3. Select Uninstall and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process. 

Hopefully, doing so will resolve the issue on your computer. 

2. Modify the Registry.

Another common cause behind Microsoft Word error on Windows 10 can be a corrupt registry key. 

Windows Registry is where all the low-level information about Windows processes is stored. The information is stored in the form of Registry keys and Windows refers to this information while executing certain operations. 

Unfortunately, there are times when the Registry keys get corrupt and as a result, your PC has trouble opening relevant programs. 

The best way to resolve this issue is to delete the corrupt Registry keys but since Windows Registry is an administrative-level tool, we highly recommend being careful when doing so. Even a slight error can cause serious issues in your operating system. 

Here is what you need to do:

1. Open a Run dialogue box by pressing Windows + R keys simultaneously.
2. Type ‘regedit’ in the text field of the dialogue box and hit Enter. Doing so will launch Windows Registry. 

3. Inside the Registry Editor, navigate to the location mentioned below. Please check all the keys under the Office key. In our case, Word was located in the 12.0 key and this can vary. 

HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Office/12.0/Word 

4. Now double-click the Word key and delete the Data subkey in it.

5. Once done, close the Registry Editor and try opening Microsoft Word again.

If a corrupt Registry key was causing the issue, deleting it will hopefully allow you to use Microsoft Word without any issues. 

3. Repair Microsoft Word Office Installation. 

The ‘Repair’ feature of the Microsoft Office program is one of the most useful features when it comes to troubleshooting issues. 

If removing the Registry key we mentioned above did not help you, then try repairing the Microsoft Word installation. There is a chance that your Microsoft Word’s installation is corrupt, which is why you are unable to use the application on your computer. 

Here is how you can repair Microsoft Word Office installation:

1. Open Control Panel and click on Uninstall a program.
2. Now locate Microsoft Word in the list of programs available and right-click on it.
3. Click on Change and select Repair in the next window.
4. We recommend choosing Quick Repair first and checking if that resolves the issue. If it does not, follow the steps mentioned above again and select Online Repair.

In case a corrupt Office installation was causing the issue, repairing the installation should fix it in no time. 

4. Try Using CleanMyPC.

As we mentioned earlier, it is common for Microsoft Word to crash unexpectedly due to corruption errors or bugs. 

The easiest way to remove the bugs from your operating system and the programs within it is by using an efficient PC cleaner that can scan your system for errors, identify issues, and resolve them with little to no user input. 

Our personal favorite for this purpose is CleanMyPC and if you are looking for a recommendation, we highly recommend that you use it too. 

CleanMyPC comes with a wide range of system maintenance tools that can take care of all your PC related issues like slow speed, sluggish performance, and corruption errors. Moreover, the interface is simple and easy to use, which means that even if this is your first time using a PC cleaner, you will do just fine!

Install CleanMyPC now and get your PC up and running like new!

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Try CleanMyPC Now!

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5. Clean Uninstall and Reinstall MS Word

If none of the methods mentioned above works for you, then this implies that the issue is within the Microsoft Word application itself. 

Unfortunately, there is nothing much you can do in this case except for clean uninstalling the program and then reinstalling it. 

We know this might sound like a complex task, but don’t worry. It is relatively straightforward and will not take much of your time. 

Here is how you can clean uninstall and reinstall Microsoft Word:

1. Open Control Panel and click on Uninstall a program. 
2. Inside the newly launched window, locate Microsoft Word and right-click on it.
3. Select Uninstall and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the instructions. 

4. Once done, open a Run dialogue box by pressing Windows + R keys simultaneously. 
5. Type %appdata% inside the text field of the dialogue box and hit Enter. Doing so will take you to the location where Microsoft Word’s data is stored. 

6. Double-click on the Microsoft folder in the newly launched window and delete the Word folder.
7. Once done, open a Run dialogue box again by pressing Windows + R keys simultaneously.
8. In the text field of the dialogue box, type %Programdata% and hit Enter.

9. Repeat the 6th step again to delete any remaining Microsoft Word files from your PC. 
10. Finally, install Word again. 

This should resolve the issue at hand once and for all. 

This brings us to the end of our guide on fixing Microsoft Word’s crashing issue on Windows. We tried walking you through all the steps in detail and hope that one of the methods mentioned in this post did the trick for you. In case you still have any confusions about the troubleshooting steps, please let us know in the comment section below!

If this guide helped you, please share it. 🙂