How to Fix PowerPoint Not Responding

Is PowerPoint not responding on your computer?

PowerPoint is one of the best presentation software in the world. It can be used to view and create presentations for businesses, online classes, reports, and more. 

Unlike other presentation tools, PowerPoint is optimized for almost any device and doesn’t require a lot of resources to run. However, this also varies depending on what you are working on in the platform. 

If your presentation contains a lot of effects, videos, and transitions, it can also consume significant resources, which could affect the performance of your system. 

Unfortunately, there have been reports from various users who encounter freezing and crashing problems on PowerPoint, even when working on the most basic presentations. Some even encounter the issue on high-end PCs. 

Based on the reports, PowerPoint will enter a not responding state before it crashes. 

Usually, this problem is caused by corrupted app data or outdated software. However, it can also be due to lack of system resources, viruses, and third-party software. 

In this guide, we will show you how to fix PowerPoint if it’s not responding. 

Let’s dive right in!

1. Restart Your System. 

When you encounter performance issues on your computer, you might be able to solve them by simply restarting your system. This flushes your temporary cache and stops unnecessary apps from running in the background. 

If PowerPoint keeps freezing on your device, see the steps below to restart it: 

1. First, access the Start Menu on your computer. 
2. Next, click on the Power Options tab. 
3. Lastly, choose Restart. 

Go back to PowerPoint afterward and check if the problem is solved. 

2. Update Your System. 

The current version of Windows you’re using might have a problem that affects system performance. To rule this out, check if there are pending updates on your computer and install them. 

Here’s how you can update Windows: 

1. On your computer, access the Windows Settings by pressing the Windows + I keys. 
2. Next, go to the Windows Update tab from the side menu. 
3. Finally, click on Download & Install. 

Restart your system to apply the changes and see if the problem is solved. 

3. Close Unused Apps. 

As we have mentioned earlier, your system could be running out of resources to use, causing PowerPoint to hang. If this is the case, try to limit the applications running on your system as you work on your slides. 

While creating your presentation, identify the apps you will be using and close the ones that are not important. 

4. Set PowerPoint Priority to High. 

If you can’t reduce the number of apps running on your system, you can try setting PowerPoint’s priority to high. This will force Windows to dedicate more resources to PowerPoint, which should prevent it from entering a ‘not responding’ state. 

Follow the steps below to change PowerPoint’s priority: 

1. On your keyboard, press the Windows + X keys to open the Quick Menu. 
2. Click on Task Manager afterward to launch it. 
3. Now, go to the Details tab and locate PowerPoint. 
4. Finally, right-click on the app, hover your cursor to the Set Priority section, and click on Above Normal or High. 

Go back to PowerPoint and observe if it will still hang and enter the ‘not responding’ status.

 

5. Update Your Display Drivers. 

If PowerPoint becomes unresponsive during presentations, it might indicate a problem with your display drivers. When entering the presentation mode, PowerPoint will utilize your GPU to smoothen transitions and animations. 

To address this issue, follow the guide below to update your drivers: 

1. Open the Start Menu and look for the Device Manager. 
2. Next, click on Open to launch it. 
3. Inside the Device Manager, expand the Display Adapters tab. 
4. Finally, right-click on your video card and choose Update Drivers. Follow the prompts to install the latest drivers for your GPU. 

Reboot your system afterward and check if the problem is solved. 

6. Reinstall PowerPoint. 

Some of PowerPoint’s packages may have gotten corrupted, causing the software to run into issues when you access a certain feature. To rule this out, we recommend reinstalling PowerPoint on your computer. 

Here’s what you need to do: 

1. First, open the Control Panel and click on Uninstall a Program. 
2. After that, locate PowerPoint from the list. 
3. Right-click on the software afterward and choose Uninstall. 

Go to Microsoft’s website after removing the app and download the latest version. 

That wraps up our guide on how to fix PowerPoint if it’s not responding to your system. If you have questions, don’t hesitate to leave a comment below, and we’ll do our best to answer them. 

If this guide helped you, please share it. 🙂