Microsoft Word Mac Won T Open

Summary :

• Word Will Not Launch
• Microsoft Word Won't Open
• Microsoft Word For Mac Won't Open
• Microsoft Word Mac Won't Open Mac

Microsoft Office is used widely during daily work, but problems may occur while you're using it. Microsoft Office won't open (Word won't open, Excel won't open, PowerPoint won't open) is a common issue that many users have ever met. MiniTool summarizes some useful solutions for you to fix

My Microsoft Word Won't Open

Have ever met the Microsoft Word won't open problem? It has been proved to occur on many people's computers (running Windows operating systems or macOS). If you search online, you'll find many users said that their Microsoft Word will not open by double-clicking or any other ways they use usually to try to open a Word document.

How to fix it when your Microsoft Word stopped working suddenly?

I cannot open any of my word documents. I have a macbook air. I have tried to follow directions to fix the problem but when I go into library and preferences I don't find a word folder. There's no microsoft word folder in the application support folder either. Question: Q: my microsoft word won't open anymore in macbook pro with latest OSX I had installed OSX latest version some months ago and there was no problem with opening all documents in words. Just today I can open the word document but stalled and could not edit as there is a rolling icon (processing) appeared. Microsoft Word keeps crashing on Mac; Word is frozen on Mac; Microsoft Word not responding or won't open on Mac; Microsoft Word is slow on Mac; Microsoft Word keeps crashing on Mac. If Word crashes when saving a document, you risk losing important data and corrupting the file. I keep trying to open it, but all I get is this message. Com.microsoft.Word Version: 14.2.0 (14.2.0) Build Info: Unknown-1204020 Code Type: X86 (Native) Parent. Open any Microsoft Office application on your Windows PC. You can activate Office from Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, or any other product from the suite. You'll find your Office apps in a folder called Microsoft Office (version) in the Start menu.

There are many users saying they have encountered the Microsoft Word has stopped working error and they want to know the methods for fixing it.

Common Error Messages for Microsoft Word Not Opening

Why won't Microsoft Word open? To be honest, there are a lot of reasons for causing it. Therefore, users will receive different error messages when they find Word not opening.

Error message 1:

Word experienced an error trying to open the file.

Try these suggestions.

* Check the file permissions for the document or drive.

* Make sure there is sufficient free memory and disk space.

* Open the file with the Text Recovery converter.

Error message 2:

Word was unable to read this document. It may be corrupt.

Try one or more of the following:

* Open and Repair the file.

* Open the file with the Text Recovery converter.

Error message 3:

Sorry, something went wrong and Word was unable to start. (6)

The error code at the end may change.

Error message 4:

We're sorry. We can't open Normal.dotm because we found a problem with its contents.

Error message 5:

Word cannot open the existing file. (Normal.dotm)

Error message 6:

There is not enough memory or disk space to run Word.

Error message 7:

Word couldn't start last time. Safe mode could help you troubleshoot the problem, but some features might not be available in this mode.

Do you want to start in safe mode?

Sometimes, you may even receive this message asking you to start Word in safe mode to troubleshoot the problem. On this occasion, you'd better click on the Yes button to let it open your Word in safe mode and then repair errors for you automatically.

Error message 8:

Something went wrong

We couldn't start your program. Please try starting it again.

If it won't start, try repairing Office from ‘Programs and Features' in the Control Panel.

Error message 9:

Word Document Won't Open in the Program You Expect

Also, you may see many other error messages when you can't open Microsoft Word.

How to Fix Microsoft Word Won't Open Windows 10 (15 Ways)

In this part, we'll provide some solutions to help when you can't open Word document Windows 10, Windows 8, or Windows 7. They are also useful for Microsoft Office won't open (Excel won't open and PowerPoint won't open).

• Fix 1 ~ 5 are available if you can still start the Microsoft Word program when certain Word documents can't be opened.
• Fix 6 ~ 11 are useful when you can't even open Word or Microsoft Office.
• You should also give a shot to fix 12 ~ 15 when the above methods failed.

#1. Disable Word Add-Ins

Disable suspect Add-ins:

1. Open Microsoft Word.
2. Click File from the menu bar.
3. Choose Options from its submenu.
4. Select Add-ins from the left pane of the Power Options window.
5. Disable all the suspect add-ins.
6. Click OK to confirm.

Also, you can follow this tutorial to disable all Add-ins:

Word Will Not Launch

1. Open Microsoft Word.
2. Click File.
3. Choose Options.
4. Select Trust Center from the left pane.
5. Click on the Trust Center Settings button in the right pane.
6. Shift to Add-ins in the left pane of the Trust Center window.
7. Check Disable all Application Add-ins (may impair functionality).
8. Click OK.

#2. Open and Repair in Word

1. Open Microsoft Word.
2. Select File from the menu bar.
3. Choose Open from the submenu.
4. Browse your drives and folders to select the target Word document that can't open.
5. Click on the down arrow next to the Open button in the pop-up Open window.
6. Select Open and Repair from the drop-down list.

#3. Save the Document as Another Format

1. Start the Word program.
2. Select File from the menu bar.
3. Choose Open.
4. Browse your device to select the Word file that can't start.
5. Click Open.
6. Select the File menu at the top.
7. Choose Save as.
8. Click on the down arrow to open a drop-down list of available file types.
9. Select PDF (or another format).
10. Click Save.
11. Close Microsoft Word.

Reduce/recover PDF files:

• How to reduce the PDF size on Mac (including Save as PDF in Mac Word)?
• How to recover deleted/unsaved/corrupted PDF files?

After that, you should repeat the same process to save it back to Word Document.

Start Word -> select File -> choose Open -> choose the target PDF file -> hit Open -> select File again -> choose Save as -> hit the down arrow -> select Word Document -> give it a new name -> click Save.

#4. Update Microsoft Word

1. Start Word.
2. Select File.
3. Choose Account in the left pane.
4. Look for the Office Updates section in the right pane.
5. Click on the down arrow next to Update Options.
6. Select Update Now from the drop-down list.
7. Wait for the checking and updating process.
8. Microsoft will inform you when the update is completed.

Also, some people said they have fixed the Word document won't open problem by updating the Windows system or uninstalling the latest update of Office.

How to update Windows:

1. Press Windows+S to open Windows search.
2. Type Windows update.
3. Select Windows Update settings or Check for updates from the search result.
4. Click on the Check for updates button and wait.

How to uninstall the latest Office update:

1. Repeat step 1 ~ 3 mentioned above.
2. ClickView update history from the right pane.
3. Click Uninstall updates.
4. Look for the latest Office update and select it.
5. Click Uninstall and follow the instructions to finish the rest steps.
6. Restart your computer.

#5. Recover Word Document

Another way you should try when your important Word document file is damaged/corrupted or deleted/lost is by using a powerful recovery tool to scan the drive that's holding it. This method is very helpful especially when your Word keeps crashing.

Step 1: choose a reliable data recovery tool that won't bring any damage to your system and drive. Let's take MiniTool Power Data Recovery as an example.

Step 2: download & install the recovery tool to the drive that doesn't include any Word documents needing to be recovered.

Step 3: run the recovery tool and select This PC from the left pane if the target Word document is located on your computer's hard drive.

Step 4: choose the target drive on the right pane and click on the Scan button at the bottom right. You can also double click on that drive directly to start a full scan.

Step 5: browse the scan results while the scan is in progress or completed. Check all the Word documents you want to recover.

Step 6: click on the Save button in the lower right corner. Then, select a storage path for the Word files and click OK.

Step 7: wait for the recovery process to complete. A window will show up to inform you when the files have been recovered.

#6. Open Word in Safe Mode

Opening Microsoft Office (including Word) in safe mode is an effective way to fix many program-related problems. Here are two ways to start Word in safe mode manually.

How to open Word in safe mode by pressing Ctrl:

1. Locate the shortcut for Word on your computer desktop or look for it in the Start menu.
2. Press and hold the Ctrl key.
3. Start Word by clicking it from the Programs list or double-clicking on the shortcut on the PC desktop.
4. Release the Ctrl key when you see a prompt window saying that 'Word has detected that you are holding down the CTRL key. Do you want to start Word in safe mode?'.
5. Click on the Yes button to start it in safe mode.

Besides, you can use the /safe command in Run to open Word or another Office application in safe mode.

How to start Word in safe mode by using /safe option:

1. Open the Run dialog box in the way you like. The most direct way is pressing Windows+R on the keyboard.
2. Type winword /safe into the textbox.
3. Click on the OK button below or press Enter on the keyboard.

#7. Check WINWORD.EXE in Task Manager

1. Open Task Manager by right-clicking on the taskbar and selecting Task Manager. You can also press Ctrl+Shift+Esc directly.
2. Shift to the Details tab at the top.
3. Scroll down to find the WINWORD.EXE process.
4. If it's here, it means your system thinks the program is opened, so it will do nothing about it.
5. Please create a new Word document. Then, right-click on it and select Edit.

#8. Delete Microsoft Word Registry Keys

1. Press Windows+S.
2. Type regedit and hit Enter.
3. Copy and paste ComputerHKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice14.0WordData into the address bar of Registry Editor if you're running Word 2010.
4. Right-click on the Data key in the left pane.
5. Select Delete from the menu.
6. Restart your PC.

Paths of other Word versions you should use in step 3:

• Word 2002: ComputerHKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice10.0WordData
• Word 2003: ComputerHKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice11.0WordData
• Word 2007: ComputerHKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice12.0WordData
• Word 2013: ComputerHKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice15.0Word
• Word 2016: ComputerHKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice16.0Word

#9. Get More Disk Space

The commonest way to clear disk space is using Disk Cleanup.

1. Press Windows+S.
2. Type disk cleanup and press Enter.
3. Choose a drive you want to clean up and hit click OK.
4. Wait for the calculating process to finish.
5. Check files you want to delete and click on the OK button at the bottom.
6. Click Delete Files in the prompt window to confirm.

#10. Repair Microsoft Office Installation

1. Press Windows+S.
2. Type apps & features and hit Enter.
3. Scroll down to click Programs and Features under Related settings.
4. Browse the programs list and select Microsoft Office.
5. Select Change from the menu at the top.
6. Choose Repair in the pop-up window.
7. Follow the on-screen introductions to finish the rest steps.

#11. Rename Normal.dotm

If the Word global template – Normal.dotm – went wrong, all the Word files will be started in safe mode. In this case, you should rename Normal.dotm and then try to start Microsoft Word again. A new Normal.dotm file will be created automatically.

1. Open File Explorer.
2. Copy & past C:Users*AppDataRoamingMicrosoftTemplates into the address bar (* represents your username).
3. Right-click on the Normal.dotm file and select Rename.
4. Change the name to Normal.old and press Enter.

Please note:

• Make sure the AppData folder is visible before step 2: select View -> click Options -> shift to View tab -> check Show hidden files, folders, and drives -> click OK.
• Make sure the file extension is visible before step 3: View -> click Options -> shift to View tab -> uncheck Hide extensions for known file types -> click OK.

You should also try the following methods when Microsoft Office won't open Windows 10:

Fix 12: make sure your Microsoft Office is activated.

Microsoft Word Won't Open

Fix 13: reconfigure the video settings or your PC.

Fix 14: change the default printer or update the printer driver.

Fix 15: open Word documents using another program.

How to Fix Microsoft Word Won't Open Mac (4 Ways)

Microsoft Office also provides a version for Mac users to download. In this part, we'll provide 4 useful solutions to help when users find Word not opening on Mac.

#1. Use the Repair Feature

1. Start Microsoft Word on your Mac.
2. Select File from the top menu bar.
3. Choose Open.
4. Browse the folders and files to select the Word document that won't start.
5. Click on the down arrow next to Open.
6. Choose Repair from the drop-down list.
7. Click on the OK button and the Word program will repair it for you.

#2. Remove Word Preferences

Microsoft Word For Mac Won't Open

1. Open Go to Folder.
2. Type ~/Library and click on the Go button below.
3. Look for the Preferences folder and open it.
4. Look for a file named com.microsoft.Word.plist.
5. Move this file to your desktop and open Microsoft Word again.

If this doesn't work, please follow this:

Microsoft Word Mac Won't Open Mac

1. Move the file back to its original place.
2. Close all Microsoft Office programs running on your Mac.
3. Select Word from the menu bar.
4. Choose Preferences from the drop-down list.
5. Select File Locations.
6. Select User templates.
7. Look for the Normal.dotm file.
8. Move it to the desktop.
9. Open Word again.

#3. Run First Aid

1. Open the Utilities folder on your Mac (the most direct way is pressing Shift+Command+U).
2. Open Disk Utility and select the hard disk of your Mac in the left pane.
3. Click on the First Aid button at the top of the right pane.
4. Click Run and wait for the process to finish.
5. Click Done and go to check whether Microsoft Word won't open is fixed or not.

#4. Recover Deleted/Lost Word on Mac

You need to find a data recovery tool that supports macOS to recover lost or deleted Word files.

1. Get Stellar Data Recovery for Mac, jointly designed by MiniTool and Stellar for Mac file recovery.
2. Launch the software and Select What To Recover.
3. Click Next.
4. Choose the location that contains lost Word files.
5. Click on the Scan button and wait.
6. Select the Word documents you want to recover and click Recover.
7. Choose a safe storage destination and click Save.
8. Wait for the recovery to complete automatically.

Conclusion

Microsoft Word won't open is a common problem that bothers lots of Windows users and Mac users. Please don't get panic when you find Word not opening. On the contrary, you should stay calm and carefully follow the solutions provided above to fix the problem on both Windows and Mac computers.

Symptoms

When you try to open a Microsoft Word for Mac document, Word for Mac stops responding. Additionally, you may have to use the Force Quit command to exit the program.

Resolution

Step 1: Clear the Auto Recovery folder

Try to clear the Auto Recovery folder. To do this, follow these steps:

1. On the Go menu, click Home.

2. Open Documents.

3. Open Microsoft User Data.

4. Open the Office Autorecovery folder.
   Note You do not have to delete files in this folder. You can copy or move these files to the desktop.

5. Test the application.

If the issue continues to occur, go to the next step.

Step 2: Download and install the latest update

Download and install the latest Word update, depending on your version of the program. To view the version of your Word installation, start Word, and then click About Word on the Help menu.

To download the latest update, see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

323601How to obtain Office for Mac software updates

If the issue continues to occur, go to the next step.

Step 3: Check the document name

If the document name contains symbols, such as the percent character, the file does not open when you double-click the name. You can try to resolve this issue by renaming the file without symbols.

If the problem file is downloaded from a website, the web browser may add a symbol to the file name. If this is the case, try to use a different browser to access your email, and then download the files again.

If the issue continues to occur, go to the next step.

Step 4: Remove the Word preferences

If you have used Word previously on this computer, you can try to remove any preferences that you have set. Note that this removes all customizations that you have made, including the creation of custom dictionaries and keyboard shortcuts, and changes to the toolbars. To remove Word preferences, follow these steps:

If the issue continues to occur, go to the next step.

Step 5: Try in Safe Mode

Try to open the file in Safe mode. For the steps to do this, see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

2398596 How to use a 'clean startup' to determine whether background programs are interfering with Office for Mac

If the issue continues to occur, go to the next step.

Step 6: Check for third-party fonts

If you are using third-party fonts, Word for Mac might experience problems with the font that you have installed. For more information, see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

295062 Third-party installed font does not appear in the font list in Word for Mac

Note The document may have to be accessed on a PC. The document may also require that you replace the PC font by using a font that is more suitable for the Mac, such as Arial or Verdana.

If all these steps fail, the document is probably corrupted beyond recovery. At this point, you might have to look for a backup of the document, or re-create the document.