how to fix microsoft word not opening

Run Online Repair from Windows Settings rather than relying only on the repair prompt displayed inside Word.

Repair Word and Office

1. Close Word and all other Office applications.
2. Restart the computer.
3. Before continuing, verify that Office is associated with your Microsoft account, because Online Repair may require Office to be reinstalled afterward ^1^.
4. Open the repair screen:
   • Windows 11: Right-click Start → Installed apps.
   • Windows 10: Right-click Start → Apps and Features.
5. Find Microsoft 365 or Microsoft Office.
6. Select the three dots or select the product, and then choose Modify.
7. Select Online Repair → Repair, then complete the prompts. This repairs the whole Office suite, even when only Word is affected ^2^.
8. Restart Windows and open Word from the Start menu.

Online Repair is more comprehensive than Quick Repair, which only detects and replaces corrupted files.

If you need immediate access to your documents

Try opening Word in Office Safe Mode:

1. Press Windows key + R.
2. Enter:

winword /safe

3. Select OK.
4. In Word, select File → Open → Browse, and open the required document.

Safe Mode can open Word without components such as problematic add-ins or extensions ^3^.

If Word works in Safe Mode but still fails normally:

1. In Safe Mode, select File → Options → Add-ins.
2. At the bottom, select COM Add-ins under Manage, then select Go.
3. Clear the add-ins and restart Word normally.
4. Re-enable them individually to identify which one triggers the problem.

If Word opens but one particular file does not

That points to a document-specific problem rather than the Word installation. Use Word’s recovery command:

1. Open Word without double-clicking the document.
2. Select File → Open → Browse.
3. Select the affected document.
4. Select the arrow beside Open.
5. Choose Open and Repair ^4^.
6. If it opens, immediately save a copy with a different filename.

If Online Repair finishes but Word cannot start even in Safe Mode, the next supported fallback is to uninstall and reinstall Office using the Microsoft uninstall troubleshooter described on the Microsoft startup-error page ^2^.

References

1. word is not opening - Microsoft Q&A
2. [Windows 10](https://support.microsoft.com/office/lifecycle/something-went-wrong-error-when-you-try-to-start-a-microsoft-365-app)
3. Open Office apps in safe mode on a Windows PC | Microsoft Support
4. Open a document after a file corruption error | Microsoft Support