Microsoft Office 2010 Error 1920 – Office Software Protection Platform (osppsvc) Fails to Start on Windows 10

Aravind Rajan 0 Reputation points
2026-10-14T12:23:35+00:00

I am using Windows 10 and Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010. When I try to repair Office, I receive Error 1920 stating that the Office Software Protection Platform (osppsvc) service failed to start.

When I try to start the service manually, I receive Error 1053, stating that the service did not respond in time. I ran the System File Checker (SFC) scan, and Windows successfully repaired corrupted files. I restarted my laptop and tried repairing Office again, but Error 1920 persists.

I also checked the service settings and changed the startup type from Manual to Automatic, but the problem remains.

Could you please provide step-by-step instructions to resolve this issue on Windows 10?

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For education | Windows
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  1. AI answer

    2026-10-14T12:23:52.9433333+00:00

    Since sfc /scannow already repaired corrupted files and the issue remains, use this order on Windows 10:

    1. Verify the Office Software Protection Platform service again.
      • Open Services from Windows search.
      • Find Office Software Protection Platform.
      • Open Properties.
      • Set Startup type to Automatic.
      • Confirm Service status is Running.
      • If it shows Stopped, select Start.
    2. Run Windows Update.
      • Open Start > Settings > Update & security > Windows Update.
      • Select Check online for updates from Microsoft Update.
      • Install any available updates.
      • Restart Windows.
    3. Run the Office repair again.
      • Right-click Start > Apps and Features.
      • Select the Microsoft Office product.
      • Select Modify.
      • If available, use Online Repair > Repair.
      • If the installation is MSI-based, select Repair > Continue.
    4. If Office still fails to repair, use the Microsoft 365 uninstall troubleshooter on the same Windows PC.
      • This applies on Windows 10 or higher.
      • If the troubleshooter does not completely remove Office, use the manual uninstall option referenced in the support article.
    5. If Windows corruption is still affecting Office after SFC, the next Windows-level recovery step for Windows 10 is to refresh Windows.
      • Go to Start > Settings.
      • Select Update & security > Recovery.
      • Under Reset this PC, select Get started.
      • Choose Keep my files.

    Note: Refreshing Windows is a higher-impact step. It keeps personal files, but system changes and installed apps may need to be restored afterward.

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  2. Liora 2,595 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-10-14T13:15:40.17+00:00

    Dear @Aravind Rajan,

    Thank you for providing the details.

    Based on your description, the issue appears to be related to the Office Software Protection Platform service (osppsvc), which Office 2010 uses for licensing and activation functions. When this service fails to start, Office repair, activation, and normal application startup can all be affected.

    Before attempting more drastic measures, I would recommend the following checks:

    1. Review the Windows Event Logs Since the service is failing with Error 1053, Windows may have recorded a more detailed error. Open: Event Viewer > Windows Logs > Application and Event Viewer > Windows Logs > System Look for recent entries related to:
      • osppsvc
      • OSPPSVC.EXE
      • Office Software Protection Platform
      The event details may provide a more specific cause than Error 1053 alone.
    2. Verify the Office Software Protection Platform files Please confirm that the following folder and executable exist: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\OfficeSoftwareProtectionPlatformand: OSPPSVC.EXE If the executable is missing or damaged, the service will not start correctly.
    3. Run DISM and SFC again Since SFC previously found and repaired corruption, I would also run: DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth After DISM completes successfully, run: sfc /scannow again and restart the computer.
    4. Review Microsoft's licensing-related guidance Although your error code is different, the following Microsoft article discusses scenarios where Office licensing components are not functioning correctly and may provide useful background information: Error 0xC0000142 when you start an Office application
    5. Consider a complete reinstall If the service continues to fail after the checks above, a complete uninstall and reinstall of Office may be more effective than additional repair attempts. The licensing service appears to be one of the components affected, and repair operations depend on that service functioning correctly.

    One additional point to keep in mind is that Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010 is an out-of-support product. As a result, Microsoft no longer provides updates or active support for Office 2010, and compatibility issues with modern Windows environments can be more difficult to resolve.

    I hope this information helps point you in the right direction. If you run into any issues while trying the steps, or if something still doesn’t feel quite right, please don’t hesitate to reach out again. I’ll do my best to support you however I can.   

    Looking forward to hearing back from you with any updates or additional details.  

    Warm regards,  

    If the answer is helpful, please select "Yes, accept answer". If you have any questions or new updates, please feel free to comment below.

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