how to fix that everytime i m trying to open word. it says that it has run into an error and can not open it.

THARUSHA NETHMINI WANNIARACHCHI WANNIARACHCHIGE 0 Reputation points
2026-11-10T05:01:01.6233333+00:00

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Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | Other | Windows
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  1. AI answer

    2026-11-10T05:01:39.3333333+00:00

    Run an Online Repair of Microsoft Office from Windows Settings; it is more thorough than the Repair Now button shown in the Word error dialog.

    Run Online Repair

    Close Word and any other Office applications, then:

    Windows 11

    1. Right-click Start and select Installed apps.
    2. Find Microsoft 365 or Microsoft Office.
    3. Select the three dots (…) beside it, then Modify.
    4. Select Online Repair → Repair.
    5. Complete the prompts, restart the computer if requested, and open Word again.

    Windows 10

    1. Right-click Start and select Apps and Features.
    2. Select Microsoft 365 or Microsoft Office, then Modify.
    3. Select Online Repair → Repair.
    4. Complete the repair and try Word again.

    Online Repair repairs the entire Office suite, even if only Word is failing. If the installation presents an MSI-based repair window instead, select Repair and then Continue.^1^

    If Word still will not open

    Test whether an add-in is causing the startup failure:

    1. Press Windows key + R.
    2. Enter: 
         winword /safe
    3. Select OK.

    If Word opens and its title bar says Safe Mode:

    1. Go to File → Options → Add-Ins.
    2. At the bottom, set Manage to COM Add-ins, then select Go.
    3. Clear one add-in, select OK, and restart Word normally.
    4. Repeat until Word starts successfully. Leave the problematic add-in disabled or install an updated version.

    If Word does not open in Safe Mode, the problem is unlikely to be an add-in.^2^

    Remaining fallback

    If Online Repair does not resolve it:

    1. Open Settings → Windows Update.
    2. Select Check for updates and install available updates.
    3. If Word still fails, uninstall and reinstall Office. Ensure the Microsoft account used for Office is available before uninstalling so the product can be reinstalled and activated. Microsoft’s startup-error guidance recommends reinstalling after repair and add-in testing fail.^2^

    References

    1. Repair an Office application | Microsoft Support
    2. I get a "stopped working" error when I start Office applications on my PC | Microsoft Support
    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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  2. Vikki-T 14,115 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-11-11T14:23:57.14+00:00

    Hi THARUSHA NETHMINI WANNIARACHCHI WANNIARACHCHIGE,

    Since the AI answer has already covered Online Repair, Safe Mode, updates, and reinstalling Office, you can also try resetting Word’s default template:

    • Close Word and all other Office applications.
    • Press Windows + R.
    • Enter %appdata%\Microsoft\Templates and select OK.
    • Locate Normal.dotm and rename it to Normal.old.
    • Try opening Word again. Word should automatically create a new Normal.dotm file.

    Please note that this may reset custom styles, macros, or other Word template customizations. You can find more information in Microsoft’s official guide: Change the Normal template.

    If the issue continues, please let me know whether you have already selected Repair Now, and whether Word can open in Safe Mode. Thank you so much for your understanding.

    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

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  3. Stefan Blom 357.6K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2026-11-11T16:50:39.0466667+00:00

    Try an Online Repair, which is the first suggestion in the AI-generated reply. Exit all Office apps, verify that you can access your account at https://account.microsoft.com/services so that you can reinstall Office after the repair, and then follow the instructions in the support article at https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/lifecycle/repair-an-office-application .

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    2 people found this answer helpful.
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