Can not open excel or word

Restart the Windows PC, sign back in, and try opening Word and Excel again; if they still do not open, run Microsoft 365’s Online Repair.

1. Restart Windows

1. Save any work in other programs.
2. Select Start → Power → Restart.
3. Sign back in and open Word or Excel from the Start menu.

Microsoft recommends restarting before proceeding to Office repair for application startup failures. ^1^

2. Run Online Repair

This repairs the entire Office installation, including both Word and Excel.

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 PC if requested, and test Word and Excel.

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 prompts and test both applications.

Online Repair is more thorough than Quick Repair. If Office uses an MSI-based installation and Online Repair is not offered, select Repair → Continue instead. ^2^

3. If repair does not help, test Safe Mode

Safe Mode starts an Office application without most add-ins and custom startup components.

1. Press Windows key + R.
2. Enter the relevant command:
   • Word: winword /safe
   • Excel: excel /safe
3. Select OK. The title bar should show Safe Mode. ^3^

If the application opens in Safe Mode:

1. Select File → Options → Add-ins.
2. At the bottom, select COM Add-ins under Manage, then select Go.
3. Disable one add-in and restart the application normally.
4. Repeat until the problematic add-in is identified; leave it disabled or obtain an updated version. ^4^

If neither application opens in Safe Mode, add-ins are unlikely to be the issue. Since Online Repair has already been attempted, the next fallback is reinstalling Office.

4. Reinstall only if repair and Safe Mode fail

Before uninstalling, sign in at the Microsoft account’s Services & subscriptions page and verify that Microsoft 365 or Office appears there with an Install option. Then:

1. Open Control Panel → Programs → Programs and Features.
2. Select every existing Microsoft Office installation and choose Uninstall.
3. Restart Windows.
4. Return to Services & subscriptions, select Install, and run the downloaded installer. ^5^

If the apps open but only one document fails

That points to a file-specific problem rather than an Office startup failure:

1. In Word or Excel, select File → Open → Browse.
2. Select the affected file.
3. Select the arrow beside Open, then Open and Repair. ^6^

If the problem remains, note exactly what happens—nothing appears, the app closes immediately, or an error message/code is displayed—as that determines the next diagnostic step.

References

1. [Windows 10](https://support.microsoft.com/office/lifecycle/something-went-wrong-error-when-you-try-to-start-a-microsoft-365-app)
2. Repair an Office application | Microsoft Support
3. Open Office apps in safe mode on a Windows PC | Microsoft Support
4. I get a "stopped working" error when I start Office applications on my PC | Microsoft Support
5. Word and Excel won't open - Microsoft Q&A
6. Open a document after a file corruption error | Microsoft Support