Microsoft 365 and Office not working following recent incorrect download

Alan Cogzell 20 Reputation points
2025-10-27T13:36:14.85+00:00

I inadvertenly deleted 365 and Office and following a reinstall it is not working. I have tried to repair without joy. eg my office progs icons are blank and when I click on it says "updating" but then after a few minutes it states unable to open.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Install, redeem, activate | For home | Windows
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Anonymous
2025-10-27T19:15:29.86+00:00

Thanks for letting me know, I really appreciate that.

I’ll make sure to keep things simple and walk you through everything step by step.

Since you're using a personal desktop and the issue started after reinstalling Office, it’s likely that some parts of the program didn’t install correctly or got interrupted during setup. That’s why the icons are blank, and the apps try to update but don’t open.

Let’s try this:

First, we’ll remove Office completely using a special tool from Microsoft that cleans up all leftover files. You can download it here: https://aka.ms/SaRA-OfficeUninstall.

Once it’s done, restart your computer. After that, go to https://account.microsoft.com, sign in with your Microsoft account, and reinstall Office from there.

Make sure your internet connection is stable while doing this.

Once it’s installed, try opening Word or Excel.

If it still doesn’t work, we’ll do a quick repair from your Apps settings.

I can guide you through that too if needed.

Just to check, do you remember if you saw any error messages or numbers when it said it couldn’t open?

That’ll help me know what to look for next.

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  1. Anonymous
    2025-10-27T14:10:41.3233333+00:00

    Hi there,

    Thanks for reaching out. I understand how it feels when something you rely on daily like Office suddenly stops working after a reinstallation can really disrupt your flow.

    What’s likely happening here is that the reinstall didn’t complete properly, or some system files didn’t register correctly.

    That’s why the icons appear blank, and the apps try to update but fail to launch. This usually points to corrupted installation or missing components.

    To get things back on track, let’s start with a clean slate.

    First, uninstall Microsoft 365 completely using the Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant tool, it’s more thorough than the regular uninstall.

    After that, restart your device to clear out any leftover files.

    Then, reinstall Office from your Microsoft account at account.microsoft.com, making sure you're connected to a stable internet connection during setup.

    Once reinstalled, check if the apps open normally.

    If not, we’ll try Online Repair via the Apps settings. Also, if the icons are still blank, we might need to reset the file associations in your system settings.

    Quick question to help me guide you better, are you using a personal Microsoft account or one from work or school?

    And is this happening on your OMEN laptop with limited space?

    Let me know so I can tailor the next steps for your setup.

    Regards, Aron

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