microsoft excel is not opening

Sunday Nsobaula 0 Reputation points
2026-10-26T08:09:15.7966667+00:00

it is saying repair excel but when i click on repair it is not doing anything

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

    2026-10-26T08:10:33.9+00:00

    Run Online Repair from Windows Settings, rather than clicking the unresponsive Repair button inside Excel’s error message.

    1. Run a full Online Repair

    This repairs the entire Microsoft 365 or Office installation, including Excel.

    Windows 11

    1. Close all Office applications.
    2. Right-click Start and select Installed apps.
    3. Find Microsoft 365 or Microsoft Office.
    4. Select the three dots next to it, then Modify.
    5. Select Online Repair → Repair.
    6. Follow the prompts, restart the computer if requested, and try Excel again.

    Windows 10

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

    Use Online Repair, not Quick Repair; Online Repair is the more complete option. If your installation presents an MSI repair window instead, select Repair → Continue.^1^

    2. If repair completes but Excel still will not open

    Test Excel without add-ins:

    1. Press Windows key + R.
    2. Enter:
    excel /safe
    1. Select OK.
    2. If Excel opens, go to File → Options → Add-ins.
    3. At the bottom, set Manage to COM Add-ins, then select Go.
    4. Clear every checkbox, select OK, and restart Excel normally.
    5. If Excel now works, re-enable the add-ins individually, restarting Excel each time, to identify the problematic one.^2^

    Safe Mode bypasses add-ins and several startup settings that can prevent Excel from launching.^3^

    3. If Online Repair cannot run or does not finish

    Completely uninstall and reinstall Office using Microsoft’s uninstall troubleshooter:

    1. Open Microsoft’s uninstall guidance below on the affected computer.
    2. Start the uninstall troubleshooter and allow it to open Get Help.
    3. Follow its prompts.
    4. Restart Windows when requested.
    5. Reinstall Microsoft 365 or Office and sign in with the account associated with the education licence.

    The troubleshooter supports Microsoft 365 and Office 2021, 2019, and 2016 on Windows 10 or later, but it currently cannot uninstall Office 2024.^4^

    If this is a school-managed computer and Modify, Online Repair, or uninstalling is blocked, the school’s IT administrator must perform the repair or reinstallation.

    References

    1. Repair an Office application | Microsoft Support
    2. Excel not responding, hangs, freezes or stops working
    3. Open Office apps in safe mode on a Windows PC | Microsoft Support
    4. Error: The application cant start because AppVIsvSubsystems32.dll is missing from your computer | Microsoft Support
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  2. Aetherin 3,680 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-10-26T08:19:45.0633333+00:00

    Hi @Sunday Nsobaula,

    To narrow this down, could you share the exact error message or error code shown when Excel starts? Also, does the issue affect only Excel, or are Word and other Office apps unable to open as well?

    In the meantime, instead of using the Repair button in the error message, right-click Start > Installed apps > locate Microsoft 365/Office > three dots > Modify.

    Run Quick Repair first, then try Online Repair if the problem continues. Restart Windows afterward.

    User's image User's image

    Microsoft’s instructions are available here: Repair an Office application

    Once you have completed these steps, please let me know the results. Thank you for taking the time.

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