Excel 2024 stops refreshing view but does not hang

Question

Excel 2024 stops refreshing view but does not hang

TomaszKozera-2821 30

Sometimes when working in Excel, when I do some action, like: resize column, paste, scroll the sheet the Excel stops rendering the window. The probability seems to be related to how long I use the app. The whole app seems frozen but it's just rendering - it works underneath:

when I select different tabs I see the scrollbars changing size,
when I type something and click on 'x' a popup shows up (with no contents) - likely save prompt
when I type something and click on save button, when I reopen it, the data is there and was saved.

I tried:

adding regkey to disable hardware acceleration
installation repair
Win + Ctrl + Shift + B to reset graphics driver
restarting PC
reinstalling (clean) video drivers
running Excel in Safe Mode

Nothing helps. It happens with multiple files but not with empty files. The task manager usage is normal on all accounts.

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Answer 1

Xavier-D 14,440 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello TomaszKozera-2821,

Thank you for describing the behavior and listing what you have already tried.

Since Excel continues processing input and saving changes while the workbook window stops updating, this appears to be a display-rendering issue rather than Excel fully hanging.

Please help us narrow it down with the following information:

Under File > Account > About Excel, share the complete product name, version, and build number.
Confirm your Windows version and OS build under Settings > System > About.
Let us know whether you use multiple monitors, a docking station, DisplayLink, or different scaling settings on each display.
If possible, disconnect external monitors and the dock, restart Excel, and test the affected workbook on the computer’s built-in display only.
Test one affected workbook on another Windows computer. This will show whether the repainting problem follows the workbook or remains specific to the current Windows environment.
Create a temporary Windows user account and test Excel there. If Excel renders normally in the new account, the problem is likely connected to settings in the original Windows or Excel user profile. Refer here for more info on how to do it: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/identity-signin/manage-user-accounts-in-windows

Also check for pending Office and Windows updates before testing again.

Please share the results, especially the complete Excel build number and whether the same workbook behaves normally on another computer.

Feel free leave a reply to this post and let us know the details regarding the issue.

I would be happy to help.

TomaszKozera-2821 30 Reputation points

2026-10-28T19:30:59.7466667+00:00

Excel is v2610, compilation 20527.20088
Windows 11 Home, 25H2, 26200.9711

I'm using two monitors, same ones, same scaling. The problem also happens with just 1 monitor connected.

The issue does not happen on a different PC but it has Office 2021.

No pending updates office or windows (apart from 26H2 but I'm hearing it's generating issues for lots of people still).
Xavier-D 14,440 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-10-29T00:05:57.4+00:00

Hi TomaszKozera-2821,

Thank you for confirming those details.

Since the problem still occurs with one monitor but does not occur on the other PC, could you please test Excel from a newly created temporary Windows user account?

After signing in to the temporary account, open Excel normally and test one of the affected workbooks. This will help determine whether the issue is associated with your current Windows user profile.

Please let us know whether Excel continues to stop refreshing in the temporary account.
TomaszKozera-2821 30 Reputation points

2026-11-07T09:28:52.5266667+00:00

On a new account it seems to be working fine... If it's an account issue, how would I go about fixing it?