Word Error

Run Online Repair from Windows Settings because it is more thorough than the Repair Now operation in Word’s error dialog.

1. Run Online Repair

Close all Office applications, then:

• Windows 11: Right-click Start → Installed apps → find Microsoft 365 or Microsoft Office → select the … menu → Modify.
• Windows 10: Right-click Start → Apps and Features → select Microsoft 365 or Microsoft Office → Modify.
• Select Online Repair → Repair, and complete the prompts.
• Restart Windows and test Word.

This repairs the entire Office installation, even when only Word is affected. Do not select Quick Repair, since the repair offered by the error dialog has already failed. Online Repair performs the more comprehensive repair.^1^

2. If Online Repair does not fix it, test Word without add-ins

1. Press Windows + R.
2. Enter:

      winword /safe
   

3. Press Enter. The title bar should show Microsoft Word (Safe Mode).

If Word remains open in Safe Mode, an add-in is likely involved:

1. In Word, select File → Options → Add-Ins.
2. At the bottom, select COM Add-ins from Manage, then select Go.
3. Clear one add-in, select OK, and restart Word normally.
4. Repeat until Word opens normally. Older ABBYY FineReader, PowerWord, and Dragon Naturally Speaking add-ins are specifically identified as possible compatibility problems.^2^

If Word also fails in Safe Mode, skip add-in troubleshooting because that result indicates the problem is not caused by an add-in.

3. Update Office and Windows

If another Office application opens:

1. Open it and select File → Account.
2. Under Product Information, select Update Options → Update Now.
3. If that option is hidden, select Enable Updates first.

Then open Settings → Windows Update → Check for updates, install available updates, restart, and test Word again. Microsoft also recommends checking current video, printer, mouse, and keyboard drivers if the crashes continue.^2^

4. If Word still closes

Uninstall Office using Microsoft’s Office uninstall troubleshooter, restart the computer when prompted, and reinstall Office. The troubleshooter must run on the affected PC and requires Windows 10 or later; it currently cannot uninstall Office 2024.^2^

Avoid manually changing Word’s registry settings unless Online Repair, Safe Mode testing, updates, and reinstallation all fail. Microsoft documents registry resets as advanced Word-specific troubleshooting, but warns that incorrect registry changes can cause serious problems and that resetting Word’s keys removes customized settings.^3^

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
3. How to troubleshoot problems that occur when you start or use Word | Microsoft Support