How to fix , I cant open word file in my computer.

First open Word itself and select File > Open > Browse; what happens next identifies whether the problem is the document, its Windows file association, or the Word installation.

If only one document will not open

1. In Word, select File > Open > Browse. Do not select the document from Recent.
2. Select the affected file once.
3. Select the arrow beside Open, then choose Open and Repair.
4. If it opens, immediately save a recovered copy with a different name.

Open and Repair is designed to recover documents that Word cannot open normally because they are damaged.^1^

If the document is on a USB drive, first copy it to the computer and work on the copy.

If Word opens, but double-clicking documents does not

Try opening the document from Word > File > Open. If that works, associate .docx and .doc files with Word:

1. Select Start and search for Control Panel.
2. Open Programs > Default Programs.
3. Under Set a default for a file type or link type, search for .docx.
4. Set Microsoft Word as its default application.
5. Repeat for .doc if needed.

This applies when double-clicking opens the wrong program, an older Word version, or produces a file-association error.^2^

If Word itself will not open, or no documents open

Repair Microsoft 365 or Office:

Windows 11

1. Right-click Start > Installed apps.
2. Find Microsoft 365 or Office.
3. Select the three dots, then Modify.
4. Select Online Repair > Repair.

Windows 10

1. Right-click Start > Apps and Features.
2. Select Microsoft 365 or Office, then Modify.
3. Select Online Repair > Repair.

Online Repair repairs the entire Office installation, not only Word. Restart the computer afterward if requested.^3^

If Word says the document is locked

If the message specifically says “locked for editing by another user”:

• If someone else has it open, wait for them to close it or open it read-only.
• If nobody has it open, close all Word processes first. Then locate the document folder and remove its matching temporary owner file, whose name begins with ~$. Delete that temporary file only—not the actual Word document.^4^

If none of these matches, the exact error message and whether other Word files open successfully are needed to determine the next action.

References

1. Open a document after a file corruption error | Microsoft Support
2. Double-clicking an Office file fails to open it in the correct Office program | Microsoft Support
3. Repair an Office application | Microsoft Support
4. "The document is locked for editing by another user" error message when you try to open a document in Word | Microsoft Support