Word crashes or doesn't respond

Frequent crashes in Word can be caused by a faulty add-in. You can disable Word add-ins by following these instructions:

  1. Go to File > Options > Add-ins.
  2. In the Manage list, select COM Add-ins, and then choose Go.
  3. In the Add-Ins available box, clear the check box next to the add-in that you want to disable, and choose OK.

If Word doesn't start, try the following:

  1. On a Windows desktop, close Outlook and press CTRL+ALT+DEL to open Task Manager.

  2. On the Processes tab, if Word processes are running, select them and choose End Task. It is also recommend that you reboot to clear everything from memory.

    If Word continues to crash or hang during launch, see Open Microsoft 365 apps in safe mode on a Windows PC to launch it in Safe mode.

If you're still having problems, see the following articles:

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