Create Handouts PowerPoint couldn't write to Microsoft Word

I had this exact same issue.  I was so frustrated as it was for an assignment and if I couldnt produce a word doc with slides and blank lines i would loose marks.  I kept exporting, having word open, the first slide would be there and then i would get the error.  The third time it happened I ended up just closing the document and leaving word open.  When I exported this time it worked perfectly!  Not sure if that will solve everyone’s troubles, but it solved mine!  Hope this helps.

The way i fixed this is:

Go into PowerPoint Options --> Save --> Under the "Save presentations" section, tick "Save to Computer by default".

Now it works.

May I please add my comments to this thread?  This is not a new problem and the web is full of threads on the subject. 

I am having the same issue now with Powerpoint 2016 and Word 2016 (Office 365 Home) . 

I have tried everything suggested elsewhere.  Run Offcat, Windows 10 64 bit build 1607 fully updated, Office fully updated including insider updates.  I have run repair process and also uninstalled and reinstalled. Compressed and optimised media in my presentation.  I am running Skylake desktop with an i5 CPU and 16Gb of memory. I close everything else down whilst trying to export my Powerpoint presentation to handouts and I get the same error every time.  usually around half way through. "Powerpoint cannot write to Microsoft Word".   

Just for good measure I have just tried the same operation on my laptop, A Microsoft Surface 4 Pro i5 and I get exactly the same scenario.  I end up with a Word document with half my presentation slides showing correctly with the notes by the side of the pictures.  If there was a way of choosing the slides to export then I might be able to botch together a complete file but there isn't.  I might try deleting the content for those that have exported so that the numbering stays the same to see if the second half will export on their own.  Really, I should not have to try that.

It seems such a valuable and obvious feature to include in Powerpoint.  It is just a pity that it doesn't work. I have tried other ways but cannot find any that work.  You can't print to pdf with slide image and notes by their side. It does seem a pretty basic requirement to be able to produce a complete set of handouts showing the slide image and the notes, I find it hard to understand why this cannot be done.  Anyone out there found a method that works?  Please tell all!

Neither of the suggestions made by Erblemoof or 0x24murf worked for me.  The output to Word comes to a grinding halt at Slide 25 and I have 165 in the presentation that is 735MB. 

This problem has existed for a long time as far as I am aware.  Microsoft should get it sorted and tell us what we need to do to make it work as it is an important feature.

I have tried reducing the presentation size by optimising pictures. Pasting pictures as links and all other tricks I can think of.  Nothing works for me.

Please,  Microsoft list the system requirements to make this work or publically acknowledge the issue and admit is doesn't so we don't waste even more time trying to get it to work.  I admit my presentation is large but my PC is not short of memory and in any case, temporary files exist to cope with that issue.  If it is a resource issue then tell us what we need to do to fix it.

Ok I did everything you asked.  First I tried it in safe mode,  Then I did a quick repair, then I did the full online repair and its the same problem.

And it always stops on random slides.  Its never in the same place.

I even tried it in safe mode after doing the online repair.

I have also disabled all of my addins and tried that. 

Its with all of my powerpoint presentations too.  I can even create a brand new blank document and it does it on that too.  

With the blank document with one slide it will work sometimes and not others.  Completely random.  I have looked up this error in the forums and in the search engine and it appears that this has been a problem for a long time with powerpoint and none of the suggestions have worked.  Its a great feature if it worked.

I'm not trying to complain I'm just giving you all the information I have.  As a programmer myself I really believe that the problem is a bug in the software.  Either in PowerPoint or Word.

Do you have any other suggestions?