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Macros stop working after forced break

Matthew Williams 0 Reputation points
2025-08-28T18:53:09.5066667+00:00

Hi. I've tried searching for threads on my issue, but I haven't been able to find any, so forgive me if this is a repeat.

For several months now, when I force a macro in Word to quit, I am no longer able to rerun the macro or, indeed, any other macro until I reboot Windows. I don't see any obvious "extra" instances of Word running in the Task Manager. I have tried creating a new Normal template and copying/pasting my macros into it, but the problem doesn't go away. I get an error, "Code execution has been interrupted," and the macro stops at the same point at which I forced it to break.

Thinking it might be a problem in my macro, I wrote a very simple do-loop macro in a clean Normal template and tested that; I get the same result. I am running in Parallels, but I can't think of any reason that would be the issue. For what it's worth, I've used this macro for many years without this happening.

Has anyone else seen this and found a cause?

Thanks.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For business | Windows
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  1. Doug Robbins - MVP - Office Apps and Services 323K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2025-09-01T09:18:27.77+00:00

    You probably need to go to the Visual Basic Editor and then click on Run>Reset

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  2. Matthew Williams 0 Reputation points
    2025-09-01T13:50:53.36+00:00

    Thanks for the suggestion, Doug, but this wouldn't explain why a clean install of Parallels, Windows, and Office would fail the same way. Parallels suggested installing 11 Pro 23H2, but I can't find a copy of it online, so that's not an option. Still looking for resolution. Perhaps 25H2 will fix the problem. It looks like it's in Beta.

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  3. Matthew Williams 0 Reputation points
    2025-08-29T14:37:45.4+00:00

    So, after I posted my reply, I decided to do a more radical test. I created a completely new Parallels virtual machine, installed a clean copy of Windows, and then installed a clean copy of Office. The problem is still there. This suggests that either the Parallels ARM architecture is having trouble handling Word macros, or Word is having trouble inside Parallels. I'm not sure where to go from here. I can contact Parallels and let them know, but it seems just as likely that it's a problem in Windows 11 Pro 24H2 (which is on the clean-install virtual machine) or Word. Can you advise?

    Thanks.

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  4. Matthew Williams 0 Reputation points
    2025-08-29T13:30:23.19+00:00

    Hi Ruby. Thanks for your quick reply.

    I can't be sure if my account is personal or business. I'm afraid I didn't set it up clearly and haven't gone back to make sure everything is as it should be. I use Office 365 for my business, but I'm a freelancer, so I could have set it up as a business account or a personal one; I just don't recall. If it's a business account, I am the administrator. I have updated Word to the most current version. I am using the current version of Windows 11 Pro, build 26100.4946 on a silicon Mac running in the Parallels ARM virtual machine emulator.

    Repairing Office did not fix the problem.

    Regenerating the key also did not fix the problem.

    Running Word in clean mode also had no effect.

    If you have other suggestions, I'm all ears. Thanks!

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  5. Ruby-N 11,730 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2025-08-28T20:04:39.21+00:00

    Dear @Matthew Williams, 

    Welcome to the Q&A Community. Thank you for sharing your concerns. 

    To help me better understand the situation and assist you effectively, could you please share a few details such as:   

    1. Could you please confirm whether your account is a Business/Education (This is an organizational account provided by a company or educational institution) or a Personal account?   
    2. If your account is a Business or Education account, are you the account administrator?   
    3. Have you updated your Word and Windows to the latest version? 

    This will help us better understand the context and provide more targeted support. Any additional information will help us better understand and support you.    

    In the meantime, here are a few workarounds you can try: 

    After forcibly stopping a macro in Word, you may encounter the error “Code execution has been interrupted”, and macros may stop working until you restart Windows. This can happen even with a clean Normal.dotm template and simple macros. Common causes include: 

    • A corrupted global template (Normal.dotm) 
    • An unstable VBA environment after forced interruption 
    • Add-ins or registry keys interfering with macro execution 

    1/ You may try repair office installation 

    Sometimes the macro environment becomes unstable due to corrupted Office components. 

    Go to Start > Settings > Apps > Installed Apps. 

    Select Microsoft 365 or Word, then click Modify. 

    Choose Online Repair for a full repair. 

    You may find this article helpful for further details: Repair an Office application - Microsoft Support 

    2/ You can also reset Word’s registry keys:  

    Corrupted registry keys can prevent macros from running properly. 

    Press Windows + R, type regedit, and press Enter. 

    Navigate to: 

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office<version>\Word\Data 

    Export the key as a backup, then delete it. 

    Restart Word to allow it to regenerate the key. 

    This article provides further guidance on the topic: How to troubleshoot problems that occur when you start or use Word - Microsoft Support 

    3/ To test if add-ins are causing the issue, try launching Word in clean mode: 

    Press Windows + R, then type: 

    winword /a 

    This will start Word without loading add-ins or templates. If macros work in this mode, the issue is likely related to an add-in or template.  

    You can try these workarounds and update us. Please understand that our initial response may not always resolve the issue immediately. However, with your help and more detailed information, we can work together to find a solution.     

    If you need any further assistance or clarification, feel free to reach out. We're here to help. Thank you very much for your understanding and your cooperation.    

    If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment". 

    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

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