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Word sometimes doesn't work, and now its gone from my computer. I can't open my documents

Ingrid Renata Nielsen 21 Reputation points
2020-12-03T11:11:11.177+00:00

Hi, I just get an error when I try to open a word document. I really need word so how am I supposed to get it back? Powerpoint works fine, but what is actually going on???

After I clock on the document -> then "Microsoft Office component -> it says "This app can't run on your pc"

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For business | Windows
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  1. Emily Hua-MSFT 27,796 Reputation points
    2020-12-04T05:00:35.07+00:00

    @Ingrid Renata Nielsen

    1 Does this issue occure with all Word documents?
    You may right-click the blank space on desktop to create a new Word document to check this issue.

    2 Which version of Office are you using now?
    Please go to PowerPoint > File > Account > Product Information, check the version name, and share us.

    3 It‘s best to find the winword.exe in the root directory of Office installation.
    Such as for Microsoft 365 apps (64-bit), please go to C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Office16, open it directly and open a document in Word for a test.

    If the issue goes away, please go to Start menu > Settings > Apps > Default apps > Choose default apps by file type, ensure Word is the default apps for documents with format .doc, .docx.

    If this issue still goes on, please try the following steps.

    • Right-click winword.exe > Propertities > Compatibility tab > make sure the box of "Run this program in compatibility mode for:" is not ticked, and the ensuer you tick the box of "Run this program as an administrator".
    • Press Win+R to open Run dialog, enter "winword /a", click OK. Then Word would be started, and it prevents add-ins, global templates (including the Normal template) and startup files from being loaded automatically.

    4 If this issue does not occur with " /a" switch, please check COM add-ins first.
    Go to File > Options > Add-ins > Manage, COM Add-ins > Go, clear the check boxes for any enabled COM add-ins, select OK.

    If this issue still persists, please do as following.

    Any questions or updates please let us know.

    If an Answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and upvote it.
    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.

    1 person found this answer helpful.

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  1. Charles Kenyon 3,146 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2020-12-04T00:50:26.76+00:00

    Hi Ingrid,

    Welcome. I don't want to discourage you, but your question is really off-topic for this forum which is aimed at IT pros and people deploying office on a bulk basis. It would be better posted in the our sister site Microsoft Answers. If you do post there, be sure to specify which Office product you have and what you are doing when you try to open a document.

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