cannot open word file

Question

many word/excel/powerpoint cannot open and a cross sign is shown on the icon of the file.

Answer 1

@Samuel Mok

Please tell me the version of your Office.
Open an Office application, File>Account>About…

Is there any error message when the files cannot be opened?
If there is, please give the screenshot.

Apart from Office files, does this cross sign appear on other icons like software shortcuts?

Besides, have these files been synced with OneDrive before?
There may be something wrong with OneDrive sync.
Please sign in to OneDrive again to have a check.

If you have any updates, please post back.

Regards,
Erin

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Answer 2

@Samuel Mok

Have you performed any operations recently such as speeding up the system?
It may be the problem of image cache and shortcut.

Besides, please make sure you have enough disk space.

You could try the following methods.

• Right-click on your Desktop and select Refresh.
• Uninstall any backup applications that are not longer used. Restart your computer after each uninstallation.

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Answer 3

@Samuel Mok

According to my research, your issue may not be related to Office and maybe caused by Windows.

It’s recommended to close explorer.exe temporarily to check the issue.
You could follow the below steps.

• Type cmd in the search bar, run Command Prompt as administrator.
• Type the following command: reg delete "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\lnkfile" /v IsShortcut /f & taskkill /f /im explorer.exe & start explorer.exe, Enter.

When rebooting your computer, explorer.exe would restart by itself.

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