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windows cannot find "c:\program files\microsoft office\root\office16\winword.exe"

Anonymous
2020-06-10T08:54:31+00:00

My Word and Excel programmes are no longer opening up on my PC.  They were working fine this morning.  I went out to a meeting and when I returned I tried to open Word and got this message:

windows cannot find "c:\program files\microsoft office\root\office16\winword.exe"  Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again.

My windows 10 version is 1903 (os build 18362.900)

I have an office 365 business standard subscription.

Things i've tried with no luck:

Uninstalled office and reinstalled it.

Switched off antivirus before trying to open Word.

Ran a virus scan of the PC

Tried the Microsoft support and recovery tool.

Tried opening Word by opening an existing .doc file

Please help.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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  1. Anonymous
    2020-06-10T09:11:09+00:00
    1. open run  (Windows key + r)
    2. type regedit 
    3. navigate to Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options
    4. delete the folders of the apps that don`t work
    153 people found this answer helpful.
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  1. Anonymous
    2020-06-12T11:43:27+00:00

    Hi All,

    Thanks for the report and your updates in this case. To benefit all members identify the issue more easily, we have made the summary below. Please kindly check it and if you still have more problems, post back here and we will continue to help you.

    ISSUE Description:

    When users attempt to start an Office Application the following error may occur:

    Windows cannot find "c:\program files\microsoft office\root\office16\outlook.exe" Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again.

    This issue may occur for any Office application and for other non-Office applications.

    STATUS: FIXED 

    The cases we investigated were due to Avast and confirmed in the Avast forum, https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=233129.msg1549710#msg1549710.  Per the guidance in that thread a fix has been released and you will get an automatic update.  Please see the specifics in that thread for more information.  

    Reference: 

    Windows cannot find "c:\program files\microsoft office\root\office16\outlook.exe

    Regards,

    Rena

    18 people found this answer helpful.
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  1. Anonymous
    2020-06-10T09:33:16+00:00

    That fixed it.

    Thank you so much, very much appreciated.

    3 people found this answer helpful.
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  2. Anonymous
    2020-06-10T11:56:27+00:00

    The solution below worked for me but what are M/S doing releasing an update that bricks their products and requires such a horrible repair. Have they completely forgotten about software testing before release. 

    Not sure if I trust M/s anymore.

    2 people found this answer helpful.
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  3. Anonymous
    2020-06-10T12:11:38+00:00

    Hi Steven,

    Many thanks for posting the result after trying the suggestion above. And we apologize for the inconvenience the issue caused. Your report always help us improve the products and services better and better. For this problem, we have also reported it via the Office in-app feedback, and Windows feedback hub. The engineer team will check that.

    Your voice is always important to us.

    Regards,

    Rena

    1 person found this answer helpful.
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