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Excel Hangs when opening new file

Moh B 0 Reputation points
2026-02-12T15:36:49.6433333+00:00

Hi Guys,

Excel seems to crash/Hang when ever I open a new file.

Any ideas

(For MacBook)

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For home | MacOS
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4 answers

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  1. John Jefferson Doyon 61,275 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-02-13T16:14:56.32+00:00

    Thank you for trying those steps and letting me know.

    If you haven't already, I’d suggest is to uninstall any existing Office apps on your Mac to avoid conflict:

    Then, to reinstall Microsoft Office:

    • Go to https://account.microsoft.com/services
    • Sign in using the same Microsoft account linked to your license.
    • Find Microsoft Office you own and click the "Install".
    • That will download the installer for the Office apps, just run it and follow the steps.

    If anything’s unclear or the "Install" option still doesn’t show, feel free to let me know. I’ll be happy to walk you through it!


    Let me know how it goes or if you have any further questions or concerns.


  2. John Jefferson Doyon 61,275 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-02-12T16:32:59.7966667+00:00

    Mac: m4, taheo excel : Version 16.105 (26011018) I have a excel file open, then when i got to open a new one if freezes.

    Thank you for letting me know.

    Since Excel freezes only when opening a new file, please try disabling all add-ins and restarting Excel, then test again. Next, reset Excel preferences by going to Finder > Go > Go to Folder, paste ~/Library/Preferences and move files starting with com.microsoft.Excel to Desktop, then reopen Excel. Also, please check Help > Check for Updates and install any pending updates.

    After trying this, does Excel still freeze, and does it happen when you use File > New or only when opening from Finder?


  3. John Jefferson Doyon 61,275 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-02-12T16:16:08.94+00:00

    Hi, I'm John! I will help you with this.

    Please try opening Excel in Safe Mode (hold Shift while launching) and check if it still hangs. If it works there, disable all add-ins and update Office from Help > Check for Updates.

    May I know what macOS and Excel version are you using, and does it freeze only with new files or also existing ones?


    Click "Add comment" to let me know.

    Regards,

    John J.D.


  4. Q&A Assist
    2026-02-12T15:37:01.1266667+00:00
    AI generated content. This question contains an answer created with AI from Q&A Assist. Learn more

    If Excel is crashing or hanging when you try to open a new file on your MacBook, you can try the following troubleshooting steps:

    1. Quit All Programs: Make sure to quit all applications before proceeding. You can do this by selecting the application from the toolbar and choosing Quit. If an application is unresponsive, use Force Quit by holding down the Command and Option keys and pressing Esc.
    2. Remove Excel Preferences:
    • Quit all Microsoft Office applications.
    • Open the Library folder by selecting Go from the menu and holding down the OPTION key.
    • Navigate to Preferences and look for files named com.microsoft.Excel.plist and com.microsoft.Excel,prefs.plist. Move these files to the desktop. If the problem persists, restore them to their original location and proceed to the next step.
    1. Repair Disk Permissions: This can help resolve any permissions issues that might be causing Excel to hang. To do this:
    • Open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder.
    • Select your primary hard disk and choose the First Aid tab, then select Repair Disk Permissions.
    1. Create a New User Account: Sometimes, the issue may be related to your user account. Create a new user account by going to System Preferences > Accounts and adding a new account. Log into this new account and check if Excel works properly.
    2. Reinstall Office: If none of the above steps work, consider uninstalling and then reinstalling Microsoft Office to ensure that all components are correctly installed.

    After trying these methods, check if the issue with Excel hanging when opening a new file is resolved.

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