word in error not opening documents

Question

why has word stopped responding and opening documents

Answer 1

I have an 8.35Mb docx which I worked with many years, and now after last upgrade of word app, it's opening and when I f.e. trying to write something in searchbox or browse through it, it's crashing / closing it self just like that. I tryed to reset and reinstall it, I did reinstall whole office and set up, but it stille the same. And it wasn't like that before. The same docx I used on older samsung fold 4 and 2 which are a lot slower and have just 4Mb RAM and docx worked without problem.

Answer 2

Hello. Can you clarify what exactly happens when you try to open a document in Word? Do you get any specific error message? Does Word open but freeze or stop responding, or does it not open at all?

Answer 3

Word may stop responding and fail to open documents because of one or more of the following issues shown in the context:

1. The specific document or its auto‑recovery version is damaged.
2. Word’s preferences or template files are corrupted.
3. Word or Office installation is damaged and needs a full repair.
4. Third‑party fonts, add‑ins, or background programs are interfering.

Use these steps that match the documented fixes:

1. Check for document/auto‑recovery issues (Mac scenario in context)
   • Clear the Auto Recovery folder and test again.
   • If a particular file will not open and has symbols in its name (for example, %), rename it without symbols and try again.
2. Reset Word settings (Mac scenario in context)
   • Exit all Office apps.
   • Move Word preference files (such as com.microsoft.word.plist and com.microsoft.word.prefs.plist) and the Normal template out of their folders to the desktop, then restart Word and test.
3. Repair the Office installation (Windows scenario in context)
   • If Word shows “Word has run into an error that is preventing it from working correctly… Would you like us to repair now?” and that quick repair does not work, run an Online Repair of Office from Windows Settings → Apps → Microsoft Office → Modify → Online Repair.
   • If Online Repair does not resolve it, completely uninstall Office, restart the PC, then reinstall Office from the Microsoft account services page.
4. Check for interference (Mac scenario in context)
   • Start the Mac in a clean startup/safe mode to see if background programs are interfering.
   • Check for problematic third‑party fonts and, if necessary, open the document on a PC and replace fonts with standard ones such as Arial or Verdana.

If all of these steps fail for a particular file, the document itself may be corrupted beyond recovery and a backup or recreation of the document may be required.

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References:

• Word for Mac document stops responding when you try to open a document
• "The document caused a serious error the last time it was opened" when you open a file
• You receive an error message when you try to open an Office document
• word will not open "Would you like to repair now? - Microsoft Q&A
• How to fix my MS Word? - Microsoft Q&A
• we are sorry, but word has run into an error that is preventing it from working correctly. Word will need to be closed as a result. Would you like us to repair now? - Microsoft Q&A
• how to fix word error - Microsoft Q&A
• MS word will not open. - Microsoft Q&A