Problem with Excel that prevents if from working

Question

Within the past few days I find that I can not use my Excel. When I try to open a spreadsheet I receive the following message: We're sorry, but Excel has run into an error that is preventing it from working correctly. Excel will need to be closed as a result.

Would you like us to repair now?

When I respond "Repair Now" it shuts down with the loss of all input

and no repairs take place.

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[Tag moved from: Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | Other | Other]

Answer 1

Hello Homer Burks!

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum.

The error message “Excel has run into an error that is preventing it from working correctly” might indicate an Office installation or add-ins issue.

In addition to the suggestions Q&A Assist has given, please try the following additional steps:

1. Check for updates

Make sure you're running the latest Excel version via File > Account > Update options > Update now

2. Run Excel in safe mode

Press Windows + R to open Run dialog box and type excel /safe > press OK to run.

If Excel opens normally, the problem might be due to an add-in.

Then and go to File > Options > Add-ins > select Excel Add-ins > Go > uncheck all listed add-ins and click OK

3. Repair Excel from Control Panel

• Close all Office apps, including Excel.
• Open Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features.
• Locate Microsoft Office in the list.
• Right‑select it and choose Change (or Repair, depending on your version).
• Run Quick Repair first. If the issue persists, proceed with Online Repair.
• Follow the on-screen instructions, then restart your PC.

If the issue persists, consider uninstalling Office from Control Panel > Programs and Features, restarting your PC, and then downloading and reinstalling Office from your official Microsoft account.

Hope this helps. Please let me know how it goes!

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Answer 2

Do not use the “Repair now” prompt inside Excel. Instead, run a full Online Repair of Office from Windows, which is more thorough and actually reinstalls the Office components.

Follow these steps:

1. Close all Office apps (Excel, Word, Outlook, etc.).
2. Open Settings in Windows.
3. Go to Apps → Installed apps (or Apps & features, depending on Windows version).
4. Find Microsoft 365 (or Office) in the list.
5. Select it, then choose Modify.
6. Select Online Repair, then confirm and start the repair.
   • This can take 15–30 minutes; do not cancel it.
7. When the repair finishes, restart the computer.
8. After restart, open Excel and test opening a workbook again.

If Excel still shows the same error after a full Online Repair, a complete uninstall and reinstall of Office (including manually removing leftover Office folders and registry entries) may be required, as described in the referenced Q&A.

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References:

• I get a "stopped working" error when I start Office applications on my PC
• "An error occurred when sending commands to the program" in Excel
• Excel not responding, hangs, freezes or stops working
• Excel for Mac error: "The application Microsoft Excel quit unexpectedly"
• When I open an excel file it shows - We're sorry, but excel has run into an error that is preventing it from working correctly, Excel will need to be closed as a result. would you like us to repair now? then shows the option "repair now","help","close" - Microsoft Q&A
• how fix run into an error problem - Microsoft Q&A
• How can I get office 365 to work? - Microsoft Q&A
• We're Sorry but Word Has Run Into an Error - Microsoft Q&A
• how i can fix the microsoft app problem - Microsoft Q&A