Office error

Question

kindly assist on how I can correct this. I have tried uninstalling and installing again, switching off and even formatted my pc but soon after I access excel it resurfaces.

Answer 1

Dear @Aditech Technologies,

Good day, and thank you for reaching out to the Q&A Forum. I’m sorry to hear that Excel keeps showing the “run into a problem” error even after you have already tried reinstalling Office, restarting the PC, and formatting the computer. As a forum moderator, I genuinely wish I could directly access your device or check the backend activation and installation details to diagnose and resolve this for you. However, my role here is limited to providing general guidance and troubleshooting steps that users can try on their side. To help narrow this down, could you please confirm a few details?

• Are you using Microsoft 365, Office 2021, Office 2019, or another version?
• Does the same error appear in Word or PowerPoint?
• Does Excel open normally if you do not sign in to the Microsoft account?
• Are you using a work/school account or a personal Microsoft account?
• Did this start after a Windows update, Office update, or license/account change?

In the meantime, you can try the following steps to see if it helps:

1.Run an Online Repair

The Repair Now button inside the error popup may not resolve the issue. Please try running an Online Repair from Windows settings instead.

• Close all Office apps.
• Right-click Start.
• Select Installed apps
• Find Microsoft 365 Office.
• Select Modify.
• Choose Online Repair.
• Complete the repair and restart the PC.

For reference: Repair an Office application | Microsoft Support

2.Open Excel in Safe Mode

Please check whether Excel opens in Safe Mode. This can help identify whether an add-in or extension is causing startup problems. 

• Press Windows + R.
• Type: excel /safe
• Press Enter.

If Excel opens successfully in Safe Mode, the issue may be caused by an Excel add-in.

1. Go to File > Options > Add-ins.
2. At the bottom, beside Manage, select COM Add-ins.
3. Click Go.
4. Uncheck all add-ins.
5. Restart Excel normally.

If Excel works after disabling add-ins, re-enable them one by one to identify the problematic add-in.

3.Perform a clean reinstall of Office

I understand that you have already uninstalled and reinstalled Office/Excel. However, if the issue keeps returning, there may still be remaining Office installation, profile, or activation components on the device.

1. Close all Office applications.
2. Go to Control Panel > Programs and Features.
3. Select Microsoft 365 or Microsoft Office, then choose Uninstall.
4. Restart the computer after the uninstall completes.

After that, you may check for any remaining Office-related folders in the following locations and remove only folders that are clearly related to Office or Microsoft 365:

C:\Program Files and C:\Program Files (x86)

C:\ProgramData

C:\Users%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Microsoft

C:\Users%USERNAME%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft

4.Clean the registry
Important: The steps below involve editing the Windows Registry. Please proceed carefully, and consider backing up the registry or creating a restore point before making changes. 

1. Press Windows + R.
2. Type regedit, then press Enter.
3. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft and HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft, and delete any keys related to Office.

After cleanup, restart the computer, reinstall Office from the official Microsoft account portal or your organization’s Microsoft 365 portal, and then test Excel again.

I also recommend checking the answer and link provided by AI above, as they may already contain useful information related to your issue.

I hope this information is helpful. Please follow these steps and let me know if it works for you. If not, we can work together to resolve this. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to share them in the comments so I can continue to support you. Thank you for your patience and understanding. I'm looking forward to your reply.

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Answer 2

Follow these steps in order, since uninstall/reinstall alone has not fixed the issue:

1. Run an Online Repair of Office
   This does a full repair of all Microsoft 365 apps and replaces corrupted components.
   1. Close all Office apps (Excel, Word, Outlook, etc.).
   2. Open Settings in Windows.
   3. Go to Apps → Installed apps (or Apps & features).
   4. Find Microsoft 365 or Office in the list.
   5. Select it and choose Modify.
   6. Select Online Repair and confirm.
   7. Let the repair complete (this can take 15–30 minutes) and then restart the PC.
   8. Open Excel and test again.
   This step is specifically recommended when all Office apps are affected or when the in‑app “Repair now” does not permanently resolve the problem.
2. If Online Repair does not help, completely remove Office and reinstall
   If the error still appears after Online Repair, the installation may be corrupted in a way that a normal uninstall does not clean up.
   1. Uninstall Office from Settings → Apps → Installed apps or Control Panel → Programs and Features.
   2. After uninstall completes, manually delete any remaining Office folders under Program Files if they are still present (for example, Office root folders for Word/Excel/PowerPoint), as described in the moderator guidance.
   3. Restart the PC (use Restart, not Shut down).
   4. Sign in to the Microsoft account or work account that owns the subscription and reinstall Office from there.
   5. After installation, open Excel first and verify it starts without the error.
3. If the issue persists across all Office apps even after a clean reinstall
   At that point, the environment is likely damaged beyond what self‑service can fix (for example, corrupted shared components like runtimes). Contact Microsoft Support so they can use advanced tools (such as the o15-ctrremove diagnostic and deeper cleanup) to fully remove remnants and reinstall Office, as shown in the referenced resolution.

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References:

• I get a "stopped working" error when I start Office applications on my PC
• Excel opens to a blank screen
• "Unable to start Office" or ”Office is busy” error message
• Office 2021 desktop apps fail to open, cannot restore or uninstall - Microsoft Q&A
• How can I get office 365 to work? - Microsoft Q&A
• 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
• Firmware updated caused microsoft office to stop working - Microsoft Q&A