MS Word Error Message

Question

Message Box: We're Sorry, but Word has run into an error that is preventing it from working correctly. Word will to be closed as a result.

Would you like us to repair now? Then I click on the Repair Now button, Word closes and when I open Word again the same message appears.

Answer 1

The first suggestion from the AI bot, to perform an Online Repair, should fix the problem. Remember to check that you can access your account at https://account.microsoft.com/services ; the purpose of this action is to make sure that you can reinstall Office, which is usually the final step of an Online Repair.

Answer 2

The Repair Now button in that error dialog typically does only a quick repair. If the same error returns, run a full Online Repair of Office.

1. Close all Office apps.
2. In Windows, right-click Start and open:
   • Apps and Features on Windows 10, or
   • Installed apps on Windows 11.
3. Select the Microsoft 365 or Office product.
4. Choose Modify.
5. If prompted, allow the change.
6. Select Online Repair and then Repair.
   • This is more thorough than Quick Repair.
   • It repairs the whole Office suite, even if only Word is failing.
7. Follow the on-screen steps and restart the PC if prompted.

If Word still fails after Online Repair, try these additional steps in order:

1. Update Office
   • Open any Office app if possible.
   • Go to File > Account > Update Options > Update Now.
2. Start Word in Safe Mode to check add-ins
   • Open Run.
   • Start Word with the safe mode switch as described in the Office troubleshooting steps.
   • If Word opens in Safe Mode, an add-in is a likely cause.
3. Update Windows
   • Open Start.
   • Search for Windows Update.
   • Select Check for updates and install available updates.
4. Reinstall Office
   • Use the Microsoft uninstall troubleshooter to completely remove Office, then reinstall it.
   • Note: uninstalling Office removes the apps from the PC until reinstalled.

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• Repair an Office application
• I get a "stopped working" error when I start Office applications on my PC
• "Unable to start Office" or ”Office is busy” error message
• All microsoft office applications Excel, Word, Outlook, Etc. open with error and cannot be used - Microsoft Q&A

Answer 3

Hi, James Clifton

This loop can also be caused by a damaged Word template or corrupted Word settings, rather than the Office installation itself.

Besides the solutions provided by the Q&A Assist, here are some suggestions you can try:

Press Windows + R, type winword /a, and press Enter. This starts Word without loading the Normal template or saved Word settings. If Word opens normally, continue with the next step.

Close Word. Press Windows + R, enter %appdata%\Microsoft\Templates, and press Enter. Find Normal.dotm, rename it to Normal.old, then reopen Word. Word will automatically create a fresh Normal.dotm file. Your documents are not deleted, although custom styles or formatting saved in the old template will not appear in the new one.

If the error continues, create a temporary Windows user account under Settings > Accounts > Other users, sign in to it, and test Word there. If Word works in the new account, the original Windows profile likely contains damaged Word settings. You can then move your personal files to the new account or ask local IT support to repair the profile.

Thank you for your patience in reading, I hope this information has been helpful to you. 

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