Excel stopped working

Ravishankar K 0 Reputation points
2026-11-12T07:45:58.5366667+00:00

my excel app has stoppped working and states repair needed.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For home | Windows
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  1. AI answer

    2026-11-12T07:46:37.9666667+00:00

    Run an Online Repair of Microsoft 365 or Office rather than relying only on the Repair now button in the Excel error message.

    Repair Microsoft 365 or Office

    1. Close Excel and all other Office applications.
    2. Open the repair settings:
      • Windows 11: Right-click Start → Installed apps.
      • Windows 10: Right-click Start → Apps and Features.
    3. Find Microsoft 365 or Microsoft Office.
    4. Select the three dots (if shown) → Modify.
    5. Choose the available option:
      • For the usual Click-to-Run installation, select Online Repair → Repair.
      • For an MSI-based installation, select Repair → Continue.
    6. Complete the prompts, restart Windows if requested, and then open Excel.

    Online Repair is the more complete repair option; the process repairs the entire Office suite even when only Excel is affected.^1^

    If Excel still does not open

    Test whether an add-in is preventing startup:

    1. Press Windows key + R.
    2. Enter:
    excel /safe
    1. Select OK.
    2. If Excel opens successfully, go to File → Options → Add-ins.
    3. At the bottom, set Manage to COM Add-ins, then select Go.
    4. Clear every checkbox and select OK.
    5. Close Excel and open it normally.
    6. If that resolves the problem, enable the add-ins individually, restarting Excel each time, until the problematic add-in is identified.^2^

    If Excel cannot start even in Safe Mode after Online Repair, note the exact error wording or code and whether Word or other Office applications also fail; those details distinguish an Excel-only startup issue from a wider Office installation problem.

    References

    1. Repair an Office application | Microsoft Support
    2. Excel not responding, hangs, freezes or stops working
    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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  2. DaveM121 947.9K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-11-12T08:18:54.61+00:00

    Hi, this seems to be an ongoing bug with the Office apps for a couple of days which may be caused by an update, there are many people reporting this problem.

    1

    The 'Repair Now' button on that error popup dialog only performs a quick repair of the Office apps and that rarely resolves the problem with the Office apps, the best option is to perform a full online repair of your Office installation.

    Before performing this process to ensure you do not loose the Office installation during the repair, please log into your Microsoft account on this link (https://account.microsoft.com/services/) and check to ensure your Office licence or Microsoft 365 subscription is listed correctly on your account.

    Open the Settings App (gear icon on your Start Menu)

    Go to Apps - Installed Apps or Apps and Features

    Then, scroll down to find Microsoft Office or Microsoft 365.

    Select that and choose Modify - Online Repair

    That should fix any issues with your Office Installation.

    2

    If that does not resolve the problem, are you seeing any notification at the bottom right of your screen indicating Smart App Control security is blocking Office.

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