What do I do if Microsoft Word keeps crashing?
Microsoft Word Addins are usually the culprit. You may need to identify and remove Add-ins from Microsoft Office programs. You can fix it by troubleshooting Word in Safe Mode, updating Word to the latest version, repairing Office, etc. In this article, we have provided the solutions to some common Microsoft Word crashing problems.
Microsoft Word keeps crashing on Windows 11/10
Here, we will see the solutions to the following Microsoft Word crashing issues:
Word crashes while saving a document.Word crashes when opening.Word crashes when copying and pasting.Word crashes when printing.Word crashes when updating Table of Contents.
Apart from identifying and removing offending Word addins as mentioned above, we discuss below troubleshooting suggestions for each of these scenarios.
Microsoft Word crashes while saving a document
If Microsoft Word keeps crashing or freezing frequently or randomly on Windows 11/10 then these solutions are sure to help you fix the issue. According to some users, Microsoft Word crashes every time they attempt to save a document on their computers. If such a thing happens to you, you can try the following solutions: Below, we have explained each of these troubleshooting methods in detail.
1] Update Microsoft Office
The problems like crashing issues may occur if you are using the outdated version of Microsoft Office. Hence, before you start troubleshooting methods, it will be better to check if there is any update pending for Microsoft Office. If yes, update Microsoft Office to the latest version. After updating Office, check if you can save your document or not.
2] Save your Word document to another location
By default, the save location of Microsoft Office applications, like Word, Excel, etc., is the Documents folder. You might be experiencing this problem due to permission issues with Microsoft Word. To check this, right-click in the empty space on your Desktop and go to “File > Microsoft Word Document.” After that, open that Word document and go to “File > Save As.” Check, does it crash this time too?
If Word crashes, there could be permission issues with Microsoft Word. You can fix the permission issues by running Word as an administrator.If Word does not crash, the problem might be associated with the Microsoft Office application. To fix this, try the next solutions.
3] Run Word as an administrator
As explained earlier, the problem might be occurring because of permission issues with Microsoft Word. Hence, we suggest you run Microsoft Word as an administrator and see what happens. To run Microsoft Word as an administrator, follow the instructions below: If this fixes the issue, you can set the Microsoft Word application to always run as administrator.
4] Launch Microsoft Word in Safe Mode
There might be some Add-ins in Word causing the problem. You can check this by launching Microsoft Word in Safe Mode. When you launch Word on the Safe Mode, it will run with the Add-ins disabled. After launching the Word in Safe Mode, save your document. If Word does not crash this time, the culprit is one or more Add-ins. Now, exit the Word from Safe Mode and launch it again in the normal mode. Disable your Add-ins one by one and save your document after you disable each Add-in. This will let you know which Add-in is causing the problem. Once you identify it, consider removing it.
The following steps will show you how to disable Add-ins in Microsoft Word:
5] Repair Office
If none of the above solutions fixed your issue, first, repair the Microsoft Office application and see if it helps. If the issue still persists, you can try reinstalling the Microsoft Office application.
Microsoft Word crashes when opening
If Microsoft Word crashes every time you open it or open a document, the following solutions may help you fix it: Let’s have a detailed look at these troubleshooting methods that are sure to help you if your Word keeps crashing while saving a document, opening, copying & pasting, printing or updating Table of Contents.
1] Update Microsoft Office
First, check if you are using the updated version of Microsoft Office or not. If your Office application is outdated, consider updating it to the latest version. If the crashing issue was occurring due to some bug, updating the Office application will fix it.
2] Turn off the Protected View
Turn off the Protected View and see if it brings any changes. The steps for the same are listed below: Now, check if the issue is fixed or not.
3] Launch Word in Safe Mode
Sometimes, some Add-ins cause several issues with Microsoft Office applications. This might be the case with you. You can check this by launching the Word in Safe Mode. Word disables some Add-ins in Safe Mode. Therefore, if Word launches in Safe Mode successfully, it means that one of the disabled Add-Ins is the culprit. To launch Word in Safe Mode, simply type winword /safe in the Run command box and click OK. After launching it in Safe Mode, go to “File > Options > Add-Ins.” Now, select COM Add-Ins in the Manage drop-down menu and click on the Go button. Now, see which Add-Ins are disabled. Because Word is crashing when you open it, you have to remove the disabled Add-ins in Safe Mode. Select one of the disabled Add-In and click Remove. Now, exit the Safe Mode and launch Word in the normal mode. If Word crashes this time too, launch it again in Safe Mode and remove another Add-In. If the Word launches in the normal mode, it means that you have removed the faulty Add-in. Now, you can install the removed Add-Ins again except the faulty one.
4] Unblock Word document via Properties
Sometimes, Word crashes when opening a document directly from the email. If this is the case with you, you can try this solution. First, save the Word file from the email on your computer. Now, right-click on it and select Properties and enable the Unblock checkbox. Now, check if the issue persists.
5] Repair Office
Repairing Microsoft Office can also fix the problems. You can repair Microsoft Office from the Control Panel.
6] Troubleshoot in Clean Boot State
There might be some program(s) on your system that is/are conflicting with the Microsoft Word application and causing it to crash. If none of the above solutions worked, you should troubleshoot your computer in a Clean Boot State. If you find such a program, consider uninstalling it.
Microsoft Word crashes when copying and pasting
Try the following solutions to fix the crashing issue with Microsoft Word while copying and pasting the data. Let’s see these solutions in detail.
1] Turn off the Clipboard history
Some users have stated that the issue was fixed after turning off the Clipboard history. You should also try this and see if it brings any changes.
2] Uncheck everything in the Office Clipboard Options menu
Launch Microsoft Word and follow the steps listed below: Check if the issue is fixed or not.
3] Launch Microsoft Word in Safe Mode
Some users have reported that the problem was due to some Add-Ins like ABBY’s Fine Reader, Adobe PDF Maker, etc. If Microsoft Word is crashing on your system due to an Add-In, troubleshooting Microsoft Word in Safe Mode can help you identify that Add-in. If you find any Add-In the culprit of the problem, consider removing it. We have explained the process of troubleshooting Word in Safe Mode above in this article.
4] Repair Office
You might be experiencing crashing issues with the Word application due to some corruption in Microsoft Office. In such a case, repairing Office can fix the issue.
Microsoft Word crashes when printing
If your Microsoft Word application crashes while printing a document, you can try the following solutions: Let’s talk about these solutions in detail.
1] Try Printing to PDF, XPS, or OneNote
Launch Microsoft Word and open your document in it. Now, go to “File > Print.” After that, click on the Printer drop-down menu and select the following options one by one and see if Word crashes while you print or not. If Word does not crash, you can use these modes to print your Word documents. If Word still crashes, try the next solutions.
2] Delete the contents of the Printers folder in the C directory
Clear the contents of the Printer folder in the C directory and see if it solves your issue. To delete the contents of this folder, first, you have to stop the Print Spooler service. The steps to stop the Print Spooler service are as follows:
Now, after stopping the Print Spooler service, open the file explorer and enter the following path, and hit Enter. There, you will find the Printers folder. Open it. If you receive the Permissions dialog box, click Continue. Delete all the contents inside the Printers folder. After that, launch the Services app again and start the Print Spooler service. For this, right-click on the Print Spooler service and select Start.
3] Identify the culprit printer
If you have installed more than one printer on your system, you can check if there is any culprit printer causing the problem. For this, uninstall all the printers and install them again one by one. After installing each printer, print your Word document and see if Microsoft Word crashes.
4] Update, roll back, and reinstall your printer driver
The crashing issue might be occurring due to the outdated or corrupted printer driver. You should try updating, rolling back, and reinstalling the printer driver.
5] Run SFC and DISM scans
One of the causes of this issue is the corrupted Windows System Image. Run SFC scan and DISM scan and see if it helps you fix the issue.
6] Troubleshoot Word in Safe Mode
If there is an Add-In causing the problem, troubleshooting Word in Safe Mode will help you identify it. Once you find it, remove it from Word. We have already explained the process to troubleshoot Word in Safe Mode above in this article.
7] Repair Office
If the problem still continues, your Microsoft Office application might be corrupted. You can solve this issue by repairing it.
Microsoft Word crashes when updating Table of Contents
The following solutions may help you fix this issue:
1] Troubleshoot Word in Safe Mode
Safe Mode launches the Office applications with Add-Ins disabled mode. This mode is helpful in identifying the culprit Add-In. We have explained how to troubleshoot Word in Safe Mode above in this article.
2] Repair Office
Users experience several issues with Microsoft Office if it Is corrupted. This might be the case with you. You should run a repair for your Microsoft Office application and see if it helps.
How do I open Word in Safe Mode?
To open Microsoft Word in Safe Mode, first, launch the Run command box by pressing Win + R keys. After that, type winword /safe and click OK. When Word is launched in Safe Mode, there should be Microsoft Word (Safe Mode) written on its top. Hope this article helped you solve your problem.
