Word Keeps Crashing or Says "Not Responding": How to Fix It on Windows

Why Word keeps crashing or says "Not Responding"

When Word keeps crashing or shows "Word (Not Responding)", the cause is almost never Word's main program file. It is usually something Word loads around it: an add-in, a damaged settings key, the Normal template, a printer driver, a font, one damaged document, or a broken Office installation. That is good news, because each of those has a specific test, and you can find the culprit in about 30 minutes without reinstalling anything.

Microsoft's own guidance for Word problems points the same way. Its article on troubleshooting problems that occur when you start or use Word tells you to try methods in order: install the latest Windows and Office updates, insert the document into a new file, start Word with the /a switch (which stops add-ins and global templates from loading), and reset Word's data and options registry keys. Microsoft also documents Office Safe Mode (winword /safe) as the way to open a file or to identify an add-in that causes startup problems. This guide builds on those official methods and puts them in the order that finds the cause fastest.

A quick note on scope. This page is about Word on Windows. If Outlook, Excel and Word all fail at the same time, read our combined guide on Outlook, Word and Excel crashing on Windows 11 first, since a shared cause (Office installation, updates, graphics driver) is likelier. This article stays with the Word-specific causes.

Match your symptom to the likely cause

Pick the row that matches you, but still run the "first three tests" below. They cost almost nothing and they separate a document problem from a Word problem.

The first three tests (ten minutes)

1. Install updates and restart. Microsoft lists this first: install the latest Windows and Office updates, then restart and start Word again. In Word, select File, then Account, then Update Options, then Update Now (on Microsoft 365). Restart the PC after updates.
2. Open a different document. Open Word with a new blank document, then try an older file that never caused problems. If both work and one particular file crashes, the file is the problem (go to the document section). If every file crashes, the problem is Word or the PC.
3. Try Safe Mode. Hold the Ctrl key and double-click the Word shortcut, then click Yes when asked to start in Safe Mode. Or press Windows key + R, type winword /safe, and press Enter. Microsoft describes Safe Mode as a way to use Word when it has encountered certain problems and to help identify an add-in or extension that causes trouble on startup. If Word is stable in Safe Mode, an add-in or extension is a prime suspect.

Record what happened in each test. If Safe Mode is stable but normal mode crashes, go straight to the add-ins section. If Safe Mode also crashes, skip ahead to the settings reset and Office repair.

Fix 1: find the add-in that breaks Word

Add-ins are the most common cause of a Word that crashes on start or freezes during normal use. They include PDF makers, reference managers, grammar tools, CRM and document-management connectors, and Teams or Zoom meeting add-ins. Microsoft's known-issues page for Word on Windows (last updated September 2026) lists a crash tied to one document-management add-in, which shows how a single add-in can bring Word down for a group of users.

Test with the /a switch

Microsoft's troubleshooting article says the /a switch stops add-ins and global templates from loading and locks the settings files. Press Windows key + R, type winword /a, and press Enter. If Word runs normally this way, the cause is an add-in, a global template, or something in your settings. Microsoft says to go on to the next method if the problem does not occur with /a.

Disable add-ins one at a time

1. Open Word normally (or in Safe Mode if it will not start normally).
2. Select File, then Options, then Add-ins.
3. At the bottom, next to Manage, choose COM Add-ins and select Go. Untick all add-ins, select OK, then close and reopen Word.
4. If Word is stable, turn the add-ins back on one at a time, restarting Word each time, until the crash returns. The last one you enabled is your culprit.
5. Repeat with "Word Add-ins" and "Templates" in the Manage list.

When you find the culprit, update it from its publisher, or uninstall it if you do not use it. Microsoft's add-in management page explains how to view, manage and install add-ins in Word, Excel and PowerPoint. If you need the add-in for work, ask its vendor whether it supports your Office version.

Fix 2: reset Word's settings (the Data registry key)

If Word is stable with /a but unstable normally, or if Safe Mode and normal mode both fail, damaged settings are the next suspect. Microsoft documents deleting the Word Data registry subkey as a common troubleshooting step: Word rebuilds it with defaults the next time it starts. It also warns that serious problems can occur if you edit the registry incorrectly, and that you should back it up first. Follow Microsoft's steps exactly:

1. Exit all Office programs.
2. Type regedit in the Windows search box and press Enter.
3. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Word\Data.
4. Right-click Data, choose Export, name the file Wddata.reg, and save it to the desktop.
5. Right-click Data again, choose Delete, and confirm.
6. Close Registry Editor and start Word.

If Word works, you have fixed a damaged Data key. Expect to reset a few preferences, and the recent files list. If it does not help, Microsoft says to restore the original key by double-clicking the Wddata.reg file on the desktop. Microsoft's article then offers the same idea for the Options key in ...\Word\Options. The "16.0" is the version folder used by Microsoft 365, Office 2016, 2019, 2021 and 2024 in the article's examples. If you are not comfortable in the registry, skip this fix and use the Office repair instead, or book a technician.

Fix 3: the Normal template

Every Word document opens with the Normal template (Normal.dotm). If it is damaged, Word can crash or freeze at startup or when you open the Styles pane. The usual test, which comes from general Word troubleshooting experience rather than a page we opened, is to close Word, rename the file (for example to Normal.old), and reopen Word, which then creates a fresh one. The file normally sits in %appdata%\Microsoft\Templates. Renaming it resets your custom styles, macros and AutoText, so first copy the file somewhere safe if you rely on them. If the crashes stop, the old template was damaged.

Fix 4: when only one document crashes

If Word is stable with new documents but one file crashes or freezes it, the file is the problem. Work through these in order.

1. Insert it into a new document. Microsoft's method: the last paragraph mark of a Word document holds information about the document, and if it is damaged you may be able to retrieve the text by omitting it. Select File, then New, then Blank document. On the Insert tab, choose Object, then Text from File. Select the damaged file and choose Insert.
2. Open and Repair. In Word, choose File, Open, Browse, select the file, and click the small arrow beside the Open button to look for "Open and Repair." This option is from general Word knowledge, not from the Microsoft pages we opened for this guide.
3. Copy it to a local folder first. If the file lives on a network drive, in a synced folder or on a USB stick, copy it to Documents on your PC and open that copy. A slow or disconnected network location makes Word look frozen.
4. Check for heavy content. Hundreds of high-resolution images, thousands of tracked changes, linked objects or an enormous table can make Word crawl. Save a copy, accept or reject tracked changes, compress pictures (Picture Format, Compress Pictures), and test again.
5. Recover an earlier version. If you use OneDrive or SharePoint, Microsoft says storing files there with AutoSave is the safest way to work, and Word's version history lets you restore an earlier copy.

If the document is important and none of these opens it, stop trying random tools. Copy the file to a safe location and ask a technician. Our guide to recovering an unsaved Word or Excel document covers recovery routes.

Fix 5: repair the Office installation

If Word still crashes in every mode, with every document, the Office files themselves may be damaged. Microsoft's guide to repairing an Office application describes the path. On Windows 11, right-click the Start button and choose Installed apps. Find the Microsoft 365 or Office product, select the three dots, and choose Modify. On Windows 10, right-click Start, choose Apps and Features, select the product and choose Modify.

For the usual Click-to-run installation, Microsoft's page offers two options. Quick Repair is faster, but it only detects and then replaces corrupted files. Online Repair is the thorough option: "select Online Repair, then Repair, to make sure everything gets fixed." Microsoft also notes that this repairs the whole Office suite, even if only Word is the problem, and that you might need to restart afterwards. Start with Quick Repair if you are short of time, and go to Online Repair if the crashes continue. Online Repair needs a stable internet connection and takes longer.

The time column is our estimate from typical machines, not a Microsoft figure.

Fix 6: crashes while typing or running spell check

If Word closes suddenly while you type or when spell check runs, look at the crash details. Microsoft documented a specific case in a known-issues article for Outlook, Word and OneNote: after Version 2407 Build 17830.20138 or higher, the apps could close unexpectedly when typing or checking spelling. You can confirm it in the Windows Event Viewer Application log, where the Event 1000 or 1001 entry names a faulting module whose name starts with mscss7 (for example mscss7it.dll or mscss7ge.dll, depending on the language), with exception code 0xc0000005.

Microsoft's explanation was a version mismatch between Office 2016 proofing tools and the newer language packs of Microsoft 365 apps. Microsoft says it fixed the problem in Version 2409 (Build 18025.20000) of the Current Channel, and strongly recommends uninstalling the Office 2016 proofing tools if you use a later version of Office. Notice that this article is dated 2024. If you are on a current build you are past that fix, but the same pattern (a language or proofing component that does not match) can still occur on a PC that has been upgraded many times.

1. Open Event Viewer (type it in the Start menu), then Windows Logs, then Application.
2. Find the red Error entry from the time of the crash and read the "Faulting module name."
3. If it names an mscss7 file, open Settings, Apps, Installed apps and look for old "Microsoft Office Proofing Tools 2016" or similar entries. Remove them, then run Quick Repair.
4. If it names a different module (a printer driver, a graphics driver, an add-in DLL), search for that file name along with "Word." The module is your lead.

Fix 7: freezes when printing or opening Print

Word checks the default printer's capabilities when you open the Print screen, and in some cases when it opens a document. If the default printer is an unreachable network printer or has a broken driver, Word can hang until the connection times out. These steps come from general troubleshooting experience, not from a Microsoft page opened for this guide:

• Change your default printer to Microsoft Print to PDF and retry. If Word stops freezing, the printer or its driver is the cause.
• Remove the offline or unused printers from Settings, Bluetooth and devices, Printers and scanners.
• Reinstall the current driver from the printer maker. Our guide to printer not working covers the safe steps.

Fix 8: graphics acceleration and display drivers

When Word lags when scrolling, flickers, or goes white and "Not Responding," the graphics driver or hardware acceleration may be involved. Two safe tests, again from general experience: update the graphics driver from the PC or GPU maker (see our guide to updating drivers), and in Word choose File, Options, Advanced, and look in the Display section for "Disable hardware graphics acceleration." Turning it on is a diagnostic test. If Word becomes stable, keep it on and update the driver later.

Fix 9: check for a known issue after an update

Microsoft maintains a page called "Fixes or workarounds for recent issues in Word for Windows." In the version we opened (last updated September 2026) it has a section for "Word crashes and slow performance" that lists items such as a crash when performing a mail merge with templates, a crash with a document management add-in, a Visual Basic runtime error 4707 on opening a document, and Word, Excel or Outlook stopping responding after a security update for Office 2016 (KB5002700). Each entry carries its own status, such as fixed, investigating or workaround. We list these only to show the pattern: when Word started crashing right after an update, a known issue is a real possibility. Open the page, search it for your symptom, and read the entry's status and its workaround rather than assuming ours applies to you.

If your problem began right after a Windows update, our November 2026 Patch Tuesday known issues guide may also help.

The fastest order to work in

If you want one path to follow without reading every section, use this order. It runs from cheapest and most common to heavier and rarer.

1. Wait two minutes if Word just froze, then save and reopen with Document Recovery.
2. Install Windows and Office updates, restart.
3. Test a new blank document and an old document.
4. Safe Mode: winword /safe (or hold Ctrl while opening).
5. Test winword /a to see whether add-ins or global templates are the cause.
6. Disable add-ins one at a time (File, Options, Add-ins).
7. Rename the Normal template (after copying it).
8. Reset the Word Data registry key, after exporting it (or skip to the repair if you prefer not to touch the registry).
9. Quick Repair, then Online Repair from Installed apps.
10. Check Event Viewer for the faulting module and look for printer, graphics or proofing causes.
11. Uninstall and reinstall Office from your Microsoft account if repair fails, after backing up documents.

Three realistic scenarios (illustrative)

These are Realistic scenarios, not real customer cases. They show typical causes and how long each fix takes.

Scenario 1: the PDF add-in

A paralegal in Montreal finds that Word closes about ten seconds after it starts, every morning, since a PDF tool was installed the week before. Safe Mode works. She runs winword /a, which is stable, then disables COM add-ins one at a time and finds the PDF tool's add-in is the culprit. She updates the PDF software, re-enables its add-in, and the crashes stop. Time: 25 minutes. Lesson: Safe Mode that works is a loud hint pointing at an add-in.

Scenario 2: the proposal with 200 images

A small contractor in Laval has one 140-page proposal that freezes Word for several minutes every time he scrolls. A new blank document is fast. He saves a copy to the local Documents folder, compresses pictures, accepts tracked changes, and the file now scrolls smoothly. He also moves the master copy from a slow shared folder. Time: 40 minutes. Lesson: some "crashes" are overloaded documents on slow storage, not a broken Word.

Scenario 3: crashes after a printer change

An accountant in Sherbrooke sees Word freeze whenever she opens the Print screen. Her default printer is a network printer that was moved to another office. She sets Microsoft Print to PDF as the default, removes the old printer, and Word stops freezing. Time: 10 minutes. Lesson: when a freeze happens at one specific action, look at what that action touches.

Printable checklist

Protect your work so a crash never costs you a day

You cannot make Word crash-proof, but you can make a crash cheap. Microsoft's recovery guide says Microsoft 365 subscribers get the safest setup by storing files on OneDrive or SharePoint and using AutoSave. Document Recovery opens automatically after an unexpected close, and the date and time next to each recovered file help you choose the newest. A few habits cost nothing:

• Keep AutoSave on for files stored on OneDrive or SharePoint.
• Save with Ctrl + S every few paragraphs, out of habit.
• Keep a second copy of the files that matter, on an external drive or another cloud folder.
• Avoid opening documents directly from email or a browser download. Save them to a local folder first. It also protects you from a malicious attachment.
• Close Word completely at the end of the day, so it does not hold a huge session open for weeks.

Mistakes that make crashing worse

• Reinstalling Office first. It takes an hour and often brings back the same add-ins and settings. Test Safe Mode, /a and add-ins first.
• Editing the registry without a backup. Microsoft itself warns that serious problems can occur if the registry is edited incorrectly. Export the key before you delete it.
• Using "Word repair" tools from random websites. Many are malware or ransomware. Use the tools built into Word and Windows.
• Cracked or unlicensed Office. Unofficial versions often cause constant crashes and expose the PC to malware. If your copy came from a source other than Microsoft or a retailer, replace it.
• Overwriting the damaged file. Always work on a copy, so you keep the original for a technician if needed.

What it costs: DIY versus paying a technician

The honest advice: try Safe Mode, add-ins, and a repair first. They fix the large majority of Word crashes for free. A remote session is worth it when you have a deadline, when a critical file is damaged, or when you suspect malware or pirated software.

Related guides

• Outlook, Word and Excel keep crashing on Windows 11: when several Office apps fail together.
• Word not responding: a short error-page version.
• Recover an unsaved Word or Excel document: for lost work.
• Outlook keeps crashing or will not open: if email is affected too.
• Microsoft Teams keeps crashing or freezing: Teams shares Office components and add-ins.

Official resources

• Microsoft Support: How to troubleshoot problems that occur when you start or use Word
• Microsoft Support: Open Office apps in safe mode on a Windows PC
• Microsoft Support: Repair an Office application
• Microsoft Support: Fixes or workarounds for recent issues in Word for Windows
• Microsoft Support: Recover your Word files and documents
• Microsoft Support: Outlook, Word, or OneNote unexpectedly close when typing

When to call a pro

Get help if Word crashes in Safe Mode and after Online Repair, if a document that matters will not open and you cannot afford to lose it, if you are asked to edit the registry and are not comfortable doing so, if crashes began after a suspicious download or a pirated Office install, or if you simply have a deadline and no time to experiment. IT Cares has supported people remotely and on site in Quebec since 2014. A technician connects while you watch, finds the faulting add-in or file, repairs Office and explains the cause. Call 1 (888) 711-9428 or use the booking button at the end of this page.

If your Office licence is in question, or your PC is also slow and crashing in other apps, a general tune-up may help. See our guide on fixing a slow computer.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

• Outlook, Word and Excel keep crashing
• Word not responding
• Recover an unsaved Word or Excel document
• Outlook keeps crashing
• Teams keeps crashing
• Printer not working fix
• How to update drivers

Sources and official references

Last verified: November 13, 2026

• Microsoft Support: How to troubleshoot problems that occur when you start or use Word (opened 2026-11-13)
• Microsoft Support: Open Office apps in safe mode on a Windows PC (opened 2026-11-13)
• Microsoft Support: Repair an Office application (opened 2026-11-13)
• Microsoft Support: Fixes or workarounds for recent issues in Word for Windows, last updated September 2026 (opened 2026-11-13)
• Microsoft Support: Outlook, Word, or OneNote unexpectedly close when typing, last updated September 9, 2024 (opened 2026-11-13)
• Microsoft Support: Recover your Word files and documents (opened 2026-11-13)