If you see Microsoft Word is not responding error, the solutions provided in this article will help you fix the issue. When a program stops responding, it freezes which makes it unusable for the users. The same thing happens with Microsoft Word. When the graphical user interface of Word freezes, it stops responding and finally displays the error message. Usually, frozen programs respond after some time. But in some cases, the programs take too long to respond again. In such a condition, you have to force close the program. If you force close Microsoft Word, you will lose unsaved data. If Word stops responding frequently, follow the suggestions provided in this article to fix the issue.
Fix Microsoft Word is not responding
Though there can be multiple causes of this error, most commonly you see this error message due to a problematic Word add-in, a corrupted Word document, or if your system does not have enough RAM to run Microsoft Office applications. If you see the Microsoft Word is not responding error message, use the following fixes to resolve the issue. Before you follow the suggestions mentioned below, it will be better if you check for Office Updates manually. If there is a bug in Office applications, the update will fix it.
- Launch Word in Safe Mode
- Change your default printer
- Repair the corrupted Word document
- Repair Office
- Uninstall and reinstall Office
Below, we have explained all these fixes in detail.
1] Launch Word in Safe Mode
Safe Mode is the state in which Office programs start with add-ins disabled. If the problem is occurring due to a problematic add-in, Safe Mode will let you know. Open Run box, type winword /safe and hit Enter to launch Word in Safe Mode.
After launching Word in Safe Mode, check if it freezes or displays the “Microsoft Word is not responding” error message. If not, it is clear that one of the add-ins is interfering with Microsoft Word. Now, your next move is to identify what is causing the problem.
To identify the problematic add-in, close Word in Safe Mode and start it in normal mode.
Now, go to “File > Options > Add-Ins.” Select COM Add-ins from the drop-down on the right side and click Go. Now, disable add-ins one by one and check if the issue is fixed. Disable one add-in and restart Word. See if it displays the error message. In this way, you can find the culprit.
If you cannot use Word in normal mode, you cannot disable add-ins in normal mode. In this case, you have to disable add-ins in Safe Mode. Follow the steps below:
- Launch Word in Safe Mode.
- Disable an add-in.
- Restart Word in normal mode.
- Check if the problem persists.
- Once you find the culprit, remove it from Word and find its alternative.
To disable an Office add-in, simply uncheck the checkbox and click OK.
2] Change your default printer
Sometimes issues occur when Microsoft Office applications cannot access the default printer. We suggest you change your default printer. Set Microsoft XPS Document Writer as the default printer and see if it helps.
Read: Microsoft Word keeps crashing
3] Repair the corrupted Word document
If the issue is occurring only with one or some specific Word documents, it is possible that those Word documents are corrupted. A corrupted document freezes Microsoft Word due to which you encounter the “Microsoft Word is not responding” error. In this case, you should repair the corrupted Word document.
4] Repair Office
If the issue still persists, some of the Microsoft Office files might have been corrupted. This problem can be fixed by repairing the Microsoft Office application. First, run Quick repair. If this does not work, run an Online repair.
Related: Fix WINWORD.EXE errors in Office Word application.
5] Uninstall and reinstall Office
If none of the above fixes resolved your issue, uninstalling and reinstalling Office can help. Before you uninstall Microsoft Office, make sure that you have your product key. Without the Office activation key, you will not be able to activate Microsoft Office.
Read next: Best free Microsoft Word Repair Tools to repair corrupted documents.
What causes Microsoft Word to freeze?
Usually, a damaged Word document causes Microsoft Word to freeze. Apart from that, there are other causes too for this issue. Sometimes, the issue occurs due to a problematic add-in. You can check this by starting Word in Safe Mode. To fix Microsoft Word freezing issues, run an Online repair or repair the corrupted Word document.
If your system does not have enough RAM to run Microsoft Office apps, you should increase your physical RAM.
Related: Microsoft Word will not open and run properly.
Why is Word constantly not responding?
If Microsoft Word is constantly freezing or not responding, the first step is to check if you have minimum RAM to run Microsoft Office applications or not. If the problem is occurring with some specific Word documents, those documents might have been corrupted. Repair your Word documents and see if it helps. We have provided some suggestions to resolve the “Microsoft Word is not responding” error in this article.
What to do when Microsoft Word is not responding and I didn’t save?
If this case, wait a while and see if Word responds. If it does not, even after some time, close Word and re-open it. Then go to File > Manage Documents > Recover Unsaved Documents. Alternatively, go to File > Open > Browse and search for a file backup.
