Some Microsoft Office users are facing issues with Word, Exel, and PowerPoint applications. Whenever they try to open any of these applications, they receive an error message that says “Word has run into an error.” The same error message appears while opening Excel and PowerPoint too. According to the affected users, clicking on the Repair Now button does not fix the problem and when they click on the Help button, it closes the Microsoft Office application. If you are facing such an issue with Microsoft Office applications, like Word, Excel, or PowerPoint, the solutions provided in this article may help you fix it.
Fix Word, Excel, PowerPoint has run into an error
If this issue occurs on your system, you will see any of the following error messages:
- We’re sorry, but Word has run into an error that is preventing it from working correctly. Word will need to be closed as a result. Would you like us to repair now?
- We’re sorry, but Excel has run into an error that is preventing it from working correctly. Excel will need to be closed as a result. Would you like us to repair now?
- We’re sorry, but PowerPoint has run into an error that is preventing it from working correctly. PowerPoint will need to be closed as a result. Would you like us to repair now?
Here’s how to fix Word, Excel, PowerPoint has run into an error that is preventing it from working correctly problem once and for all.
- Run the Office application as an administrator
- Run Program Compatibility Troubleshooter
- Delete some keys from Windows Registry
- Repair Office
- Change your default printer
- Troubleshoot in a Clean Boot state
- Uninstall and reinstall Office
Below, we have described all these fixes in detail.
1] Run the Office Application as an administrator
Sometimes, problems occur due to administrative permissions. You can check this by running the affected Office application as an administrator. The steps to do this are as follows:
- Click on Windows Search.
- Type the name of the affected Office application.
- Right-click on the Office application in the search results and select Run as administrator.
- Click Yes in the UAC prompt.
If the error disappears and you are able to use the Office application, you can check for Office updates. If any updates are available, Microsoft Office will install them. After this, the problem should disappear. If not, try the next solutions.
2] Run Program Compatibility Troubleshooter
Running the Program Compatibility Troubleshooter has fixed the problem of some users. You can also try this method for the affected Office application. The process is explained below:
Right-click on the desktop shortcut of the affected Office application and select Troubleshoot compatibility. If the shortcut icon is not available on your desktop, click on Windows Search and type the name of the Office application. After that, right-click on it and select Open file location. This will open the Program Compatibility Troubleshooter.
The Program Compatibility Troubleshooter will take some time when you launch it. After that, it will display two options. You have to select the Troubleshoot program option. Now, click I don’t see my problem listed.
Select the previous version of Windows (Windows 8) and click Next. Now, click on the Test the program button. Click Yes if you receive the UAC prompt. After that, Windows will open the Office Application. The error message should not occur this time.
Now, close the Office application and click Next in the Program Compatibility Troubleshooter. Click Yes, save these settings for this program.
Related: Microsoft Excel Document not saved
3] Delete some keys in Windows Registry
You are going to delete some keys from the Windows Registry. Follow all the steps carefully because deleting or modifying the wrong key in the Registry Editor can cause serious problems with your system. We recommend you backup your Registry on a hard drive and create a System Restore Point before proceeding ahead.
Press Win + R keys. When the Run command box appears on your screen, type regedit and click OK. Click Yes in the UAC prompt. This will open the Registry Editor.
Go to the following path:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common
Expand the Common folder by double-clicking on it and delete the following subfolders:
- Experiment
- ExperimentEcs
- ExperimentTas
- Open the Licensing folder and delete the CurrentSkuIdForApp folder. If the folder is not there, skip this step. Do not delete the Licensing folder.
4] Repair Office
The affected users have tried repairing Office by clicking on the Repair button in the error message but it did not fix their problem. You should try running an Online Repair for Microsoft Office. The online repair has fixed the problems of many users.
5] Change your default printer
Sometimes, the problem occurs when the Office application is not able to access the default printer. Change your default printer and check if the issue persists. You will find the option to change the default printer.
Read: PowerPoint is not responding, keeps crashing, freezing, hanging or has stopped working.
6] Troubleshoot in a Clean Boot state
One possible cause of the problem that you are currently facing is the conflict between the Office application and a third-party application. To identify the problematic software, start your computer in a Clean Boot state and then open the Office application. If the problem disappears in the Clean Boot state, one of the disabled applications is the culprit. Now, enable some of the disabled programs in the Clean Boot state and then launch your computer in the normal mode. Launch the affected Microsoft Office application. If the problem occurs, one of the apps that you have just enabled is causing the problem. Start disabling those enabled apps one by one and launch the Office application each time you disable the app. This process will help you identify the problematic app.
Once you find the problematic app or software, consider uninstalling it. Or you can check if there is an updated version available for the software on its official website. If yes, install its latest version.
7] Uninstall and reinstall Office
The last step to get rid of this error on Office applications is to uninstall and reinstall Microsoft Office. You can uninstall Office either from the Control panel or from the Windows 11/10 Settings app.
How do you fix we’re sorry but Word has run into an error?
This error prevents Microsoft Word from working properly and makes it unusable for the users. If you receive this error on your Microsoft Word application, first, launch Word as administrator and check if the issue persists. If the error does not occur, you can update Office. If this does not help, running an online repair can fix the problem.
Why is my Excel and Word not working?
If you find that Excel and Word are not working, freezing, crashing, or not responding, you can try some fixes, like:
- Disable Add-ins one by one and then check if the issue persists. This method will help you find the problematic Add-in (if any).
- Check for Windows Updates.
- Sometimes the problem occurs due to permission issues. Launch Excel and Word as administrator and check if this brings any changes.
- Repair Microsoft Office.
- Turn off the Protected View.
We hope the solutions provided in this article helped you fix the problem.
Read next: Outlook is not responding, keeps crashing, has stopped working, freezes or hangs.
