It’s less destructive because settings, templates, and other application data will not be deleted. I do it again, and I get this error — well, now I can’t show you because Excel is refusing to open up at all. The error indicates that my previous open was unsuccessful, and asks if I would like to open Excel in safe mode. So I close Excel, try to open it again without safe mode, and… nothing. Click the Close button, then try your problem Office application again.

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This sort of thing does occur from time to time, and it is often quite easy to repair. If one or more Office apps is acting glitchy, work your way through this series of repair maneuvers, starting with the simplest. Come with me as I write this article in real time as I try to resolve the issue. If you’re lucky, you’ll find your problem covered, and SaRA will fix it for you. However, let’s return to Step 1 to start this process where it also usually ends. You’re working on a document or a spreadsheet, or using email, and BAM!

Microsoft Office Apps need Repair

If you’re not sure, the Installed Apps list we started with is a good place to look. If you’re coming from section 2, grab the download link for what Microsoft calls the "uninstall support tool" in its Support pages. Its filename is SetupProd_Offscrub.exe, so I’ve gotten in the habit of calling it "OffScrub" myself.

steps to repair Microsoft Office

In my experience, only 1 in 10 Office installations will still fail to work. If yours works, count yourself lucky and get back to your normal routine. Upgrade to Microsoft Edge to take advantage of the latest features, security updates, and technical support. If a Microsoft 365 application such as Word or Excel isn't working correctly, sometimes restarting it will fix the problem. If that doesn't work, you can try repairing it.

How do I get to Office repair?

How to repair Office when it doesn't show in Installed Apps, etc.

Just before the progress bar completed, a notification popped up to tell me that my Office install was complete. The installer window changed to an animated display that included what’s shown in Figure 8. The easiest way to determine this is to take the document to a different computer running another copy of Microsoft Office and attempt to open the document there. If it works, then it’s likely that your installation of Office is the problem, not the document. If it fails, it’s likely the document itself is at fault. Below the reset section in the Office Advanced Options (shown above) is an uninstall link.

Click the Close button, then try your problem Office application again.Even on my 2012 vintage test machine, it was done in under a minute (on a healthy Office installation, I cheerfully confess).Below the reset section in the Office Advanced Options (shown above) is an uninstall link.Please relax, and don’t give in to panic or upset.Choose one of the following methods to help recover your data.Upgrade to Microsoft Edge to take advantage of the latest features, security updates, and technical support.If one or more Office apps is acting glitchy, work your way through this series of repair maneuvers, starting with the simplest.Once done, a checkbox will be added to the repair button.Comments that don't add value will be removed, including off-topic or content-free comments, or comments that look even a little bit like spam.

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Unfortunately, there’s no general-purpose Microsoft Office document repair tool. If your documents are the cause of the problem, hopefully you have backup copies that haven’t been damaged. Outlook troubleshooting steps Repairing Microsoft Office will not repair any of your Office data files. If a document has somehow been corrupted, it could crash Office. If the steps above don’t help, the next step is to uninstall and reinstall Office.

Repair an Office application

You’ll then need to re-download and reinstall Microsoft Office. When complete, a checkmark appears next to the Rest button. Unzip to a folder of your choosing, then run the file named SaraSetup.exe to install the program.

When you're done, you might need to restart your computer. I want comments to be valuable for everyone, including those who come later and take the time to read. Microsoft SaRA is the Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant. If you’re lucky, when you open your formerly balky or misbehaving Windows app, all will be well. With the Quick Repair radio button selected, click the Repair button near the bottom right corner of the window. Please relax, and don’t give in to panic or upset.

A progress bar appears and shows progress while the repair happens. Once done, a checkbox will be added to the repair button. With a backup copy of your workbook, you'll always have access to your data if your workbook is deleted accidentally or if it becomes corrupted. Choose one of the following methods to help recover your data. You can also try third-party software solutions to try to recover workbook. This takes you to the same screen shown in Figure 11 above, so you can keep going from here.

It includes options for Teams, Office, the Outlook desktop client, Outlook on the web, advanced diagnostics, and more. When you run a Quick Repair operation, Office will attempt simple repairs using local files already on your PC. This usually takes a minute or two to complete. In about 4 cases out of 5, in my personal experience, this step alone is enough to repair Office properly and restore it to working order.