Microsoft Office 2016 Word crashes when starting

Question

The program seems to launch correctly. When I launch it, the interface appears but the program freezes immediately afterward with the message "Microsoft Word has stopped working". I tried uninstalling Office and then reinstalling. I've also tried running the repair tool. I have no add-ons installed. The host machine is running Windows 7 x86. Word is able to start in safe mode (https://support.office.com/en-us/article/open-office-apps-in-safe-mode-on-a-windows-pc-dedf944a-5f4b-4afb-a453-528af4f7ac72).

How can I fix this? Thanks.

Solution

The issue was caused by an add-in installed without my knowledge for a USB bluetooth adapter driver. Below are the steps I used to identify the problem and fix it. I tried using Microsoft's utility to disable all add-ins but, surprise, cough, cough, it didn't work. Below are the steps to disable add-ins manually.

• Attempt to launch in safe mode (this will launch the program with only essential services). A successful launch indicates an add-in, extension, or other third party software is interfering with the program. Search for "run" in the start search and then enter the command winword /safe and press enter.
• Navigate to File>Options>Add-ins.
• Notice the select list and "Go" button at the bottom of the window. Select an option on the select list and click "Go". Uncheck a single add-in and then click "ok".
• Close Word and relaunch. If it still doesn't work, try disabling the other add-ins one-by-one and restart the program each time to isolate the bad add-in.

Good luck.

Steps kind of taken from https://support.office.com/en-us/article/i-get-a-stopped-working-error-when-i-start-office-2016-or-2013-applications-on-my-pc-52bd7985-4e99-4a35-84c8-2d9b8301a2fa?CorrelationId=6b6f07e9-5c6e-4e7c-856d-3998982c6ad5&ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US . Documentation is also provided for other Office programs. This doesn't only apply to Word. Good luck :)

Comments

[Appleoddity]

There are a list of generic things to try to solve this problem provided by Microsoft and other 3rd party sites. What research have you done and have you tried anything else? It is impossible to tell you why Word is crashing. You’ll have to start by taking the necessary, basic troubleshooting steps recommended by Microsoft.

[www139]

I had tried several things. I didn't suspect any add-ins [extensions] were installed but, upon checking, I just found a bluetooth share option that must have been installed with a recent driver for a bluetooth USB adapter. Disabling the add-in fixed the problem.

[www139]

This support page (support.office.com/en-us/article/…) helped fix the problem.

[Appleoddity]

It would help to answer your own question with as much detail about what was causing the problem and the solution, for others. Please help improve the site.

[www139]

@Appleoddity Answer posted :)