What to Do When Microsoft Word Files Won't Open (2024)

Software & Apps > MS Office

When a document won't open in Word, you might get an error message, a different app might launch, or the program will freeze or not open at all. Several things can cause problems with Word documents, and we've got all the solutions.

Why Word Is Not Opening Documents

It's unusual for Microsoft Word to have trouble opening files, but it does happen. In addition to file corruption, the most likely reason a document doesn't open in Word is that your computer is set up to launch a different program when you open the file. It's also possible that the program needs to be repaired or reinstalled.

How to Fix It When a Word Document Won't Open

There are a few solutions depending on the problem.

1. Change the file association settings to make your documents open in Microsoft Word. Follow these directions if a different program (not MS Word) opens when you double-click a DOCX, DOC, or other document.

2. Use the Open and Repair option. If the document won't open because it's damaged, select the arrow next to the Open button and choose Open and Repair.

   See Also

   How to troubleshoot damaged documents in Word - Microsoft 365 Apps

   

   Files can become corrupted when a computercrashes or loses power, or when a USB device is disconnected while a document stored on it is open.

3. Restore a previous version of the document. This will work if you use OneDrive or SharePoint and it has a backup of the file from when it was working correctly. To check, right-click the file and go to Properties > Previous Versions.

4. Unblock the file. Documents downloaded from the internet might not open correctly in Word. Right-click the file and go to Properties > Unblock > OK, and then try to open it again.

5. Open Word in Safe Mode and then try to open the document from there. If it works, review any add-ins installed in Microsoft Word; one or more might be to blame.

6. Restart your computer. If Word doesn't launch when you try to open a document, the program might be running in the background, which a reboot will fix.

   Another way to shut down Word without restarting the PC is via Task Manager. If you're comfortable using that tool, find WINWORD.EXE in there and kill the task.

7. Repair the program. In Windows 11, go to Settings > Apps > Installed apps. Find the Microsoft 365 or Office installation in the list, select the three dots, and then go to Advanced options > Repair. If that doesn't work, try Reset.

8. Reinstall Microsoft 365 or Office. This is a longer process than the repair you performed in the last step, but it could be necessary to fix the problem.

9. Roll back your graphics driver. If Word stopped opening documents after you updated your drivers, a bug might be causing a conflict with Word's Protected View settings.