Microsoft Excel can have problems opening and working on documents, just like any other program. It may freeze, not start, or stop working altogether. You may need to wait for the program’s response when this happens. “Microsoft Excel isn’t responding” problem
Tip: If Excel is not responding to a specific Excel file, it could be corrupted or damaged. This can cause Excel to freeze or crash. microsoft word not responding Stellar Repair Excel software can quickly fix and restore Excel files (.xls/.xlsx). The below link allows you to download the trial version of Stellar Repair for Excel.
If Excel is still stuck after a while, force closing the program using Task Manager. This could prove to be a disaster if it happens while you’re working on an Excel document you spent hours preparing. This error could cause Excel to close by force and may result in the Excel document not opening next time.
Why Excel Is Not Responding?
Excel can suddenly stop responding, freeze or crash for a variety of reasons. This can occur while opening Excel documents or saving spreadsheets. This can also happen while you are editing, inserting graphs, or other data. It usually occurs when your computer crashes or shuts off abruptly while you’re working on a document. Here’s one example.
Imagine that you have been working overnight on a critical document that will be presented in a meeting the following day. This Excel spreadsheet contains critical graphs and charts. Your system crashes when you’re trying to save it. You restarted your system to check Excel when the power was restored. You will be shocked to see a message saying “Excel Crashed” (or “Microsoft Excel Not Responding”.
This can be frustrating. There are ways to fix this error and other related issues like Excel freezing, hanging, or crashing. Here’s an infographic that quickly outlines all possible solutions to the Excel not responding error.
Solution to Fix “Microsoft Excel isn’t responding” Error
To fix Excel hanging and freezing issues, follow the steps below.
Solution 1 Open Excel Safe Mode
Excel may not be responding as it should or is not functioning properly. This is a common DIY solution to the ‘Excel isn’t responding’ problem.
Excel in Safe Mode starts only with essential services and skips some functionalities. It also doesn’t load any add-ins which could be the cause of the error in MS Excel. You can open Excel in Safe Mode to troubleshoot it.
- Use Windows + R keys to type excel.exe/safe. Press ‘Enter’ or click on ‘OK’ MS Excel Safe Mode.
Check the Excel file to see if it crashes. If it doesn’t, the problem may be due to a corrupt add-in or formatting/styling error.
Move on to the next step to fix the problem.
Solution 2 – Check for Unwanted and Faulty Add-Ins
There are two types in Microsoft Excel:
- Add-ins to COM
- Other Add-ins installed as XLAM or XLA File
Excel can freeze due to both types of add-ins. To disable unwanted or faulty add-ins, follow the steps below:
- Click File in Excel and click Options to open the ‘Excel Options” window
- Click the Add-ins button for easy access to ‘Microsoft Office Addons’.
- To disable them, uncheck the required add-ins
- You can click the “Remove” button at this point to delete any unwelcome add-insDisable COM Add Ins
- Install the add-in, and then check Excel’s performance. Excel will not respond to your request or freeze.
Excel should not freeze if you enable the next add-in. Then, use Excel again to check it. Continue these steps until you locate the problem plugin.
To resolve the problem, you can remove it from Excel add-ins.
Solution 3 Install all the Office and Windows Updates
This issue can also happen if Windows or MS Office aren’t updated. Install the most recent updates for Microsoft Office and Microsoft Windows.
Windows allows you to set the automatic mode for installation and updates. This will install the critical updates for MS Office. It might also fix Excel’s performance issues. These are the steps required to enable automatic updates:
- Go to Settings>Windows Update Enable Automatic Windows Updates
- To automatically download and install Windows updates, click Advanced options.Microsoft Products Update
Restart Excel after the update and verify that the problem has been resolved.
NOTE: MS Excel will now get the most recent update automatically and without any manual intervention.
Solution 4 – Check and Disable Antivirus
Device safety is paramount. But, if your antivirus conflicts or is not compatible with MS Office apps like Excel, Excel could freeze and not respond.
You can disable the anti-virus and then reopen Excel to confirm that the problem is solved. You can check if Excel is working well or hangs.
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