How to Fix Excel When It Is Not Responding: Easy Guide

If Excel isn't responding, freezes, or lags, it can be very frustrating. It's even more frustrating when you can't figure out why it's happening. While there's no single quick solution for this issue, in this article, we'll go over several ways to try to fix it. Start with the first method and work your way down, trying each method until you find one that works.

What to Do When Excel Won't Respond

First, try restarting Excel. If that doesn't work, try disabling COM add-ins or Excel add-ins that are conflicting with Excel. You also might need to move any startup files in your XLStart folder, or install any pending updates to fix bugs or glitches.

Part 1

Part 1 of 10:

Restart Excel

Download Article

1
Close Excel and restart it. If Excel randomly stops responding, you will likely have to close it down and restart it.^{[1]
X
Research source} If your Excel stops responding only occasionally, restarting it when it happens should be sufficient to fix it. However, if your Excel is freezing, hanging, or not responding frequently, continue with the methods in the rest of this article, following them in order until you find one that fixes the issue.
- Restarting Excel when it freezes may cause you to lose data. Make sure to save often so you reduce the risk of losing hours of work.

Part 2

Part 2 of 10:

Disable COM Add-ins

Download Article

1
Open Excel in safe mode. To do this, press ⊞ Win+R and type Excel /safe in the command box, then press ↵ Enter.
- If you're on Windows 10 or 11, you can opt to use the automatic troubleshooter instead. If you'd like to use the troubleshooter, click here (this will open the troubleshooter on your computer). If you use the troubleshooter, follow the on-screen instructions, then skip to the method below on updating Excel if it's still not working.
- If Excel won't open in safe mode, skip to the next section.
To do this, click File in the ribbon at the top of the screen, then click Options at the bottom of the left-hand sidebar. Then, click Add-ins near the bottom of the options menu sidebar.
To do so, click the dropdown at the bottom of the add-ins menu and select COM Add-ins. Then, click Go.
If all of the boxes are unchecked, close this menu and skip to the next section.
You can close out of any menus that are still open.
If Excel still doesn't work, continue to the next section. If Excel is working, you can start enabling your add-ins one at a time until the issue occurs again. This will allow you to identify what add-in is causing the problem.^{[2]
X
Trustworthy Source

Microsoft Support
Technical support and product information from Microsoft.

Go to source}

Part 3

Part 3 of 10:

Disable Excel Add-ins

Download Article

1
Open the Registry Editor. The easiest way to do this is to type regedit in the taskbar search bar, then click Registry Editor.
- Before you attempt this method, make sure to back up your registry by clicking File > Export. If you edit your registry and something goes wrong, it can make your computer not work properly anymore, and it can be incredibly hard to fix it if you don't have a registry backup.
You'll see a bar that starts with Computer right under the ribbon with your menu buttons. Click into this bar.
Either highlight all the text and backspace, or place your cursor at the end of the path and press and hold backspace to delete it all.
Copy and paste Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Excel\Options into the bar at the top of the Registry Editor window and press ↵ Enter.
5
Locate any REG_SZ entries with the name "OPEN." In the "Name" column, look for any entry named "OPEN" that also says REG_SZ in the "Type" column.
- If you don't see any entries named "OPEN," skip to the next section.
This will open a contextual menu.
You'll now be able to type a new name for this REG_SZ entry.
Press ↵ Enter to save your changes. Repeat this for every entry that says "OPEN," making sure to only put "Renamed" before the original name (for example, if you have an entry named "OPEN1," rename it to "RenamedOPEN1").
If the issue still persists, continue on with the next troubleshooting method. If the issue doesn't occur, return to the Registry Editor and rename your "RenamedOPEN" entries back to "OPEN" (or "OPEN" with a number) one at a time, restarting Excel between each change, until you find the add-in that's causing the problem.^{[3]
X
Trustworthy Source

Microsoft Support
Technical support and product information from Microsoft.

Go to source}

Part 4

Part 4 of 10:

Move Workbooks in XLStart Folder

Download Article

1
Open your XLStart folder. Here's how you find it:
- Open Excel, if it's not already open.
- Click File > Options. If you just opened Excel, you only need to click Options.
- Click Trust Center in the left-hand sidebar.
- Click Trust Center Settings.
- Select Trusted Locations in the sidebar.
- Note the location of the XLStart folder. Look for the item under the "Description" column called "Excel default location: Excel StartUp" to find this location.
  - If you can't open Excel at all, the default location is C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Office16\XLSTART. The drive letter may be different if your Excel isn't installed on the C drive.
The easiest way to do this is to double-click the filepath in Excel, copy it, then paste it into the address bar in Explorer. You can also manually navigate there.
To do this, select all the files (press Ctrl+A while clicked into Explorer) then press Ctrl+X to cut the files. Go to a different folder (such as your desktop or documents folder) and press Ctrl+V to paste.
4
Restart Excel and check for issues. If the issue doesn't occur, add the files you removed from the XLStart folder back, one by one, until you find the file that caused the issue. If the issue still occurs, continue on to the next method.
- You can also check your alternate startup folder. To find this folder, go to File > Options > Advanced, then scroll down to the "General" header. Note the folder path next to "At startup, open all files in" and repeat the steps above to move files out of this folder.^{[4]
  X
  Trustworthy Source
  
  Microsoft Support
  Technical support and product information from Microsoft.
  
  Go to source}

Part 5

Part 5 of 10:

Install the Latest Update

Download Article

1
Open Excel, if it's not already open. Sometimes, Excel might stop working properly if it needs an update.
- If you can't open Excel at all, check for updates in Windows Update. If there's a pending Excel update, Windows Update will also install it for you.
If you just opened Excel, you don't have to click the File button. The Account button is near the bottom of the left-hand sidebar.
It's at the top of the list, right under the buttons that say Manage Account, Switch License, and Update License.
If there's a pending update, it will be downloaded and installed.^{[5]
X
Trustworthy Source

Microsoft Support
Technical support and product information from Microsoft.

Go to source} If the issue still persists, continue on to the next troubleshooting method.

Part 6

Part 6 of 10:

Check for Existing Processes

Download Article

At the bottom of your Excel window, you'll see a status bar. If Excel is in use by another process, you'll see that in this status bar. This could be the reason that Excel appears not to be responding, because it's busy with another task. Wait for the process in the status bar to finish, then try using Excel again.^{[6]
X
Trustworthy Source

Microsoft Support
Technical support and product information from Microsoft.

Go to source} If Excel still doesn't work, continue and try the next troubleshooting method.

Part 7

Part 7 of 10:

Investigate Your File

Download Article

1
Check your file for anything that could cause performance issues. Excel files can exist for a long time, leading to large, bloated files with excess information that can cause issues when loading your worksheet. If you notice that Excel only lags or stops responding when you open a specific file, check for these things that can cause performance issues:^{[7]
X
Trustworthy Source

Microsoft Support
Technical support and product information from Microsoft.

Go to source}
- Formulas that reference entire columns
- Array formulas that reference an uneven number of elements in their arguments
- Hidden or zero-height or zero-width objects
- Excessive styling
- Invalid defined names
- Files that are generated by a third party

Part 8

Part 8 of 10:

Perform a Clean Boot

Download Article

1
Open System Configuration. You can do this by searching for msconfig in the taskbar search bar. You must be signed in to an administrator account to do a clean boot.^{[8]
X
Trustworthy Source

Microsoft Support
Technical support and product information from Microsoft.

Go to source}
- A startup service may be causing Excel to lag or freeze. The way to test this is to do a clean boot, which disables all unneeded services and background apps.
It's at the top of the window.
It's in the bottom-left corner of the window. This will hide any essential Microsoft services from the list, so you don't accidentally turn them off.
It's in the bottom-right part of the window. This will disable all of the non-Microsoft services on your computer.
It's at the top of the window.
This will open the Startup Apps tab in Task Manager.
7
Disable all of the startup apps. For each app that says "Enabled," right-click it and choose Disabled.
- Once you do this, you can close Task Manager.
This will save your settings and close the System Configuration window.
9
Restart your computer. When you restart, only essential Microsoft services will run. Check to see if Excel works or not. If it doesn't, continue with the next method.^{[9]
X
Trustworthy Source

Microsoft Support
Technical support and product information from Microsoft.

Go to source}
- If Excel does work, you'll need to determine which service or startup app is causing the issue. One way to do this is to re-enable half of the services or start-up apps and see if the cursor issue happens. If it does, keep splitting the number of enabled services/apps in half until you've narrowed it down. If it doesn't, try the other half that you didn't test.
- When you're finished troubleshooting after a clean boot, you'll need to set your computer to boot normally again. To do so:
  - Return to the System Configuration panel and click General.
  - Select Normal Startup.
  - Click the Services tab, uncheck "Hide all Microsoft services," and select Enable all > Apply.
  - Open Task Manager, reenable any startup programs you disabled, then reboot your PC.

Part 9

Part 9 of 10:

Repair the Excel App

Download Article

To do this, right-click on the Windows icon in your taskbar. On Windows 11, click Installed apps. On Windows 10, click Apps and Features.
If you have Microsoft 365, you'll want to locate that on the list. Doing this will repair all of your Microsoft Office apps. If you have a standalone version of Excel, look for Microsoft Excel on the list.
This will open a contextual menu.
Follow any on-screen instructions to complete your repair of Microsoft 365 or Excel.^{[10]
X
Trustworthy Source

Microsoft Support
Technical support and product information from Microsoft.

Go to source}

Part 10

Part 10 of 10:

Check Your Antivirus Software

Download Article

1
Make sure your antivirus software is up to date. If you use antivirus software besides Windows Security, make sure you keep it updated. Antivirus software can conflict with Excel and sometimes cause it to not work.
- If you use Windows Security, simply update Windows to update your antivirus.
2
Make sure your antivirus isn't conflicting with Excel. If you have any antivirus add-ins or Excel integrations, try disabling them. This could be the cause of Excel not working properly.^{[11]
X
Trustworthy Source

Microsoft Support
Technical support and product information from Microsoft.

Go to source} As all antivirus software is slightly different, you may need to contact the developer of your software for further assistance on disabling these add-ins or integrations.