Have you ever encountered the frustrating problem of Excel not responding or crashing on your Windows PC? If so, you are not alone. Many users have reported this issue and wondered how to fix it. In this article, we will explain some possible causes of this problem and provide some solutions that might help you restore your Excel files and prevent future crashes.
Possible causes of Excel not responding or crashing on Windows
There are many factors that can cause Excel to stop interacting with Windows and close unexpectedly. Some of the common ones are:
- Corrupted or incompatible add-ins: Add-ins are extensions that enhance the functionality of Excel, but sometimes they can interfere with the normal operation of the program or cause conflicts with other add-ins.
- Damaged or outdated drivers: Drivers are software components that enable your hardware devices to communicate with your operating system. If they are corrupted, missing, or outdated, they can affect the performance and stability of Excel and other applications.
- Insufficient memory or disk space: Excel requires a certain amount of memory and disk space to run smoothly and handle large or complex workbooks. If your computer does not have enough resources, Excel may freeze, crash, or display error messages.
- Virus or malware infection: Malicious software can infect your computer and damage your system files, including those related to Excel. This can cause Excel to malfunction or stop working altogether.
- Corrupted or incompatible workbook: Sometimes, the problem is not with Excel itself, but with the workbook you are working on. The workbook may be corrupted due to improper saving, power outage, network interruption, or other reasons. It may also be incompatible with the version of Excel you are using or contain features that are not supported by your system.
Solutions to fix Excel not responding or crashing on Windows
Depending on the cause of the problem, there are different solutions that you can try to fix Excel not responding or crashing on Windows. Here are some of the most effective ones:
- Disable or remove add-ins: To disable add-ins, open Excel in safe mode by holding down the Ctrl key while launching it. Then go to File > Options > Add-Ins and select COM Add-ins in the Manage drop-down list. Click Go and uncheck all the add-ins in the list. Click OK and restart Excel normally. If this solves the problem, you can enable the add-ins one by one to identify which one is causing the issue and remove it.
- Update or reinstall drivers: To update drivers, go to Device Manager by right-clicking on the Start menu and selecting it from the list. Expand the categories of devices and look for any yellow exclamation marks or red crosses. Right-click on the problematic device and select Update driver. Follow the instructions to install the latest driver. To reinstall drivers, follow the same steps but select Uninstall device instead of Update driver. Then restart your computer and Windows will automatically reinstall the driver.
- Free up memory and disk space: To free up memory, close any unnecessary programs or tabs that are running in the background. You can also use Task Manager by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Delete and selecting it from the options. Go to the Processes tab and sort the processes by memory usage. End any processes that are consuming too much memory and are not essential for your work. To free up disk space, use Disk Cleanup by typing it in the search box on the taskbar and selecting it from the results. Choose the drive you want to clean up and click OK. Check the boxes of the files you want to delete and click OK again.
- Scan for virus or malware: To scan for virus or malware, use a reliable antivirus program and run a full system scan. Follow the instructions to remove any threats that are detected. You can also use Windows Defender by going to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Security > Virus & protection > Scan options and selecting Full scan. Click Scan now and wait for the scan to complete.
- Repair or convert workbook: To repair workbook, open Excel and go to File > Open. Browse to the location of the workbook and select it. Click on the arrow next to Open and select Open and Repair. Choose Repair if you want to recover as much data as possible, or Extract Data if you only want to extract values and formulas from the workbook. To convert workbook, open Excel and go to File > Save As. Choose a different file format from the Save as type drop-down list, such as .xls, .xlsx, .xlsm, etc. Click Save and see if this resolves the issue.
The issue is fixed.
