Most Excel users have experienced the problem of Microsoft Excel Not responding, freezing, getting stuck or crashing. You will find below the steps to fix Microsoft Excel not responding issue.
Microsoft Excel Not Responding
Introduced way back in 1985, Microsoft Excel has grown into one of the most popular, powerful and indispensable computer programs, used by workplaces all over the world.
However, Microsoft Excel can sometimes freeze up, stop working or even crash while working on large or complex spreadsheets.
On such frustrating occasions, you may see an error message reading “Excel is not responding”, or “Excel has stopped working.”
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We are providing below a number of methods that can fix the issue of Microsoft Excel not responding on your computer.
1. Repair Microsoft Office
The problem of Microsoft Excel not responding might be due damaged or corrupted program files. This can be fixed by using the Repair option as available on your Windows computer.
1. Right-click on the Start button and click on Run.
2. In the Run Command Window, type appwiz.cpl and click on OK.
3. On the next screen, right-click on Microsoft Office and click on the Repair option.
Note: If the Repair option is not available, right-click on Change > select Repair in the pop-up and click on Continue.
Wait for the repair program to repair the Microsoft Office program.
2. Change Default Printer
Microsoft Excel can become unresponsive if it is unable to communicate with the default printer on your computer.
This can be fixed by temporarily switching the default printer on your computer to Microsoft XPS Document Writer.
1. Open Settings > click on Printers & Scanners.
2. On the next screen, click on Printers & Scanners in the left pane. In the right-pane, click on Microsoft XPS Document Writer and click on Manage.
3. On the next screen, click on Set as Default option.
After setting Microsoft XPS Document Writer as the default printer, open Microsoft Excel and see if it is now working properly on your computer.
3. Run Excel in Safe Mode
This method can help if the problem is being caused by a Plug-in or an Add-on program.
1. Right-click on Start button and click on Run.
Note: You can also press Windows + R key to open the Run Command window
2. On the Run command window, type excel.exe /safe and click on OK to start Microsoft Excel in Safe Mode.
3. Now try opening the particular Non responsive Excel File again.
If this method helps in fixing the problem, you can follow the next method as provided below to disable the Add-in programs on your computer.
4. Disable Add-Ins & Plug-ins
Follow the steps below to disable Plug-ins and Add-in programs.
1. Right-click on Start button and click on Run.
2. In the Run Command Window, type excel.exe /safe and click on OK to start Microsoft Excel in Safe Mode on your computer.
3. Once you are in Microsoft Excel, click on the File tab in top menu bar > scroll down and click on Options.
Note: In older versions of Excel, click on File Icon > Excel Options button
4. On the next screen, click on the Add-ins in the left pane. In the right-pane, select Excel Add-ins and click on the Go… button.
5. On the Add-Ins screen, uncheck the little box next to the active Add-Ins and click on OK to save.
After disabling Add-Ins, restart Microsoft Excel and see if the problem of Microsoft Excel Not Responding is now fixed.
In case the problem is fixed, try to isolate the particular Add-in that is causing problems by disabling the Add-Ins one by one.
Particular Microsoft Excel File Not Responding
In this case, the problem appears to be confined to a particular Spreadsheet and the Excel Program itself is working fine.
In many cases, this problem can be fixed by clearing conditional Formatting from the spreadsheet.
1. Open the Excel File that is getting stuck on your computer.
2. On you are in the file, click on Home > Conditional Formatting > Clear Rules > Clear Rules From Entire Sheet.
This will clear Conditional Formatting from this particular sheet.
3. Now, select other Tabs (in case you have any) from the bottom of the sheet and clear Conditional Formatting in those sheets as well.
4. Save this Excel File with a New Name, so that the original Excel File will also be available on your computer. You will be able to make use of the original File, in case required.
If this fixes the problem, it confirms that the file is getting stuck due to conditional Formatting.
The next step would be to narrow down the problem to a particular sheet or section of the File and apply corrections as required
Summary: Like any other program, Microsoft Excel 2016 can also fail while opening to start or sometimes during the task. Consequently, error messages such as ‘Excel 2016 is not responding’ can pop up. Let’s say you worked on an important Excel document which is to be presented during a meeting the next day.
The Excel spreadsheet included critical graphs and charts, and more. While saving the document, there was a power failure due to which your system got shut down abruptly in the absence of power backup. After the power resumed, you restarted your system to check the Excel file.
To your dismay, the ‘Microsoft Excel 2016 is not responding’ error popped up. Consequently, you were not allowed to access the Excel file. How do you tackle this situation?
Read on to know a few solutions that can help recover from the error.
Despite its string of benefits, like any other program, it is not foolproof. Let us look at an instance.
Suppose, you worked overnight on a very critical document which is to be presented at a meeting the next day. This Excel spreadsheet includes critical graphs and charts, and much more. When you are about to save it, there is a power failure, and your system shuts down without warning. When the power is up, you restarted your system to check your Excel. To your dismay, a message pops up – “Excel Crashed” or “Microsoft Excel not responding”. It may be frustrating, yet there is no need to despair as there are solutions to not only overcome this error but other corresponding errors such as freezing, hanging, etc.
Solutions to fix the ‘Microsoft Excel 2016 is not responding’ error
All the solutions described below have been found useful in one or the other case. Try them one by one.
Solution 1: Open Excel in Safe Mode
Opening Excel in Safe Mode is a common do-it-yourself and straightforward solution to fix ‘Excel 2016 is not responding’ problem. Excel can overcome some startup issues wherein another program or add-in crashes Excel. The steps to open Excel in Safe Mode are as follows:
- Press Windows + R keys simultaneously to open the Run box
- Type exe /safe
Solution 2: Change the ‘Default Printer’
Although it may seem irrelevant, changing the default printer is another easy and effective solution to overcome the error. Reason being, Excel communicates with the printer to find supported margins when we open an Excel sheet. If Excel doesn’t find the supported margin, it crashes. The steps to change the default printer are as follows:
- Open Control Panel on your Windows system
- Click Printer and Devices
- Right-click Microsoft XPS Document Writer to set it to the default printer
- Reopen the Excel document to check whether the error occurs or not
Solution 3: Install the latest Windows and Office Updates
This problem may also occur if Windows and Office Updates are not updated. Therefore, install the latest updates for both Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office.
Microsoft Word Keeps Not Responding Mac Hp
You can set the installation and update option to ‘Automatic mode’ so that Excel gets the latest update consistently, without the need for manual intervention. The steps to enable automatic updates are as follows:
- Go to Control Panel on your Windows systems
- Click System and Security and set it to the Automatic Mode by using ‘Start Maintenance’ option
Solution 4: Remove or disable unwanted Add-ins
There are two types of Add-ins — COM add-ins (Add-ins to be installed and include Registry Key and DLLs) and add-ins saved as XLAM, XLA, or XLL file (Add-ins loaded in the Excel user interface). A few of both types of add-ins can cause this problem. Follow the steps below to disable unwanted Add-ins:
- Click File tab
- Go to Options button to open ‘Excel Options’ window
- Click Add-ins button to view and manage ‘Microsoft Office Add-ins’
- Select the unwanted add-ins and click ‘Remove’ button
[Tip]: Remove one add-in at a time. If you see any recently added add-ins, remove it first.
Microsoft Word Keeps Not Responding On Mac
Solution 5: Repair Microsoft Office 2016
A corrupt or damaged Microsoft Office can also cause the ‘Excel 2016 is not responding’ problem. The steps to repair Microsoft Office 2016 are as follows:
- Close all running MS Office programs
- Go to Control Panel on your Windows system
- Click Programs and then ProgramsandFeatures
- Select Microsoft Office and in the Microsoft Office 2016 window, select ‘Repair’ and click ‘Continue’ button
Solution 6: Remove and Reinstall Microsoft Office
Sometimes, removing and reinstalling Microsoft Office can resolve the ‘Excel 2016 is not responding’ problem. To do so, execute the following steps:
- Close all running MS Office programs
- Go to Control Panel on your Windows system
- Click Programs and then ProgramsandFeatures
- Select Microsoft Office and right-click it
- Click Uninstall
Solution 7: Upgrade the installed Anti-virus
To check if the problem is due to anti-virus update, disable it and re-check the Excel document. If yes, update the installed anti-virus program on your system.
You can refer to Microsoft support for more details: Excel not responding, hangs, freezes or stops working
Solution 8: Repair Microsoft Excel (XLS/XLSX) file
In several situations, a corrupt or damaged Excel (XLS/XLSX) file is the cause of this error. In such a difficult situation, Stellar Repair for Excel can rescue you by repairing the damaged or corrupt Excel file. Consequently, the software resolves the problem. The steps to use the Excel file repair software are as follows:
- Download, install and launch the Excel file repair software
- Select the corrupt Excel file to start repair
- Click the ‘Scan’ button to start scanning the selected Excel file
- Preview the repaired Excel file
- Save the repaired Excel file at default or specific location
Conclusion
Now that the methods for fixing the ‘Excel 2016 is not responding’ error are before you, you can try all these and see which one works for you. If the cause of this error is a damaged or corrupt Excel file, only repairing the XLS/XLSX file resolves the issue.
For this purpose, it’s recommended to use a reliable software such as Stellar Repair for Excel as it offers an easy-to-use interface, thereby making Excel file repair process a seamless experience.
The software has several key features, as it: recovers table, chart, chartsheet, cell comment, number, text, shared formulas, image, formula, sort and filter, and other objects, preserves worksheet properties, layout, and cell formatting, repairs multiple XLS/XLSX files simultaneously, fixes all Excel corruption errors and more.
All these features extend the software capabilities beyond just fixing the ‘Excel 2016 is not responding’ error.