4 Ways to Fix Microsoft Excel Not Responding on Windows 11

Pankil is a Civil Engineer turned freelance writer. Since his arrival at Guiding Tech in 2021, he delves into the world of how-tos, and troubleshooting guides for Android, iOS, and Windows. Besides his new-found love for mechanical keyboards, he’s a disciplined footfall fan and loves international travel with his wife.

Fix 1: Open Microsoft Excel in Safe Mode and Disable Add-Ins

You can open Excel in Safe Mode to run the app without add-ins. This will help you verify if one of the installed plugins causes the issue. Press theWindows key + Rto open the Run dialog. Typeexcel -safein the box and pressEnter.

Try using Excel in safe mode to see if it works fine. If it does, one of the third-party add-ins might be why Excel is not responding on Windows 11. You can disable all add-ins and re-enable them individually to isolate the culprit.

Step 1:Open Excel and click theFilemenu in the top left corner.

Step 2:ClickOptionsin the bottom-left corner.

Step 3:In the Excel Options window, navigate to theAdd-instab. Then, selectCOM Add-insin the Manage drop-down menu and click theGobutton.

Step 4:Uncheck all the Add-ins and clickOK.

Restart Excel after this and enable your add-ins one at a time. Observe Excel’s performance after enabling each add-in to identify the one causing the issue.

Fix 2: Clear Conditional Formatting

Excel might encounter problems opening specific spreadsheet files with peculiar formatting. If the issue only occurs when you try to access a particular spreadsheet, try temporarily disabling conditional formatting for that sheet.

Step 1:Open the problematic Excel file and switch to theHometab.

Step 2:Click theConditional Formattingoption, go toClear Rules, and selectClear Rules From Entire Sheetfrom the sub-menu. Repeat this step to clear conditional formatting for all the sheets in your file.

Step 3:PressF12to open the Save As dialog and save your Excel file with a new name.

Fix 3: Change the Default Printer

Whenever you open a spreadsheet in Excel, the app communicates with your PC’s default printer to determine supported margins. Excel may fail to connect to the defaultprinter if it is not working correctly. In such cases, selecting another printer as the default printer should fix the issue.

Step 1:Press theWindows key + Ito launch the Settings app and go toBluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners.

Step 2:Under Printer preferences, toggle off the switch next toAllow Windows to manage my default printer.

Step 3:Select a working printer from the list and click theSet as defaultbutton.

Fix 4: Repair Microsoft Office

Microsoft Office offers a handy repair tool that you can use when Office apps such as Word orExcel aren’t working correctly. Here’s how to run it.

Step 1:Right-click on theStart iconand selectInstalled appsfrom the list.

Step 2:Scroll down to locate the Microsoft Office product on the list. Click thethree-dot menu iconnext to it and selectModify.

Step 3:SelectOnline Repairand hitRepair.

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Last updated on 26 June, 2024

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