Office installations include a built-in repair tool, and that’s the first place to turn when things go awry. The absolute worst case requires running a cleanup tool on the current Office installation, followed by a clean install of a new copy of Office. That has never failed in my experience, any time I’ve had to go that far. The steps to access the repair tool vary depending on your operating system.

Step 3: Try the Microsoft SaRA

This sort of thing does occur from time to time, and it is often quite easy to repair. If one or more Office apps is acting glitchy, work your way through this series of repair maneuvers, starting with the simplest. Come with me as I write this article in real time as I try to resolve the issue. If you’re lucky, you’ll find your problem covered, and SaRA will fix it for you. However, let’s return to Step 1 to start this process where it also usually ends. You’re working on a document or a spreadsheet, or using email, and BAM!

Microsoft Office Apps need Repair

If neither automatic nor manual repair works, there are some recovery methods that might help salvage your data. You can also take some preventive measures to avoid losing your work by automatically saving a backup copy of your workbook or creating a recovery file from time to time. Once you’ve installed the program, the home screen opens up, as shown in Figure 10.

steps to repair Microsoft Office

In my experience, only 1 in 10 Office installations will still fail to work. If yours works, count yourself lucky and get back to your normal routine. Upgrade to Microsoft Edge to take advantage of the latest features, security updates, and technical support. If a Microsoft 365 application such as Word or Excel isn't working correctly, sometimes restarting it will fix the problem. If that doesn't work, you can try repairing it.

How long does a Microsoft Office repair take?

How to repair Office when it doesn't show in Installed Apps, etc.

One of your Microsoft Office applications starts acting weird or stops responding. Find solutions to common problems or get help from a support agent.

However, let’s return to Step 1 to start this process where it also usually ends.This sort of thing does occur from time to time, and it is often quite easy to repair.If you’re lucky, you’ll find your problem covered, and SaRA will fix it for you.The installer window changed to an animated display that included what’s shown in Figure 8.If you’re coming from section 2, grab the download link for what Microsoft calls the "uninstall support tool" in its Support pages.If that doesn't work, you can try repairing it.At least two computers at my workplace don't have Office (or its components) showing in the Installed Apps.

Even on my 2012 vintage test machine, it was done in under a minute (on a healthy Office installation, I cheerfully confess). When the process FixTechGuide support center completes, the "Done repairing" window appears, as shown in Figure 6. Once you’ve clicked Change, you may see a User Account Control window asking for permission to run the repair program. Click Yes, and the built-in Office repair window appears. The Quick Repair option, as shown in Figure 2, is selected by default.

Repair an Office application

You’ll then need to re-download and reinstall Microsoft Office. When complete, a checkmark appears next to the Rest button. Unzip to a folder of your choosing, then run the file named SaraSetup.exe to install the program.

Like many programs, Microsoft Office’s tools can be extended by third-party add-ons. You can try uninstalling or disabling any you’re aware of. Exactly how you do this will depend on the specific add-on.

A progress bar appears and shows progress while the repair happens. Once done, a checkbox will be added to the repair button. With a backup copy of your workbook, you'll always have access to your data if your workbook is deleted accidentally or if it becomes corrupted. Choose one of the following methods to help recover your data. You can also try third-party software solutions to try to recover workbook. This takes you to the same screen shown in Figure 11 above, so you can keep going from here.

You’ll see a dialog box like the one shown in Figure 9 open up and ask you to confirm installation. If you have any Office applications open, you’ll be asked to close them before the repairs can complete. On my test machine, for example, I had Outlook open. This provoked the request shown in Figure 4 (where, of course, I clicked Continue to close Outlook so repairs could work through to completion). A window opens to ask you if you’re ready to commence repairs.