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Excel tends to freeze, hang, or become unresponsive, especially when working with large or complex spreadsheets. In such cases, you may see error messages like 'Excel is not responding' or 'Excel has stopped working' on the screen.
This article by Mytour provides step-by-step instructions on different approaches to address Excel freezing and unresponsiveness problems on Windows 10.
Fixing Excel Freezing and Unresponsiveness on Windows 10
Method 1: Run Excel in Safe Mode
If dealing with Excel freezing, hanging, or not responding on your Windows 10 computer, follow the steps below to run Excel in Safe Mode and troubleshoot the issue:
Step 1: Right-click on the Start button in Windows 10, then select Run to open the Run command window.
Alternatively, press Windows + R to open the Run command window.
Step 2: In the Run command window, type excel.exe /safe and click OK to open Excel in Safe Mode.
Step 3: Finally, try reopening the problematic Excel file to check if the issue persists.
This solution can be helpful if the cause of the Excel not responding issue is related to Add-ins or other programs on your computer.
Method 2: Disable Add-Ins
If the previous method is unavailable, try disabling Add-Ins to see if the Excel freezing or unresponsiveness issue persists. As mentioned earlier, the cause of Excel freezing or not responding may be related to Add-Ins.
Follow the steps below:
Step 1: Right-click on the Start button on the Taskbar, select Run to open the Run command window.
Step 2: Alternatively, press Windows + R to open the Run command window.
Step 3: In the Run command window, type excel.exe /safe and press Enter or click OK to run Excel in Safe Mode.
Step 4: In the Excel window, click the File icon in the top-left corner, then select Excel Options as shown below:
Step 5: In the next window, click Add-Ins option. Then, choose Excel Add-ins and click Go... to open the Add-Ins window.
Step 5: In the Add-Ins window, disable all add-ins on your computer by unchecking the boxes next to the active add-ins.
Step 6: Click OK to save the settings.
After disabling all the Add-Ins, restart Excel on your computer and check if the Excel freezing or unresponsiveness issue persists.
Pro Tip: Following Excel freezing or unresponsiveness, you can isolate the causing add-ins by disabling them one by one and checking for the issue.
Method 3: Utilize Repair Microsoft Office Program Option
Another potential cause for Excel not responding, freezing, or hanging on a Windows 10 computer could be corrupted program files. In this case, the solution is to use the Repair Microsoft Office Program option.
Step 1: Type Control Panel in the Search bar, and on the search results list, click to open the Control Panel window.
Step 2: In the Control Panel window, click on Program and Features.
Step 3: In the next window, right-click on Microsoft Office, select the Repair option from the menu.
Method 4: Update Office to Fix Excel Freezing, Hanging
By default, Microsoft Office installed on your computer is set to automatically install updates. However, in some cases, Office may not update automatically, leading to various issues, including Excel freezing or not responding.
The solution is to manually update Microsoft Office on your computer and check if the Excel issue persists.
Step 5: In the next window, right-click on Microsoft XPS Document Writer, select Set As Default Printer.
Method 5: Adjust Printer Settings
Typically, Excel may experience freezing or unresponsiveness if it cannot communicate with the default printer on your computer. This issue often occurs when your connected printer faces issues or the driver is not updated to the latest version.
So, if you're encountering issues in Excel or facing Excel errors like freezing, unresponsiveness, the solution is to change the default printer on your computer to Microsoft XPS Document Writer and check if the issue persists.
Step 1: Right-click on the Start button, choose Device Manager from the menu.
Step 2: In the Device Manager window, click on the Action tab and then select the Devices and Printers option.
Step 3: In the next window, right-click on Microsoft XPS Document Writer, select Set As Default Printer.
After setting up Microsoft XPS Document Writer as the default printer on your computer, try reopening Excel and check if the Excel freezing, hanging, or unresponsiveness issue persists.
Step 3: Select other tabs at the bottom of the spreadsheet and choose Conditional Formatting to remove conditional formatting from those sheets.
Step 2: Next, click on Home => Conditional Formatting => Clear Rules => Clear Rules From Entire Sheet.
This action is to remove conditional formatting from this sheet.
Step 1: Open the Excel file that is experiencing the not responding issue on your computer.
Step 2: Next, click on Home => Conditional Formatting => Clear Rules => Clear Rules From Entire Sheet.
This action is to remove conditional formatting from this sheet.
Step 3: Select other tabs at the bottom of the spreadsheet and choose Conditional Formatting to remove conditional formatting from those sheets.
Step 4: Then save the Excel file with a new name, ensuring the original Excel file is not lost and still available on your computer.
If this method doesn't help fix the Excel freezing, hanging, or not responding issue on Windows 10, the root cause might be the formatting within each sheet or specific cells in the Excel file.
In this article, Mytour has just guided you through some ways to fix Excel freezing, not responding issues on Windows 10. Additionally, readers can refer to some existing Mytour articles to learn how to fix the Excel Too many different cell formats error.
