Word freezes for half a minute every time I open a document
Add-ins are the usual suspect. A PDF add-in, a reference tool, or an old Adobe link hunting something that no longer exists.
Try this first
- 1Open Word > File > Options > Add-ins. Bottom: 'Manage: COM Add-ins' > Go.
- 2Disable all add-ins, restart Word, test if opening feels normal again.
- 3Better? Re-enable them one by one. The culprit gives itself up fast.
- 4Also test in Safe Mode: hold Ctrl while launching Word. Safe Mode = no add-ins, no templates.
When to bring us in
Still freezing in Safe Mode? It sits in the Office profile itself. An Office repair via Control Panel > Programs > Microsoft 365 > Change > Quick Repair usually fixes it.
See also
- My laptop is suddenly slowThree main suspects: a runaway background process, near-full disk, or a Windows update in progress.
- One specific application is slow for everyoneIf an app is slow for one person: local. For everyone at once: server side or vendor side.
- Opening files from the file server takes minutesOften the server itself is fine and the issue is network routing or stalling DNS resolution.
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