Microsoft Office Safe Mode

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How to run Office Word, Excel, or PowerPoint program in Safe mode. Running an Office program in safe mode is pretty easy. All you need to do is hold down the Ctrl key while clicking on an Office application in the Start menu/screen, and then click Yes button when you see the confirmation box to quickly start the Office application in safe mode.

  1. FIX 8: Launch the Office component in Safe Mode: Opening any of the Microsoft Office component (Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc.) in Safe mode would help you swiftly run the program without causing the said issue. For launching any of the Office components in Safe Mode follow the steps given below: Press WINDOWS + R altogether and open the RUN prompt.
  2. Much like Windows, Microsoft has built a Safe Mode feature into its popular productivity suite, Office. If you’re running into issues where documents crash the program after you open them, or you.

I’m having an issue with Outlook and one of the suggestions told me to start Outlook from the Run command with the /safe switch and check something. However, I’m in a corporate environment and the Run command has been disabled for us.

Is there an other way to troubleshoot Outlook or get into Safe Mode or should I call my IT department?

Aside from using the Run command, there are also other ways to start Outlook in Safe Mode.

Method 1: Hold CTRL

When you hold the CTRL button on your keyboard when clicking the Outlook shortcut on your Desktop, Taskbar, Start Menu or Start Screen, Outlook will detect this and asks if you want to start Outlook in Safe Mode.

This method works in all versions of Windows and for all versions of Outlook.

Method 2: Windows 7

If you are using Windows 7, then there is a Search box in the Start Menu. Here type; outlook.exe /safe


Starting Outlook in Safe Mode via the Start Menu in Windows 7.

Method 3: Windows 8

In Windows 8, the search box will automatically show when you start typing. So simply open the Start Screen and type; outlook.exe /safe


Starting Outlook in Safe Mode via the Start Screen in Windows 8.

Method 4: Windows 10

In Windows 10, there is a search box on the Taskbar by default but if you have set to hide this, it will automatically show when you start typing after opening the Start Menu as well. Here type; outlook.exe /safe


Starting Outlook in Safe Mode in Windows 10.

Microsoft Office Safe Mode

Method 5: Create a shortcut

You can also create a new shortcut to outlook.exe and add the /safe switch;

Office

First, determine the location of outlook.exe on your system. In general you’ll find it under;

  • 32-bit version of Windows
    C:Program FilesMicrosoft OfficeOffice <version number>
  • 64-bit version of Windows
    C:Program Files (x86)Microsoft OfficeOffice <version number>
  • Microsoft 365 installation or Click-to-Run installation
    C:Program FilesMicrosoft OfficerootOffice16

If you can’t find it, do a search for outlook.exe or use OutlookTools (free) instead.

Once you’ve found outlook.exe we create a shortcut to it with the /safe switch to prevent Outlook from opening an extra window each time you click the shortcut or use your keyboard shortcut.

Microsoft Office Outlook Safe Mode

  1. Right click on an empty space on your Desktop and choose New-> Shortcut
  2. Type the path to outlook.exe between quotes or browse to its location via the Browse… button
  3. Type a space behind that and /safe
  4. The entire line should now look like this (example is for a Microsoft 365 installation);
    'C:Program FilesMicrosoft OfficerootOffice16Outlook.exe' /safe
  5. Click Next
  6. Name your shortcut for instance: Outlook Safe Mode
  7. Click Finish

Microsoft Office 2016 Safe Mode

Note 1: To further troubleshoot Outlook startup issues see this guide.
Note 2: If you are in a corporate environment, you might find that other troubleshooting measures are also restricted to you. In these cases it is usually best to contact your IT-department and let them take care of it instead.

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Original KB number: 3140179

Microsoft Office Safe Mode

Microsoft office safe mode

Symptoms

When you try to open an Office 2016 or Office 2013 application, such as Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, or Access, one of the following errors may be displayed, depending on the installation type of Office.

  • Click-to-Run installation type:

    Something went wrongWe couldn't start your program. Please try starting it again.If it won't start, try repairing Office from 'Programs and Features' in the Control Panel.

  • MSI-based installation type:

    Microsoft Office can't find your license for this application. A repair attempt was unsuccessful or was cancelled. Microsoft Office will now exit.

Cause

This issue occurs when you try to start an Office 2016 or Office 2013 application while Microsoft Windows is running in safe mode.

Workaround

To work around this issue, start Windows by using the Selective Startup option in System Configuration instead of safe mode. The steps to configure Selective Startup vary, depending on your Office installation type.

Microsoft Office Will Only Open In Safe Mode

  • Click-to-Run installation type:

    1. Open System Configuration. To do this, press the Windows Key + R to open a Run dialog box. Type msconfig, and then click OK.

    2. Select Selective startup, and then clear the Load system services and Load startup items check boxes.

    3. Click the Services tab.

    4. Select the Microsoft Office ClickToRun Service check box.

    5. Click OK.

    6. If you're prompted, click Restart.

  • MSI-based installation type:

    1. Open System Configuration. To do this, press the Windows Key + R to open a Run dialog box. Type msconfig, and then click OK.

    2. Select Selective startup, and then clear the Load system services and Load startup items check boxes.

    3. Click OK.

    4. If you're prompted, click Restart.

When you have finished troubleshooting and no longer need to run in Selective startup, return to Normal startup by following these steps:

  1. Open System Configuration. To do this, press the Windows Key + R to open a Run dialog box. Type msconfig, and then click OK.
  2. Select Normal startup.
  3. Click OK.
  4. If you're prompted, click Restart.

More information

Microsoft Office 2013 Safe Mode

To determine whether your Office installation is Click-to-Run or MSI-based, follow these steps:

  1. Start an Office application, such as Outlook or Word.

  2. On the File menu, select Account or Office Account.

  3. For Office Click-to-Run installations, an Update Options item is displayed. For MSI-based installations, the Update Options item isn't displayed.

    Click-to-Run Office installationMSI-based Office installation