Winword.exe Errors

If you use Microsoft Word and are receiving winword.exe errors you have one of either two problems. The logical thought is that you have a problem with the Microsoft Word program itself because winword.exe is the main executable used to launch the application. This is a likely cause of your errors. The other potential problem could be a malicious program impersonating this file.

The Trojan.Drivus is a known Trojan that opens a backdoor allowing hackers to get into your system. This malicious program has earned a medium threat rating from Symantec’s Security Response Center. To make sure your winword.exe problems are not related to this Trojan run a thorough anti-virus scan using the latest possible database definitions.

Once you’ve ruled out a computer virus or cleaned your computer of the Trojan, see if you are still getting the error. If so, you likely have a problem with the MS Word or Microsoft Office programs in general.

Now, don’t fret. We know how expensive Microsoft Office is. You won’t have to go out and buy the latest release to solve your problems because all of the programs in the Office suite come with a handy repair utility.

The Detect and Repair utility allows you to repair your installation of Microsoft Office without needing to perform a complete reinstall of the software. In Office 2007, this utility has been replaced with the Microsoft Office Diagnostics tool. Whichever version you have will rely on you having the original installation discs as well as the CD key to the discs.

For MS Word versions prior to the 2007 release:

To access Detect and Repair open Microsoft Word and go to the Help menu. Click on Detect and Repair. Follow the prompts and repair your installation. If you can’t open Microsoft Word which is entirely possible given your winword.exe errors, you can access the tool from MS Excel or any of the other Office programs. If none of the programs will open, you can access it from the installation discs.

 For MS Word 2007:

To access the Microsoft Office Diagnostics tool, go to the Office Button, click on Word Options (or Excel Options, Access Options, etc.) and highlight Resources in the left hand pane.

Next, click the Diagnose button next to “run Microsoft Office Diagnostics”.

Click the Run Diagnostics button. The tool will run numerous tests and display a progress bar as shown below.

After the tests are run, you will see the results listed in the pane. The tool tests memory, compatibility, disk, and setup. If no problems are found you will see this screen:

You can click on Detailed results and see the results of the test.

If you click the Continue button, you will connect to Microsoft servers and get further details including possible solutions to your winword.exe errors.

In addition to being able to access the MS Office Diagnostics tool from the software, you can also access it from your Start menu. This is helpful when your programs won’t open due to the program errors. Go to the Start button, All Programs, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Office Tools, and choose Microsoft Office Diagnostics.

No matter which version you run, these repair tools can help you restore program files related to your MS Office programs without the need of reinstalling the software.

The Setup portion of Microsoft Office Diagnostics is the old Detect and Repair tool. The other diagnostic tests are added features exclusive to Office versions 2007 and above.

The Check for Known Solutions test is a handy tool. It reviews all recent Office 2007 related crashes and checks the Microsoft servers for known solutions. Not only will this help you with your current winword.exe errors but past and intermittent errors as well.

Take advantage of the built-in repair tools to solve your winword.exe errors and make sure your computer is prepared against threats from viruses, Trojans, and spyware.