How to fix performance problem with Microsoft Word, extremely slow and lagging doing basic tasks, typing etc.

Acehardy 0 Reputation points

I am experiencing ongoing performance problems with Microsoft Word. The program is extremely slow and lags during basic tasks such as typing, opening documents, copying, pasting, and editing. I have already completed all recommended troubleshooting steps, including uninstalling and reinstalling Office, checking for problematic add‑ins, and attempting to disable hardware graphics acceleration (which was not available as an option). I also opened Word in Safe Mode, but the issue continued. No corrupt system files were found, and the problem has persisted for a long time despite having a paid subscription to Microsoft Office. My is how do I correct this long-standing issue and what else could be causing Microsoft Word to run very slowly and lag during typing, editing, and opening documents, even after reinstalling Office, checking add‑ins, attempting Safe Mode, and confirming that no system files are corrupted?

  1. Charles Kenyon 167.9K Reputation points β€’ Volunteer Moderator

    Clarifying:

    • You are using the desktop application?
    • This is a problem with new documents?
    • This is a problem with all documents?
    • This is a problem when Word is in Safe mode?

Sign in to comment

2 answers

  1. Stefan Blom 343.3K Reputation points β€’ MVP β€’ Volunteer Moderator

    Do you see this with any document that you open in Word, regardless of file size, number of pages, etc.?

    Are there any problems with other Office files, such as Excel workbooks?

    1. Acehardy 0 Reputation points

      I'm seeing this with any document in Word, regardless of size, new or old, etc. Have tried safe mode, uninstall, reinstall. Very frustrating.


    Sign in to comment
  2. Stefan Blom 343.3K Reputation points β€’ MVP β€’ Volunteer Moderator

    I'm seeing this with any document in Word, regardless of size, new or old, etc. Have tried safe mode, uninstall, reinstall. Very frustrating.

    Thanks for the follow-up. Did application Safe mode make any difference at all? If it improved the situation, I recommend that you troubleshoot COM add-ins as well as Startup add-ins; see the relevant sections in the article at https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/troubleshoot/microsoft-365/microsoft-365-apps/word/issues-when-start-or-use-word .

    1. Acehardy 0 Reputation points

      Safe mode does not work, I have tried the Task Manager, COM add-ins, will try Startup-add-ins, not sure if I have done that have tried so many different things.

      Thanks.

    2. Stefan Blom 343.3K Reputation points β€’ MVP β€’ Volunteer Moderator

      Safe mode does not work, I have tried the Task Manager, COM add-ins, will try Startup-add-ins, not sure if I have done that have tried so many different things.

      Thanks.

      Thanks for the follow-up. Do post back with the results of your continued testing.

      Regarding Safe mode, I take it you mean that Safe mode didn't make a difference? Or did Word fail to start in Safe mode? Were any error messages displayed?


    Sign in to comment
Sign in to answer

Your answer