Microsoft Excel Stays on Splash Screen: Not Starting

Microsoft Excel Not Starting: Troubleshooting the Splash Screen Issue

Microsoft Excel is a widely used spreadsheet program that is part of the Microsoft Office suite. It is an essential tool for managing data, creating charts, and performing various calculations. However, sometimes Excel may fail to start, and instead, it displays a splash screen that seems to be loading indefinitely. In this article, we will discuss the reasons for this issue and provide solutions to help you get Excel up and running.

Reasons for Excel Splash Screen Issue

The Excel splash screen issue can be caused by various factors, including:

Corrupted Excel files
Outdated Excel installation
Conflicting add-ins or extensions
Insufficient system resources
Corrupted Office registry

Solution 1: Repair Excel Installation

If you suspect that your Excel installation is corrupted, you can try repairing it using the Microsoft Office Installation Wizard:

Press Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box.
Type appwiz.cpl and press Enter.
Locate Microsoft Office in the list of installed programs and select it.
Click Change and then Quick Repair.
Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the repair process.

Solution 2: Disable Add-ins

Conflicting add-ins or extensions can cause the Excel splash screen issue. To disable them:

Press Alt + F11 to open the Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) editor.
Click Tools and then Add-ins.
Select the add-in you want to disable and click Go.
Click Disable and then OK.
Repeat steps 3-5 for each add-in you want to disable.

Solution 3: Increase System Resources

Insufficient system resources can also cause the Excel splash screen issue. To check your system resources:

Press Ctrl + Alt + Del and select Task Manager.
Click on the Performance tab and check the resource usage.
Close any unnecessary applications to free up resources.

Solution 4: Recover Damaged Excel Files

If your Excel files are corrupted, you can try recovering them using the Microsoft Office Recovery Tool:

Download and install the Microsoft Office Recovery Tool.
Run the tool and select the Excel file you want to recover.
Follow the on-screen instructions to recover the file.

Solution 5: Repair Office Registry

A corrupted Office registry can also cause the Excel splash screen issue. To repair it:

Press Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box.
Type regedit and press Enter.
Navigate to the following registry key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Excel

Delete any keys that have a name beginning with " functional" and ending with ".xml".
Restart your computer and try starting Excel again.

Conclusion

In this article, we discussed the reasons for the Excel splash screen issue and provided solutions to help you troubleshoot and fix the problem. We covered repairing the Excel installation, disabling add-ins, increasing system resources, recovering damaged Excel files, and repairing the Office registry. By following these steps, you should be able to get Excel up and running again.