Apr 01,2020 • Filed to: Solve Mac Problems • Proven solutions

Apr 16, 2018 Step 2: Remove Excel preferences and Office settings. Make sure that all Microsoft Office for Mac programs are closed. On the Go menu, open the root/hidden Library folder. Note The Library folder is hidden in Mac OSX Yosemite. To display this folder, hold down the OPTION key while you click the Go menu. Jan 24, 2008  Advertisement by Microsoft showing the new Office 2008 for Mac! (c) Microsoft Corporation 2008 (c) RKUK Centres Europe 2008.

This is a query from one of the MS Word users on Mac that we have got recently. As you know, MS Word is a part of the Office suite, which is developed by Microsoft. Apart from Windows, it is also available for Mac and provides tons of utility features. Though, there are times when Word on Mac keeps crashing and users are not able to utilize its features or even save their existing files.

Don't worry! the issue is pretty common and can easily be fixed. In this guide, we will teach you why does Microsoft Word keeps crashing on Mac and how to fix this problem in 8 different ways. Apart from that, we will also discuss how to recover Word document after a crashed Mac. Let's begin and start a quick MS Word troubleshooting on Mac.

Part 1: Why Microsoft Word Keeps Crashing on Mac?

Before we discuss issues to fix the Microsoft Word Mac crashing issues, it is important to note what could have caused the problem to begin with. In this way, you would be able to understand why does Word keeps crashing on Mac and can even avoid it in the future.

• Mostly, MS Word crashes because of a fault in the Office suite of the tool itself. Chances are that the application could not have been installed probably.
• You might be running an old or incompatible version of Word on your Mac.
• If you are using a pirated MS Word application, then it could have been corrupted as well.
• Sometimes, Mac doesn't give permissions to third-party applications (like Word), making them faulty to work.
• The source drive where MS Word has been installed could be corrupt as well.
• The location of the MS Word application could have been moved to someplace else.
• The application was crashed earlier or closed during processing, making it faulty or corrupt.
• Chances are that MS Word could have been infected by a malware.

Part 2: How to Fix 'Microsoft Word Keeps Crashing on Mac'

The good news is that most of these problems can easily be resolved if we follow the right approach. Ideally, you can fix Microsoft Word keeps crashing issue with these solutions.

1. Check the Hard Drive Name

A faulty hard drive name is one of the most common issues for Word to malfunction. This is because Mac provides a more flexible way to name the hard drive while Windows has certain restrictions. If needed, you might need to change the hard drive name as well to fix this. Here's how you can check and rename hard drive on Mac to make it compatible with Word.

1. Just click on the Apple logo on the top left corner of the desktop and open the Applications tab. Go to the Utilities section to open the Disk Utility window.
2. Select your Mac hard drive from the left and view its name and other details on the right (under the 'Partitions' tab).
3. Make sure that the drive has a name and it should start from a character. While it can have numbers, it should not have all numbers or any special character. Make the needed changes to rename the hard drive.

Once the hard drive has been renamed, you can restart Mac and try accessing MS Word on it again.

2. Clear the AutoRecovery Folder

As you know, Auto-save is an inbuilt feature in MS Word that automatically saves the running document in the background. It allows us to fetch our files back if they are lost or closed unexpectedly. Though, sometimes the AutoRecovery folder might cause some clash with the application itself, making it faulty. Therefore, you can consider clearing it to fix Word on Mac keeps crashing.

1. To start with, simply launch Finder on your Mac and from its menu, click on Go > Go to Folder.
2. Now, copy and paste the path '~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Word/Data/Library/Preferences/AutoRecovery/' on your Mac (without the quotes).
3. As you click on 'Go', it will open the AutoRecovery folder on your Mac. From here, you can just delete the auto-saved files so that the folder would be cleared.

3. Reset the Word Preferences

Sometimes, the reason for Microsoft Word Mac crashing could be the wrong preferences on the application as well. In order to resolve this, you can reset the preferences altogether and try restarting Word.

1. Firstly, select the Word icon on the desktop and go to the Word > Preferences option from the menu.
2. As the Word Preferences tab would be opened, click on the 'File Locations' icon from here.
3. This will open the File Locations feature on the screen. Click on the 'User templates' option and choose to 'Reset' it.
4. You can also click on the 'Modify' button to view it. Here, you can see a 'Normal' file. You can cut and paste it to any other location (like your desktop) or simply move it to the Trash as well.

Apple

After resetting the Word preferences, restart the applications and check if it fixes MS Word crashing on Mac or not.

4. Save the Word Document to another Location

Apart from the MS Word application, there could be a problem with the Mac storage. as well. For instance, if the particular partition or sector on the hard drive has been corrupted, then you should try to save your documents somewhere else. This will help you avoid Word crashing on Mac or prevent the loss of your important files as well.

1. Firstly, open the MS Word application on your Mac and try opening the file. If you are lucky, you would be able to open the file without the Word application crashing.
2. Quickly, go to the File menu and click on the 'Save As' option.
3. Now, browse to the location where you wish to save your Word document and give it the needed name.

Alternatively, you can also copy your MS Word file and just paste it to any other location as well.

Office 2013 Keeps Crashing

5. Download and Install Word Updates

As stated previously, one of the reasons for Microsoft Word crashing on Mac could be an old version of the application. If the MS Word application has not been updated in a while, then it can encounter compatibility issues with Mac. The best way to fix MS Word crashing on Mac is by updating it. Not only will it fix the Microsoft Word Mac keeps crashing, it will also make the application more secure by installing the needed patches.

1. Simply launch the Word application on your Mac and from its menu, go to Help > Check for Updates.
2. From here, you can enable the automatic update option if you want to. Make the relevant selection and click on the 'Check for Updates' button again.
3. In no time, MS Word will connect to its server and look for any recent available update. Once it will notify you the same, you can just select the update and click on the 'Install' button.
4. Now, you can just wait for a while as Word would install the update and restarts in the end to a stable version.

6. Create another User Account on Mac

Although it might sound surprising, but there could be some issue with your user account on Mac as well. For instance, the account you are accessing might be blocked to use certain applications or there could be a clash with some commands. To avoid this problem and fix Microsoft Word keeps crashing on Mac, simply create another account on your system instead.

1. To start things, go to the Apple icon from the desktop and visit System Preferences.
2. Click on the 'Users & Groups' sections from here. Once its dedicated window will open, click on the lock icon at the bottom to make some changes in it.
3. You need to enter your administrator password to proceed. Afterward, click on the '+' icon to add a new account.
4. Simply enter basic details for the new account (like its type, name, and so on) and click on the 'Create User' button in the end.
5. If you want, you can create a different password for the new account and link it with the same iCloud account as well.

In the end, you can sign-out from the present account and log-in to the new account instead. Now, try to open MS Word and see if it resolves the problem or not.

7. Boot Mac in Safe Mode

Microsoft Office 2008 Mac Keeps Crashing Pc

Just like Windows, you can also boot your Mac system in a safe mode as well. The safe mode is mostly used for troubleshooting and it automatically turns on various secondary processes. In this way, you can check if there is a problem with the MS Word application itself or your Mac system. Here's how you can boot your Mac in safe mode and fix Microsoft Word crashing on Mac.

1. Simply turn on your Mac by pressing the power button. If you are already using it, then restart it instead.
2. As soon as you would hear the startup chime (or see Apple's logo), press the Shift key on the keyword.
3. Keep pressing it for the new few seconds as Mac would be restarted in the safe mode.
4. You can see 'Safe Mode' written at the top right corner of the screen now. Just log-in to any account and try accessing the MS Word application on it.

8. Run Disk Utility to Repair Crashed Word

If none of the above-listed techniques would fix MS Word crashing on Mac, then you can consider repairing the entire disk. Although it would take a lot of time, it will make sure that your Mac's disk would stay secure and in a healthy condition. To repair your Mac's disk and fix Word keeps crashing on Mac, follow these quick steps:

1. Look for the 'Disk Utility' option from the Spotlight and open it. Alternatively, from the main menu on Mac, click on Go > Utilities and launch the Disk Utility window.
2. From the left panel, you can select the primary disk on your system. In most of the cases, it is Macintosh HD. Now, click on the 'First Aid' option from its toolbar and confirm your choice.
3. As Mac would start repairing the disk, you can just wait for a while for the process to be completed.
4. Once it is done, restart your Mac and check if Microsoft Word keeps crashing on Mac or not.

Part 3: How to Recover Crashed Word Documents on Mac?

When any application crashes on Mac, we often end up losing its data. Similarly, if MS Word has been crashed while you were working on a document, then you might end up losing it forever. To avoid such an unwanted scenario, consider using Recoverit Data Recovery for Mac. It is one of the best data recovery tools for Mac that is used by leading experts. Developed by Wondershare, it provides a fast, easy, and highly secure way to get your data back. The application has a high data recovery rate and supports all the leading Word document extensions.

Microsoft Office 2008 Mac Keeps Crashing 2017

• With the help of Recoverit Data Recovery, you can get back your lost, deleted, or inaccessible Word files in a jiffy.
• The application supports all kinds of other data types too like photos, videos, PDFs, Excel sheets, emails, compressed files, and so much more.
• No matter what the situation is, Recoverit will help you in every possible data loss scenario like accidental deletion, corrupt storage, lost partition, etc.
• It follows different scanning modes, letting users save their time and get the expected results as well.

Video Tutorial on Mac File Recovery

How to Recover Word Document on Mac

In order to learn how to recover Word document after a crashed Mac, the following steps can be taken.

1. Select a target location

Simply launch Recoverit Data Recovery on your Mac and select a location where you wish to perform the scan. This would be the primary Macintosh HD in this case. Though, if you want, you can perform data recovery on an external device as well.

2. Scan for the lost files

As you would mark a source location and start the process, Recoverit will carefully scan the location. You are recommended to wait for a while so that the process can be completed without any trouble.

3. Preview and recover your Word files

When the data extraction process is completed, the application will let you preview the recovered content. Now, you can simply select the Word files you want back and save them to any secure place.

Part 4: Tips to prevent Word Keeps Crashing on Mac

If you don't want to suffer from an unexpected loss of data or MS Word crashing on Mac, then consider following these suggestions.

Microsoft Office 2008 Mac Keeps Crashing What To Do

• Always make sure that the MS Word application is updated on your system. You can turn on the automatic update to save your time.
• Keep the real-time scanning of the firewall on, so that the application would be safe from any malware attack.
• Don't turn off your Mac when MS Word is still running in the background.
• Try not to close any MS Word document in between or in an unexpected manner.
• Install MS Word in the primary partition on your Mac hard drive (if you have multiple partitions).
• Don't install MS Office from an unreliable source (or a pirated version). Buy it from Microsoft's official website to avoid any software-related issue.

Now when you know how to fix Microsoft Word keeps crashing on Mac, you would be able to resolve this issue like a pro. Apart from listing different fixes for Word crashing on Mac, we have also provided a quick solution to perform data recovery on Mac as well. With the help of Recoverit Data Recovery, you can easily get back any lost or deleted content in no time. Go ahead and download the Mac data recovery tool on Mac or share it with others to teach them how to recover crashed Word document on Mac.

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car crash of a program....3 years between releases and they still cant program things to work, pathetic. I too have light needs but also have noticed the problem with saves and save as....track changes can be lost using the simple save option....but it seams to be random....nice!

Long ago with a previous version I turned off the Quick Save feature, and since then my crashes with Word became few and far between (thank heavens). Word 2008 seems to be pretty reliable but I'm not turning Quick Save on. As a side, I find Word 2008 extremely slow (and Excel) on an Intel Xeon 3 GHz machine, 6 gb RAM. Nothing I do speeds it up when opening and saving documents. It is like a dinosaur.

Office Programs Keep Crashing

In my limited experience I have found that taking the file and copying it into tex edit as rich text or changing to plain text and then copying and pasting back into a new word documents seems to take care of the crashes. Typically I crash when using a word file created on an older version of word (windows based) the files I use are assignments for school.
Hope my little bit helps at least some one.

More importantly--WHERE THE H*** IS AN UPDATE?
How long has Office 2008 been out? How long has it been incompatible with Spaces? How long has it been slower than Office 2004? I have switched to Pages and am eagerly awaiting a full release of OpenOffice 3.0. I can't stand giving money to Microsoft anymore for their inferior products.
I mean, really, is the Mac BU at Microsoft the bottom of the class or what?

I agree that it's worth checking if your recently saved copy is more recent than Word's autosave document. It seems that Word only attempts to recover its last autosave document without checking if you had saved a more recent version yourself. Sometimes it can look like you have lost more than you actually have.
FWIW: Word 2008 crashes for me too a lot too, also on non-complex text-only documents - not a reliable tool for a translator. This is with spaces disabled entirely.

Office 2008 is definitely the buggiest commercial software package I own.
It crashes on me every day, and sometimes several times in a day - and this happens with small or large documents as well as documents created in Office 2008 for Mac!
Not to mention it is a LOT slower than previous versions.
Hopefully, they come out with an update soon!

The only reason I use Office 2008 is for work. I have Open Office on my home system just for opening Word and Excel documents that I occasional need to work on from home. Mostly I use the iWork suite as that more than meets my needs.
As for the crashes, I would have to agree that Office in general crashes. I can launch Word 2008 or Excel on my office computer and shortly the whole system will kernel panic. If I don't have any Office application opened (including Entourage), I can run my system for days, weeks, possibly even months without rebooting. Since I usually have at least one Office application opened, Entourage for checking my Exchange e-mail, my system would routinely crash almost on a daily basis.
On a side note: I'm still frustrated that Office 2008 is still not 100% feature comparable with it's Windows counterparts. Notes and tasks syncing are still not available, as is categories, and about half of the address data continues to get missed or reversed, (work addresses become home address and vise-verse.) And for the price we are paying, there are still missing applications; Groove, InfoPath; OneNote; Access.
There is one good thing to come out of this, I never had to pay for MS Office. It's payed for by the company I work for.

Microsoft Office 2008 Mac Serial

Hmmm… interesting. I have Word 2008, and I wouldn't give it up for anything. Granted, it's pokey at times, but I've never had too much trouble with it (it's never crashed), and it's slightly faster than Word 2004 on my MBP. There are several things that irritate me, but these are basically default settings that have been the same in every version I've used - back to Word '97 on my dad's old Dell.

The biggest crash Word 2008 generated, as far as I'm concerned, is dropping it's support for Visual Basic for Applications. (the windoze version still has it)
Not that I am a fan of VBA - I don't even know too well what it is.
I'm a translator that uses the product called Wordfast (very popular in our industry).
So, for me, upgrading to Word 2008 is going to happen exactly never.

I really tried to use Office 2008 on my MacBook Pro 2.33 GHz dual core but its just so slow and horrible that today I gave up and went back to 2004. I also hate 2004 but I need Office occasionally to open files that Pages, Keynote, Numbers can't handle. I downloaded OpenOffice but haven't tested it yet. I doubt whether I will ever use Microsoft products again.

I have also gone back to Office 2004. I found that the new graphics handling is not very compatible with Windows (despite the claims to the contrary) and the lack of VBA is a real problem for our firm, as we use some VBA code a lot of the time to do Erlang C calculations.
I am concerned that Office on the Mac has taken a really big step backwards with this release.

My problem was that I couldn't open any document in Word 2008 without having a crash. It didn't matter if I tried to open an existing document by clicking on it or if I tried to open one from inside Word. I suspect the reason for the crashes was that I had previously opened a file on a removable or network drive that was no longer available and that Word couldn't handle the missing location properly.
To solve the issue, I opened the file com.microsoft.office.plist in Property List Editor and deleted all rows named '2008File AliasesMSWD{NUMBER}' and '2008MRU Access DateMSWD{NUMBER}'. Don't know if I really needed to delete both types of rows but I did it anyway.
As an alternative, I suppose one could follow the directions in the earlier posts and try to move the file out on the desktop before starting Word.

Microsoft Office Programs Keep Crashing

I seems that some of these annoying crashes can be avoided by just doing simple documents without any of the features that make Word useful.
I seem to have more crashes when I am editing 40 page documents that include section breaks with images. In addition to the crashes, there is a very annoying bug. If the document contains section breaks, when I print page ranges, the images won't print. I have to print the entire document to get the images to print. If I remove the section breaks. All is well. It is very annoying. I'd like to know if anyone else has experienced this with or without the crashes... The latest update does not help at all...