When using the Microsoft Office Programs ( Word, PowerPoint, Excel, etc..) you may at times come up with an error message 0x426-0x0. The error message usually tells that something went wrong with the installation process of the files and processes involved with Microsoft suite applications. As a result, when this error 0x426-0x0 occurs, the MS Office suite will not open. The complete error message reads as follows,
Something went wrong We could’nt start your program.Please try starting it again. If it won’t start, try repairing Office from ‘Programs and Features’ in the Control Panel. Error Code : 0x426-0x0
Click-to-run service that is disabled or a Corrupt Microsoft Office installation may cause this error. Sometimes the interference of a third-party utility or the already installed old office may cause the conflict. If you also face this issue and get the error while opening the Office applications, do not worry as this can be easily resolved. This article takes you through some tested fixes that help in getting rid of the error 0x426-0x0.
Fix 1: Repair Microsoft Office suite
Step 1: Press Win+ R to open the Run window.
Step 2: Type appwiz.cpl, and hit Enter.
Step 3: The Programs and Features window opens, scroll down to select Microsoft 365 ( Other Office Suites), and click on Change.
Step 4: A Microsoft Pop-up window opens, click on Quick Repair > Repair.
Step 5: You will get a pop-up message asking for Repair Confirmation, Click Yes.
Step 6: Follow the instructions that appear on the screen and repair the MS Office.
Step 7: Restart MS Office and see if the error is resolved. If not, choose Online Repair (instead of Quick Repair as in Step 4) to repair the Office apps.
Step 8: Reboot your system and open any MS Office applications to see if the error is resolved. If not move down to the next fix.
Fix 2: Set Microsoft click-to-run service to automatic
Step 1: Press Win+R to open the run window.
Step 2: Type services.msc, and hit Enter.
Step 3: Scroll down to select Microsoft Office click-to-run.
Step 4: Right-click on it to select Properties.
Step 5: In the general tab, under Startup type, select Automatic and click Apply.
Step 6: Open any Microsoft Office Program to check if the error is resolved.
Fix 3: Turn off Windows Defender Firewall
Step 1: Open the Run window by pressing Win+ R simultaneously.
Step 2: Type control firewall.cpl, and hit Enter.
Step 3: In the left-hand side menu, click the Turn Windows Defender Firewall on or off option.
Step 4: Select the radio buttons near Turn off Windows Defender Firewall and click OK as shown
Step 5: Restart the system and open any MS Office application to check if the error is resolved. If not move to the next step.
Fix 4: Disable third-party antivirus temporarily
If you are using any third-party antivirus, then use this fix and see if the error is resolved. Here, I am using Norton Security. To do so,
Step 1: Click on Show hidden icons present on the right side bottom of the screen.
Step 2: Right-click on the antivirus icon to select Disable Auto-Protect.
Step 3: In the appearing window, select the time for which you want to disable the auto protection, Click OK.
Step 4: Now, you can launch any MS Office application and see if the error is resolved.
Fix 5: Ending all the Office related processes
If they are any MS Office applications or processes silently running in the background while using your system, they may stop you from opening any new office applications. So, you need to end all the office-related processes to fix the error 0x426-0x0. To do so,
Step 1: Open the Run window by holding the Win+R keys.
Step 2: Type taskmgr.exe and hit Enter.
Step 3: In the Processes tab, Scroll down to select Microsoft Click-to-run(SxS).
Step 4: Right-click on it and click on End Task.
Step 5: Now, open any MS Office application and see if the error is resolved.
Fix 6: Reinstall Microsoft Office
Step 1: Type Apps & Features in the search box and hit Enter.
Step 2: Scroll down to select Microsoft 365 or any other MS Office ( 2021,2019, etc..).
Step 3: Click on 3-dots and click on Uninstall.
Now, even after uninstalling the Office Suite, there may be some shortcuts, folders, directories remaining and you need to remove them manually. To do this, follow the next steps:
Step 4: In the Start search tab, type %Programfiles% (64-bit processor) and hit Enter.
NOTE – If you use a 32-bit processor type %Programfiles(x86)%.
Step 5: Select all the remaining office folders and delete them.
Step 6: Next, open the registry editor by typing regedit in the Run window.
Step 7: UAC will ask for permission, click on Yes.
Step 8: Type the given sub-folder address.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office
Step 9: Now, right-click on each of them and click on Delete. In a similar way, delete all the folders present under Office Registry.
Step 10: Finally, Download Microsoft 365 or Other office suites and reinstall it.
Additional Tip – There is also an Office Uninstall Support tool you can use to uninstall the MS Office suite. If you wish to use it, you can download it from here.
That’s all.
Hope this article is informative.
Please comment and let us know which fix helped you resolve the issue.
Thank You.